“Government,” observed the great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, “is the only institution that can take a valuable commodity like paper and make it worthless by applying ink.”
Mises was describing the curse of inflation, the process whereby government expands a nation’s money supply and thereby erodes the value of each monetary unit—dollar, peso, pound, franc, or whatever. It shows up in various ways, most visibly in the form of rising prices, which a lot of people confuse as the inflation itself. The distinction is important because, as economist Percy Greaves once explained so eloquently, “Changing the definition changes the responsibility.”
Define inflation as rising prices and you’ll think that oil sheiks or private businesses are the culprits, and price

(Note: This article is dedicated to the memory of Carl Watner, who died on December 8, 2020 at the age of 72. A long-time defender of individual liberty and free markets, his 1976 article in Reason magazine, “California Gold, 1849-65,” helped renew awareness and appreciation for private money in American history).
Put the federal government in charge of the supply of money, let it outlaw private competition and bestow a “legal tender” privilege on its own paper and coin, and its wise officials will know exactly how much money the marketplace needs.
If you believe that rubbish, I have a bridge over the river Kwai I would like to sell you.
In just the 106 years of the Federal Reserve, America’s money supply has bounced wildly up and down (mostly up), prompting such