Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations

A passage from Jens O. Parsson’s book, “Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations,” to keep in mind as the Fed starts printing dollars by the trillion again.

“Everyone loves an early inflation. The effects at the beginning of inflation are all good.  There is steepened money expansion, rising government spending, increased government budget deficits, booming stock markets, and spectacular general prosperity, all in the midst of temporarily stable prices.

Everyone benefits, and no one pays. That is the early part of the cycle. In the later inflation, on the other hand, the effects are all bad.

The government may steadily increase the money inflation in order to stave off the latter effects, but the latter effects patiently wait. In the terminal inflation, there is faltering prosperity, tightness of money, falling stock markets, rising taxes, still larger government deficits, and still roaring money expansion, now accompanied by soaring prices and ineffectiveness of all traditional remedies. Everyone pays and no one benefits.

That is the full cycle of every inflation.”

- Jens O. Parsson