Inflation as Income Distribution

The Federal Reserve has been pumping hundreds of billions of newly created dollars into “the economy.” Much of that money has been sent to Wall Street to bailout large, struggling firms. But that’s just the beginning. President-elect Obama says that since he needs to “stimulate the economy” we can look forward to trillion-dollar budget deficits for years to come. Even before the financial turmoil began, the deficit had approached $500 billion. (Not to worry, though–Obama says deficit spending will impose “fiscal discipline” in the future.) Of course, when the federal government spends more than it taxes, it has to get the extra money somewhere. Therein lies the treachery.

The rest of this week's TGIF, "Inflation as Income Distribution," is at the Foundation for Economic Education website.