Technological innovation should naturally cause deflation (falling prices). The Fed's 2% inflation target requires printing enough money to first counteract all technological deflation and then add 2% on top, making the true inflationary effect much larger than officially stated.

Unlike most technologies that become cheaper over time, developing a new jet engine has grown more expensive, even on an inflation-adjusted basis, with new programs costing over $10 billion. This is because engines constantly push the frontiers of material science and engineering, keeping R&D costs and barriers to entry extraordinarily high.

Instead of officially defaulting on unpayable promises like Social Security, governments opt for massive inflation. This devalues the currency so severely that while citizens receive their checks, the money's purchasing power is destroyed, rendering the benefits worthless without an explicit, unpopular cut.

Despite official CPI averaging under 2% from 2010-2020, the actual cost of major assets like homes and stocks exploded. This disconnect shows that government inflation data fails to reflect the reality of eroding purchasing power, which is a key driver of public frustration.

Policymakers can maintain market stability as long as inflation volatility remains low, even if the absolute level is above target. A spike in CPI volatility is the true signal that breaks the system, forces a policy response, and makes long-term macro views suddenly relevant.

The word "inflation" is a deliberately implanted euphemism that makes monetary debasement sound like positive growth. The reality is that money is depreciating and its purchasing power is being stolen. Reframing it as "monetary depreciation" reveals the true, negative nature of the process and shifts public perception from a necessary evil to outright theft.

The original definition of inflation is an expansion of the money supply. By shifting the definition to mean rising prices (a consequence), governments can deflect blame for inflation onto businesses, unions, or foreign events, rather than their own money-printing policies.

The U.S. military's power is no longer backed by a robust domestic industrial base. Decades of offshoring have made it dependent on rivals like China for critical minerals and manufacturing. This means the country can no longer sustain a prolonged conflict, a reality its defense planners ignore.

Simulations of a conflict with China consistently show the US depleting its high-end munitions in about seven days. The industrial base then requires two to three years to replenish these stockpiles, revealing a massive gap between military strategy and production capacity that undermines deterrence.