Dear Readers,
Benjamin Franklin, one of the “Founding Fathers” of the United States of America, is famous for (among other things) the following well-known and oft-repeated quote:
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
While I tend to agree with him on both counts, for as long as our world allows fiat currencies, I’d say that a third certainty, inflation, has to be added to the list.
Government Funding: A Two-Pronged Approach
When people think about government funding, they tend to think first and foremost about taxes. After all, there are taxes for everything. We’re taxed when:
We work
We buy or sell goods and services
We give gifts
We own property
We own equity
We die
In this day and age, there are few parts of life for which we’re not directly taxed. That thought alone is a bit burdensome. But a lot of people are seemingly unaware of all the indirect taxation we suffer via supply inflation of the world’s fiat currencies.