The Inflation Alarmists Because I’m a libertarian, I’m periodically exposed to a quirky part of the libertarian movement that is preoccupied with monetary policy. These people obsessively complain about inflation, e.g., quoting statistics like “since such-and-such year [a long time ago], the dollar has lost 97% of its value!” (You’re supposed to be alarmed by that.) They passionately call for auditing the Federal Reserve, or even ending the Fed (recall Ron Paul’s weirder campaign messages). Some want us to go back to the gold standard; they think it’s a horrible problem that our money isn’t backed by anything. They complain about the government spending too much money (as in Biden’s recent mammoth spending bill) – but the main problem they see with this isn’t what most normal people would say. E.g., these weird libertarians don’t say, “We’re putting a huge burden on future generations who have to pay this back, with interest.” Rather, they complain that it’s going to cause the Fed to print more money, and that’s going to cause
Calm Down About Inflation, etc.
Calm Down About Inflation, etc.
Calm Down About Inflation, etc.
The Inflation Alarmists Because I’m a libertarian, I’m periodically exposed to a quirky part of the libertarian movement that is preoccupied with monetary policy. These people obsessively complain about inflation, e.g., quoting statistics like “since such-and-such year [a long time ago], the dollar has lost 97% of its value!” (You’re supposed to be alarmed by that.) They passionately call for auditing the Federal Reserve, or even ending the Fed (recall Ron Paul’s weirder campaign messages). Some want us to go back to the gold standard; they think it’s a horrible problem that our money isn’t backed by anything. They complain about the government spending too much money (as in Biden’s recent mammoth spending bill) – but the main problem they see with this isn’t what most normal people would say. E.g., these weird libertarians don’t say, “We’re putting a huge burden on future generations who have to pay this back, with interest.” Rather, they complain that it’s going to cause the Fed to print more money, and that’s going to cause