Economist jargon. The cause of inflation is threefold: demand-pull, cost-push, and inflation expectation. Got it? Then there is this explanation: expanded welfare benefits and a labor shortage are driving inflation. Then there is this whipit: Increasing costs are driving higher prices. Or perhaps you prefer: increasing money supply, devaluation and rising wages are the root cause of inflation. So who is right?
John Cochrane has a novel explanation – government debt causes prices to rise.
Why is the cause so important? Because the response to inflation is built on the theoretical ‘cause’. Science loves this concept. The cause of cancer was once determined to be mushrooms. Or tomato sauce. And the masses immediately tossed their mushrooms or tomato sauce diligently. Although neither foods caused cancer.
Jerome Powell claims to adhere to the economist jargon that wages and unemployment are the culprits that need to be abolished at all cost! The means to reduce real wages is – inflation… And unemployment is an algorithm – not a real number backed by – reality. Blithely, Powell raises the fed rate once again and promises pain and more hikes are on the horizon.
Powell answers to One Power – and that Power is NOT the US, it is Bank of International Settlements – BIS. Powell is the Board Chair of not one but two BIS committees; Global Economy Meeting and Economic Consultative Committee. His term has been extended to January 31, 2026.
If we follow Cochranes explanation, then it becomes clear that ‘government’ causes inflation thru heady debt packages built on money laundering schematics. Since 1960, the debt ceiling has been adjusted upward 78 times. At some point that ceiling has absolutely no meaning whatsoever given that government simply raises it to meet their increased spending, ie debt.
As such, the only means of really reducing inflation would be to slash and reduce – government. Everyone has their pet peeve agencies that seem wholly worthless, mine include; Department of Education, Department of Commerce, Department of Housing, Department of State, Department of Interior… But that is too simplistic.
For Example: Within the Department of Interior there are twelve sub-agencies. The Federal Consulting Group is one of the 12 sub-agencies. Their job definition states: “specializes in organizational development, change, and strategy execution for federal organizations that are not doing their job”. Within this hierarchy, the Group has sub groups wherein every group requires 1-2 Project Managers. The Coaching Manager is Fe Cheng who is native to China. With a degree in Accounting, her first job was with the DoD as a “Healthcare Specialist’…
Eliminating government agency girth would be a massive mission – albeit one that is a necessary good. The percentage of our US labor working for the government is estimated to be about 15%. It is an estimation because – no one knows! No one even knows how many agencies operate within the government although ‘speculation’ puts the number at 438.
Then you have the NGO’s financed by the government, that are tax exempt. Meaning our tax dollars are divvied among nongovernmental agencies based on their affiliations and power levied before they started their NGO. Many of the NGO’s are stacked with executives and Board Members who were formerly government or CIA or FBI or NSA or…. Their funding comes from the government, but their employment status is deferred to ‘nongovernmental’.
The reasoning? Because our government is incapable of actually governing, we need real nongovernmental agencies to govern and everyone gets PAID! See how FUN it is?
According to the Department of State, these organizations need to be tax free, because it makes it easier for them to operate…
Some of the more prominent NGO’s that we pay for include: 1) National Endowment for Democracy. Their job is coups. 2) Center for Strategic & International Studies. Their job is to conduct policy studies and strategic analyses of political, economic and security issues throughout the world. In the vein of ‘transparency’ – the last time they reported their finances was in 2014. 3) There is The Cato Institute, The Carnegie Endowment, The Brookings Institute, Atlantic Council, Economic Policy Institute! Etc…Etc…Etc…!
Our actual Government is a farcical Propaganda Headlamp. They are bought in order to funnel more money to NGO’s which are running our country – into the GROUND! While taxpayers funnel the money – and they pay no taxes… Brilliant!
Except, there is no longer enough money to go around – so Congress passes more and more pork to be refunneled to the money grubbers while demanding raises for the privilege.
IF we were to pass a flat tax – individuals 10% – ALL Charities, Corporations, and Foundations – 20% , the net effect would be that the NGO’s would slowly fade into obscurity. In a previous blog I discussed the hugely negative impacts a Federal Sales Tax would have on the economy…
We are still left with Government Agency gluttony.
The first slices would be from the sub-agencies. A hiring freeze for the next decade or two. Elimination of ‘most’ committees. And a spending freeze on any agency that is NOT part and parcel of the current Federal Government. Including the CIA, among others. We currently have 17 organizations tasked with ‘security’.
FYI: I am reminded of a man I knew who was taking 22 different meds daily. When I looked up the meds, 3 were for blood pressure. I asked why 3? His response was indicative of our Federal Government: ‘the doctor determined that the first 2 he prescribed were not working so he prescribed a third.’ Then why not drop the other 2 that were not working? ‘Because the doctor said they might do something…’
17 Agencies ALL tasked with the exact same thing – all funded separately, all employing fools and idiots.
IF we abolished these agencies we would also no longer ‘require’ the false existence of The Federal Reserve – whose sole purpose is to prevent inflation, prevent a weakened dollar, prevent bank failures, prevent stagflation, recessions, and depressions. NONE of which they have EVER ACCOMPLISHED!