In a long and illuminating post, “Buttonwood” of the Economist offers this provocative angle on the debt crisis: “how about thinking of the last 40 years as one long bubble, in which fiat money has led to asset price inflation. Before you dismiss the idea, think about this; with gold at $1250 an ounce, the dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing powe in terms of what used to be though of as ‘real money’ since 1971. The Romans took 200 years to achieve the same effect, cutting the amount of silver in their copins by 96%. Progress!”
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