Jim,
Thanks for the awesome blog. I consider it essential reading every day, especially now considering the terrible situation we find ourselves in. You keep speaking of mass inflation yet we see oil and other commodities falling in price along with, sadly, our home values. In a recent post you also mentioned being able to buy classic cars at rock bottom prices, closely followed by hyperinflation. Can you explain for all of us how this can come to pass and some of the warning signs? Thanks, – DZ in Louisiana.
JWR Replies: To clarify, I mentioned buying older, fuel-inefficient vehicles at the depth of the upcoming recession in then-current dollars. The bottom of the market for vehicles may come before or just after mass inflation begins. Once inflation is in full swing there will surely be a mad rush to convert cash into anything tangible that will be a store of value–regardless of what happens to the currency.
The economic problems that America faces are structural and systemic. They built up because of fractional reserve banking and the consequent growth of mountains of debt, both public and private. Read my background piece: Are Simultaneous Inflation and Deflation Possible?, and this piece on Derivatives. And if you have the time, skim through through my archived economics articles, starting in 2006.
As for the “warning signs” to watch for, you might have missed my reply to a letter in SurvivalBlog post on September 25th: Letter Re: What Are the Economic Collapse Indicators to Watch For?