08/06/2026
Why do prices keep going up?
Because that's the symptom—not the disease.
The real question is: Why does the dollar buy less than it used to?
Governments generally have three ways to pay for what they spend:
1. Tax it. Take money directly from citizens and businesses.
2. Borrow it. Issue debt and push much of today's cost into the future.
3. Create more money. Expand the money supply, reducing the purchasing power of existing dollars over time if it grows faster than the economy's production of goods and services.
Each method has limits.
Raise taxes too high and you discourage productivity, investment, and growth.
Borrow too much and interest payments consume more of the budget while lenders become less willing to finance additional debt.
Create too much money and eventually more dollars begin competing for roughly the same amount of goods and services. The result? Your paycheck buys less, your savings lose purchasing power, and the cost of living rises.
Inflation is often called a "hidden tax" because it doesn't arrive as a bill in the mail. It quietly reduces the value of the money you've already earned.
The deeper issue isn't simply that prices rise. It's that we often debate the symptoms while ignoring the incentives that produced them.
If we want lasting prosperity, we have to ask better questions:
- How should government finance its obligations?
- What are the long-term consequences of taxes, borrowing, and monetary expansion?
- Who ultimately pays those costs?
- What incentives are we creating for future generations?
A healthy economy isn't built by creating more money. It's built by creating more value.
Until we start focusing on sound money, fiscal responsibility, productive enterprise, and economic freedom, we'll continue treating the fever while ignoring the infection.
