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People seem to think that inflation is inevitable and probably unexplainable. They think that the boom-bust cycle is caused by a lack of regulation – a myth propagated by the government’s own public school system. But the reality is that the Federal Reserve is the sole source of inflation and the resulting boom-bust cycle. The Fed was the culprit behind the Internet bubble, the housing-market bubble, and every other bubble dating back to its inception in 1913. Prior bubbles, manias, and panics were caused by Fed-like practices, not the free market.

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The free market is defined as the sum of all voluntary transactions. When the government intervenes and forces some transactions and forcibly prohibits others, this is artificial. Interest rates in the U.S. economy are controlled by the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve. The Fed is a quasi-government agency with powers bestowed by Congress. It is not part of the free market. Thus, its interest rates are “artificial.”

Through open market operations, the Fed manipulates interest rates. This redistributes wealth to borrowers from the rest of the population. “Borrowers” are, for the most part – in terms of total money borrowed – super wealthy. When the super wealthy take out multimillion-dollar loans, the Federal Reserve System creates the money out of thin air. This makes all existing money worth less, and thus, it is the redistribution of purchasing power: artificial interest rates redistribute wealth.

Socialism and redistribution go hand-in-hand, but normally, socialism implies redistribution from rich to poor. In this case, where the redistribution goes from poor to rich, it can be seen as reverse socialism.

Since purchasing power is redistributed, the effect is similar to direct taxation – but it is less commonly understood. Thus, it is a tax that’s stealth.

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More money (inflation) creates more problems – this isn’t what BIG, Puff, and Mase were talking ‘bout.

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Increasing the total supply of money in circulation does not create more wealth – if it did, then the solution to world poverty would be to simply print more money.

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The Federal Reserve System is the cause of all economic panics and depressions. It is the sole source of inflation in the economy, and inflation (the expansion of the money supply and resulting higher prices) inevitably leads to contraction and the resulting bust or crash.

When the Fed creates (“prints”) money, the new money is distributed to their “favorites” – the government and government contractors. This redistributes wealth from the working class to the political class.

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When efemjay was in his early twenties (1999-2003), he ran a prosperous business that imploded, in part due to the bursting of the Internet bubble. This line could also refer to anyone who was experiencing hard economic times in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. During the boom phase of the business cycle, money and credit is widely available, and this gives consumers and entrepreneurs “false signals” that they’re doing well. This prompts them to buy and invest when they should be saving.

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Stores in the mall typically close at 9pm. This version of the hook is in contrast to the “2 o'clock” (2am) bar-closing time cited in the other version of the hook.

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Keynesian economics promotes consumption over investment. Low interest rates disincentivize saving and investment and encourage high time preference.

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The global fiat-money financial system requires individuals and governments indebting themselves to central banks controlled by “private” bankers.

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The pressures of modern life are overwhelming, but mindless consumerism offers an escape.

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