I think a lot of folks did something a bit crazy during Covid lockdowns, for better or worse. Me? I tried to answer a question that had been bugging me for a long, long time: Why inflation?

It was a subject I had tried to broach with friends, and even professors in my economics classes.

A random Business Insider article later, I find myself here. Because frankly? Despite the articles attempt to take a fringe-y, stop-panicking tone I think most people are getting the impression that things don't seem to be working quite right. Deep down in the nuts-and-bolts of Action and Coonsequence, the result seems to be dissatisfying for a growing majority of folks.

So! For your pondering pleasure:

A) We're currently running on an Economic Theory that has NOT been tested in any meaningful form.

B) The current Federal Reserve stance on inflation is essentially "While we know it may suck for a growing number of people... think about The Economy!"

C) We have a few hundred years of historical data suggesting that there is a 'natural rhythm to the value of the dollar that we intentionally threw out the window. Not necessarily for the express purpose of.... this.... whatever 'this' is exactly, but a deliberate decision none the less.

D) It doesn't seem to be working despite a myriad of efforts to course correct.

That, I would argue, is The Great Experiment

Can a country that was effectively 'small' in 1900, and that had been achieving a fairly normal rhythm of inflation and deflation throw off their shackles, bust onto the World Stage like the Kool-Aid Man, and do something totally different?

It would seem that... Yes.

Yes you can.

What are the economic consequences?

Despite assertations that things are fine, or that typical economic indicators put us on the 'expected' side of various different ratios... I would present a different model for analysis:

Have we done anything that would significant deviate from our country's economic course?

Initially laid down around WWI (a bit over a hundred years ago), we made some otherwise shocking decisions to participate in the war economically, but only join the fighting proper riiiiight at the end.

And WWII, far more shocking and with economic consequences beyond our comprehension, was a direct ECONOMIC result of choices made at the resolution of WWI. When I say 'consequences', I mean things like... digging up 'a hundred years worth' of iron ore, forming it into ships, and then sinking those ships rather than bother bringing them home or maintaining them. Or... Do Your Part, a political and economic governmental push to have businesses contribute cash towards the end of the war in exchange for unstated, unwritten political and economic influence 'in the future'.

Followed by the post-War Economic Boom. Probably the most devistating consequence of the War:

America came away from all of that thinking that they were, in fact, THE Burger King. Big Papa Swinging Dick of the post-war era.

So, to recap:

1700 to 1900 - still considered a 'budding industrializing nation'.

1950 - The best thing since sliced cheese

1970 - Start to panic. Something is wrong

1975 - Holy shit, something is wrong.

1980 - DontPanicdontpanicdontpanic...

1985 - Okay, I think we got this

1990 - We don't got this.

1995 - ....holy hell, this debt won't stop....

2000 - Okay. Ignore the debt. We got this

2005 - ....We definitely don't got this. Why do things keep breaking??

2010 - ..........

2015 - ....profit?

2020 - Profit, sure, but things won't stop breaking! There are literal riots in the streets, and an attempt to overthrow the government. Plus a wave of Extreme Isolationism.

So.... When are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?

America is not the greatest country in the world.

And the only thing 'following economic predictions' is that we don't rightly know, and it's not getting better despite numerous attempts at change.

We're running off a Theory.

A very, very new economic theory.

....and it's not working.

https://youtu.be/z2HKbygLjJs?feature=shared