Debased Money, Debased Marriages
“When a government compulsorily overvalues one type of money and
undervalues another, the undervalued money will leave the country or
disappear from circulation into hoards, while the overvalued money will
flood into circulation.”
– Gresham’s law, Sir Thomas Gresham
When gasoline prices are rapidly approaching $5 per gallon, it is no
secret that U.S. money does not buy what it used to. Even if we use the
CPI-U, which significantly underestimates historical inflation, the
value of a dollar in 2012 is approximately one-twenty fifth of a dollar
in 1913, when the Federal Reserve was first given the responsibility of
ensuring stable prices. How a relentless increase in prices is somehow
equated with price stability remains a mystery to everyone not working
for the Federal Reserve or seated in Congress; if this performance is
considered successful, one can only wonder what would constitute
failure.