Editor’s Note: Interested in free weekly updates from Northern Michigan? Sign up for the WEEKLY PINE VIEW
By Joel Vernier
I often wake up around 3 a.m. with my mind racing about the day before and upcoming issues. I often find that I can solve problems during this time that I had pondered for hours or days. If I cannot solve the issue, I wake up, write it down on a notepad hanging in the bathroom, and then I can get back to sleep. Last night, I became concerned about inflation. When I was a youngster, the only inflation I was concerned about was regarding my bicycle tires! As a new teenage driver, I often checked my car’s tires because they were worn or retreads. They needed to be filled weekly. With many news shows discussing inflation and our money, I thought about it.
Inflation on money means that the higher the inflation, the less purchasing power consumers have. Examples include today’s housing costs, automobile costs, and about everything in the grocery store. I remember that as a college student, I felt that if my earnings increased with my age, I would do quite well.
At that time, a suburban 3-bedroom home with a garage was about $24,000. That same home today, depending on the location, could fetch $300,00 to $500,000. I have accomplished my goal, but inflation has reduced the results I had hoped for.
How does that happen? In 1971, we went from a gold-backed dollar to a Fiat Dollar. What is the Fiat dollar backed by? The full faith and credit of the United States of America. How does that cause inflation? Well, the Federal Reserve (Not part of the U.S. government) makes that decision. In 2026, they printed about $ 140 billion. In 2021, to combat negative economic factors, it jumped from a $4.9 trillion to 16.21 trillion money supply. That’s a lot of printing. AI states that one trillion $100 bills would fill an entire football field, stacked double. All backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America.
One way to help control inflation is to return to a gold- or silver-backed currency; this means you can only print money backed by those metals. Several countries have formed the BRICS alliance, introducing a gold-backed 40% and local currencies. This is to challenge the US petrodollar as the world’s currency.
The future will decide what happens next. Once I decided that, I fell back asleep!
