250 Years: Price Stability Lost to Slow Inflation

click here: Leave a text, tell us what you likedThe RetireCoast article, "The 250-Year Price Shock," argues that America's high modern cost of living is the result of a financial history moving from centuries of price stability to permanent, managed inflation. Using reconstructed family ledgers and wage data from colonial times, the piece demonstrates that purchasing power remained virtually unchanged for over 150 years (1720–1913), only temporarily interrupted by the severe effects of the Revolutionary War's fiat currency collapse. This long-standing stability was fundamentally broken by a series of 20th-century government actions, culminating in President Nixon’s 1971 decision to fully abandon the gold standard, which led to persistent, unbacked price increases. The author fiercely critiques the Federal Reserve's current 2% inflation target, claiming this policy is mathematically guaranteed to erode purchasing power significantly over the long term. Projections based on this compounding rate suggest that if the current trend continues, a skilled tradesman's daily wage by 2100 will buy exactly the same minimal amount of goods as it did during the absolute worst period of hyperinflation in 1779.Support the show🎙️ Enjoyed This Episode?Subscribe to the RetireCoast Podcast for practical conversations about retirement planning, financial preparedness, estate planning, entrepreneurship, and life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.👉 Visit RetireCoast.com for in-depth articles, calculators, decision tools, checklists, and guides that expand on the topics we cover in each episode.📋 Looking for more advanced planning resources?Explore our membership programs:• Estate Planning Membership — Build and organize your legacy with decision tools, trust planning resources, trustee selection guidance, emergency preparedness documents, and more.• Business Builder Membership — Access tools and resources designed to help entrepreneurs, retirees, side-hustlers, and small business owners start, manage, and grow a successful business.• All Access Membership — Receive complete access to both memberships and our entire premium planning library.Learn more at:https://retirecoast.com/estate-planning-membership/https://retirecoast.com/business-builder-membership/https://retirecoast.com/all-access-membership/💬 Have a question or a topic you'd like us to cover?Email: [email protected]...