Week 14 – Question of the Week: Hyperinflation – is it coming to America?

Week 14: 2011-06-16

Hyperinflation – is it coming to America?

Today I’m asking your opinion on hyperinflation.

Should I buy a wheelbarrow to tote useless dollars?

How will health care be effected in the short-term?

Is Glenn Beck crazy or is hyperinflation around the corner?

Readers of this blog are clearly more concerned about the future of this country than those who haven’t even thought about prepping.

Please share your thoughts with me and our thousands of readers.

– Doc Cindy

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About Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

CYNTHIA J KOELKER , MD is a board-certified family physician with over twenty years of clinical experience. A member of American Mensa, Dr. Koelker holds degrees in biology, humanities, medicine, and music from M.I.T., Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the University of Akron. She served in the National Health Service Corps to finance her medical education.
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4 Responses to Week 14 – Question of the Week: Hyperinflation – is it coming to America?

  1. Rich F says:

    I don’t think it’s a matter of “is it coming.” I think that it’s already here, it’s just a matter of perspective. From one perspective, our frog friends are telling us that we should be grateful that the “spa” is hot and luxurious. From the cook’s perspective… another 10 minutes and we’ll be dinner. A 2011 dollar is worth less than a 1960’s dime, and after just paying 6 bucks for a pound of bacon at walmart, I tend to agree about the worthlessness of our money. We as a first-world population do not see the benefit of learning the history of our own years on the planet, much less those of previous generations.

  2. KF says:

    US GDP is not increasing. QEing is still being doled out. Social welfare programs are not being scaled back. State and Federal Government budgets are not being slashed enough to signal a sincerity to curb spending. Consumer credit spending is increasing again. Jobs are decreasing. Small business is the next IRS target of taxation. We are not increasing our gas and oil output by drilling new wells.

    The value of the US Dollar is in decline. Banks are continuing to be closed.

    Our bond ratings will be lowered and the Euro will also suffer and follow shortly afterward.

    I do not foresee this present administration increasing or even encouraging US manufacturing en mass ever again here stateside, because of our inability to compete here for profits due to labor union wages.

    Food prices and commodities are increasing. Gas reserves have been tapped.

    Is there any other option given the depressed economy, except for inflation to escalate?

    Get ready for lending to freeze, taxes to rise, and to see interest rates skyrocket.

  3. Henry H says:

    The simple answer, yes. I think we have only seen the “tip of the iceberg” that has been caused by the FED. I believe there are still “TRILLIONS” still out there that are yet to be accounted for in the economy.

  4. Pete says:

    Respected British economic historian, Dr. Niall Ferguson, has spoken and written widely on the debt crisis in which the U.S. finds itself. Historically, nations that spend far beyond their means, as ours has, deal with the problem in one of three basic ways. They default on their debt, thereby taking their lumps, and start over again, this time living within their means. Second, a nation can grow its way out of debt. This is the most attractive option, but given the tremendous magnitude of our national debt, probably not a realistic choice. Sustained economic growth would be advantageous, but insufficient to fix the problem… or so say many authorities. Third, a nation can monetize the debt via inflation, i.e., start the printing presses and keep ’em running until the economy overheats and blows up.

    “Quantitative Easing” is a euphemism for inflation, which is in turn a polite word for theft or at the very least, a hidden tax. Sooner or later, inflating the money supply to such an extent must have deleterious consequences, if not hyper-inflation, then perhaps “stagflation” – inflation plus a stagnant economy (as has happened in Japan). Some authorities, primary economists from the Keynesian school, have argued that the money supply is too limited (!) and should be expanded even further; their fear is deflation.

    Depending on what episode of history you reference, you can build a case that the current crisis is one or the other of the above scenarios. The markets don’t lie, and gold and silver, as well as other commodities and tangibles, are being snapped up left and right. Ferguson does not delve into one other possible scenario, but a look at what followed the previous Great Depression – World War II – shows it. Historically, wars often follow economic crises, and in their aftermath, international markets reattain equilibrium one way or another. Will that be the case in the near future? That’s the question, isn’t it? There are many possible scenarios that can be gamed out. If the USA defaults on its debt to China, will Beijing use that as a casus belli? It is certainly possible.

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