Henry Hazlitt - Inflation is taxation

Inflation is taxation

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They tell us that the government can spend and spend without taxing at all, that it can continue to pile up debt without ever paying it off, because "we owe it to ourselves". Such pleasant dreams in the past have always been shattered by national insolvency or a runaway inflation. All government expenditures must eventually be paid out of the proceeds of taxation and inflation itself is merely a form, and a particularly vicious form, of taxation.

Our take on this quote:

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Every bill comes due, one way or another. πŸ“‰βš οΈ

Henry Hazlitt’s quote delivers a stern warning about the dangers of unchecked government spending. He critiques the notion that governments can endlessly spend without direct taxation, suggesting that such beliefs are dangerously naive.

Hazlitt argues that, in reality, the costs of government spending always come back to the people, either through direct taxation or, more insidiously, through inflation. Inflation erodes the purchasing power of money, acting as a hidden and particularly harmful tax on everyone. His insight serves as a reminder that there are no free lunches in economics - eventually, all government expenditures must be paid for, and ignoring this reality leads to severe consequences like national insolvency or runaway inflation.

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