Central bankers and politicians love inflation, but they need “bag holders” to have faith in the value of the fiat currency IOUs they hold. The trick is to avoid suddenly destroying the ephemeral confidence in currencies by printing too much too fast.

Central bankers may also need to limit the options inflation wary citizens have for escaping.

They are both shifty and innovative when it comes to making sure the ill effects of perpetually devaluing currency are primarily borne by the citizenry.

Lying and trying to hide what they are doing to the currency has been tradition with politicians since Roman times. Nero began quietly reducing the silver content of the Denarius around 60 A.D.

Today central bankers and governments don’t have to bother with altering physical coins. Every currency can be quietly devalued electronica ... Read more »