John T. Reed’s news blog
Why has the U.S. not yet had hyperinflation since the post 1980 debt run up has occurred?
Posted by John T. Reed on
One of my Facebook and hyperinflation book readers asked “just wondering how we have gone this far without disaster yet?” I have addressed that although not recently. I do not know. One theory I suggested was that the world was grading the USD on the curve and on the past. By on the curve, I mean that they see other major currencies as awful like the yen, pound, euro, and yuan. I agree. Those ARE awful. But they figure the USD has been the beacon of monetary stability since around 1915, so they give it extra credit for that..My recommended currencies—AUD,...
In case of hyperinflation, break glass
Posted by John T. Reed on
In case of hyperinflation, break glass: This is a list of dollar-denominated assets that you need to GET RID OF RIGHT NOW in case the USD tips over into hyperinflation. They are losing purchasing power by the second! . • cash—list all the locations where you have it • EE bonds • other US Treasury bonds • corporate bonds issued by US corporations • other USD denominated bonds • bank accounts • CDs • cash value life insurance • dollar denominated gift cards • IOUs • Pay pal accounts • prepaid phone cards . Okay, as you can see this...
Using index funds to hedge against inflation
Posted by John T. Reed on
Looking through our dollar-denominated assets, I found an envelope of EE savings bonds. I need to take them to my local bank and cash them in. I have not done that yet, but seems straight forward..Imagine having to get them out of the safe deposit box then go to a bank and wait for a teller to help then filling out forms while prices in the stores around the bank were going up by the minute..We are also moving a bunch of dollar-denominated accounts to Schwab were my initial inclination is to put them into the Schwab 1000 Index Fund...
Start worrying about the penalty for LATE withdrawal more than the penalty for early withdrawal
Posted by John T. Reed on
We have a certificate of deposit I would like to get rid of because it is dollar-denominated. There is a penalty for early withdrawal. People are extremely conscious of such penalties. Another is the one for withdrawing from an IRA or 401(k)..Let me inform you of the PENALTY FOR LATE WITHDRAWAL. If we get hyperinflation, your dollar-denominated certificate of deposit or dollar-denominated retirement account will become worthless or worth too little to matter. So the penalty for LATE withdrawal is 100%..The penalty for early withdrawal is guaranteed, as is the amount you get if you wait until maturity. But that relates...
Americans have lost their collective minds when it comes to federal spending
Posted by John T. Reed on
With a few exceptions like Mark Levin, Americans have collectively lost their minds regarding the cost of our current quarantine-the-320-million-healthy-and-not-at-risk-age-groups policy..The last figure I heard was that we are putting an extra $4T on the national debt this year..Does anyone realize that is a loan—borrowing? Who is supposed to pay it back? Everyone in America seems to think “Not me.” The implicit answer is our grandchildren and their children. How much are we raising the taxes on current old-enough-to-vote people to start paying down our debt? Zero. No politician would even think about making the current borrowers of these huge...