Brace Yourself!

The Inflation Outlook

“Invest in inflation,” advised Will Rogers.  “It’s the only thing that’s going up!”

That advice has never been better.  One of the great scandals of American monetary policy is the extremes the authorities have gone to in an effort to conceal the speed with which the money is losing value.  

When the index they use shows prices rising too fast, they are quick to reconfigure it.  If skyrocketing food and energy prices make the political classes look bad, their servitors come up with “core” inflation that excludes food and energy.

If you would like to investigate this class of flimflammery for yourself, look to the component of the Consumer Price Indices called “owners’ equivalent rent.”  It accounts for 24 percent of the CPI, but it is quite a sleight of hand, one that helps conceal the real cost of living.

Even so, CPI numbers are rising at an alarming rate.  In May, consumer prices rose 0.6 percent.  Now the June report is out showing prices for the month having risen 0.9 percent.  That is the biggest one-month jump since 2008.  June’s numbers annualized would yield double-digit inflation.

Other June numbers:

The food index rose 0.8 percent.

The energy index rose 1.5 percent.

The used car and truck index climbed 1o.5 percent.

Meanwhile, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists, Americans need to “brace themselves” for several years of higher inflation rates than they have experienced in decades.  

But what does that mean, brace themselves?  It is a phrase that people use often.  Merriam-Webster says it is “said to warn someone to be prepared for something.”  So, to brace yourself means to prepare for some additional stress or difficulty.  

But it not just mentally anticipating something, gritting your teeth in advance.  A brace is something that provides added support or strengthens a position or structure.

How do people brace themselves for years of renewed inflation thanks to years of rapid money printing?  More than just resigning themselves to a falling standard of living, how do people prepare for their money losing value?  

We are glad you asked because that is what we do.  We help people prepare.  We are specialists in real money, gold, and silver. 

You can close your eyes and think, “Oh, no! Another monetary crisis!  Here it comes.”  But that does no real good.  

Instead, you can really brace yourself and strengthen your portfolio, your wealth, and your retirement by diversifying into the world’s most prized and enduring form of money.