Reply #14: The gold standard...

[orwell]

...has long since passed it's usefulness. We are no longer in the middle ages.

Fiat money works quite well in a floating exchange rate environment.

Inflation is not caused by money creation. There have been times of great money creation and falling prices. Explain the lost decade in Japan if inflation is directly tied to money creation.

Explain pushing on a string.

Inflation is tied more to the madness of crowds than anything else.

Money is just an abstraction layer. Concentrate on capital asset and production efficiency. Concentrate on quality of life issues. Concentrate on the effect of economic growth on environmental degradation. This is a much better method of judging economic performance (hedonics).

Looking at inflation is like judging a game by the number of points scored. It effectively tells you nothing. And this is written by a long time (20 plus years) inflation hawk who finally realized how useless such a distraction is.

And before you bemoan the fate of the poor, I am considered a member of the working poor. And I live quite well thank you...