Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

January 24, 2008

Economist Bill Bonner notes that ?The long-term value of all paper currencies is zero.? This is because paper money not backed by gold or silver has no innate value. As such currencies inflate, they move rapidly toward their actual value, which is -- nothing

The Communist-ruled nation of Zimbabwe offers both an object lesson and a possible glimpse of our own future. That long-suffering country currently endures an inflation rate plausibly estimated to be 250,000 percent. A hamburger costs about 15 million Zimbabwean dollars, reflecting the ever-increasing prices of such staples as bread and meat.

Last month, the government issued a 750,000 dollar bill, which this month is worth about a quarter. So the government has now created a $10 million bill, which is about two-thirds the price of the local equivalent of a Big Mac.

Our own government is the world's biggest debtor and most profligate spender. So Zimbabwe might offer a foretaste of what's in store for us.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.