*This article was originally published almost a year ago. With the impending midterm elections, I thought it would be important to have another look at the problem inflation creates for all of us. I believe it’s critical for us to understand the actual causes of inflation before we proceed with our vote.
So, here we go again! The world is in crisis, so it’s time for a little inflation to make our situation even more challenging. Let’s begin with a simple, easy to understand definition of what inflation is. Inflation is the rising cost of products and services put forth by those who create those products and services. That’s pretty easy for the majority of us to grasp, as we can feel it in our pocketbooks. Now, the reasons behind the need to increase these costs may not be so easily understood. The reality, unfortunately, is that the explanation given by those individuals “in the know” is not the truth. The justification for these companies to inflate the cost of things is attributed to anything from Covid-19, supply and demand, shipping problems, or even the volatility of the stock market. Most of this reasoning is a disguise for what is actually going on. The simple reality is that companies are charging more because they can. They tell us that they have to do this, and once again, give us all their various explanations to support these questionable decisions. If the truth be known, they do not have to raise the cost of anything, especially right now. It’s a choice. Nothing has really changed in terms of having enough to go around, for there is plenty for everyone. Sure, there may be some problems on the production end due to Covid-19, etc., but these conditions are temporary. What is really going on is what has always been going on. Unfortunately, the wealthy and powerful are taking advantage of our crisis to acquire even more for themselves. The selfishness and greed of some still has full control over our lives. I think we can all understand then what inflation really is, that’s not the issue. The issue is one of what we can do about it and whether we have the willingness to do something about it. Let’s take a look.
The Market
It is my understanding that the stock market is a tool for the wealthy and the corporate sector to produce, maintain, and protect money and resources only for themselves. From this platform comes all the language, numbers, algorithms, and whatever else to explain what the business world is. What they present to us is not even well understood by them, so I wouldn’t pay much attention. The reality is that the majority of us will probably never have any experience in this area, for it takes money to make money. Perhaps we could view the stock market as a board game for those that control the world’s wealth in order for them to remain relevant and interested in life. They have already acquired almost everything, and the power that comes along with it, so what else is there to do? A sad situation indeed. If humanity is to survive, and if we are to improve the conditions of our world, these people are going to have to spread out the availability of resources quite a bit more and stop charging such unreasonable prices to those of us who cannot afford it.
The Government
How do we initiate the necessary changes? Well, in a democracy, we are the government. We elect our members of Congress to represent us and represent our needs. Unfortunately, to become a member of Congress takes a lot of money. We all know who has the money, the wealthy and the corporate world. In order for our political leaders to be in a position of power to help us and make these changes, they have to support what these people want first. How ironic. We can see how even the Democratic Party is apprehensive in their attempts to increase taxation because of these conditions. Most of the legislation coming out of Congress, therefore, is geared toward the people who are already successful. The Republican Party fully supports lower taxes and less regulation for these individuals and corporations. The prices for goods and services can be as obscene as they currently are because it is totally legal and, unfortunately, acceptable. So, here we are once again. The reality of the “American Dream” is only for a few. Honestly, the majority of us have been manipulated into believing that we too must be selfish, greedy, and take whatever we need to be successful or even survive at all.
The Solution
The only way we’re going to see any change in government is to remove money from politics altogether. This includes how our representatives get elected and who elects them. The reality is that the only people who can make any significant “campaign contributions” are the wealthy and corporations. These people send their lobbyists to Congress to represent their interests. Almost all legislation is created under these conditions. Yes, we are the government, and we need to elect those that have our best interests in mind. We intend to make things much fairer by creating equal access to money and resources. There are those, of course, doing their very best to eliminate this possibility. I, fortunately, believe that equality and equability is not only a possibility but an inevitability. It’s certainly true we find ourselves in a troublesome situation. We need to stay with it and stay involved. Don’t be blindsided by the miasma of deception intended with inflation. This is especially true in our tendency to choose a different direction with our vote to solve the problem. It’s in our best interest to be patient and support those politicians who have our best interests at heart.
Thanks everyone for tuning in. Don’t be discouraged by what is happening. More importantly, don’t be distracted by the selfish, greedy, and immoral among us, for their actions will be to their demise, eventually. Let them have their experience. From that all important higher perspective, there is no “ultimate” demise for anyone, ever. There is only an opportunity to see the other side of things at some point. In this way, we’re all accountable for what we create. As I have said many times, we will get there! Let’s remain always focused.
All my love and support, stay safe and be well