Why Dirt Is Cheap

We've all heard the expression "dirt cheap." Dirt is cheap because there is just so much of it. Now, don't confuse dirt with premium top soil or potting soil. While those soils have dirt in them, you're generally paying a premium for the organic material that's mixed in with it. Dirt is actually worthless. A ton of regular dirt couldn't even buy you a cup of coffee.

In many ways, our dollars are being cheapened for the same reasons that dirt is so cheap. While our legislature, and the current and previous Administrations, busily throw money at this recession, we don't have any savings in the the U.S. Treasury to pay for it. As a country, we've been working off of IOU's, called Treasury Bonds, for decades. When we say we're going to spend another $900 billion or a trillion dollars in stimulus, we're actually saying that the U.S. Treasury will print more money to cover it; and then, to cover the increase in our money supply they will have to sell more bonds (more IOU's). As a consequence, our money becomes less valuable. Not quite as cheap as dirt, but definitely moving in that direction. If it keeps up, our currency could completely collapse, and then, it will literally be "dirt cheap."

When you expand the number of dollars in our economy, you reduce the purchasing power of each of those dollars. As a result, it will take more and more dollars to buy that cup of coffee. This is called inflation and that's what will seriously hit our economy; once the recession is over. Because of the massive amount of spending, it will probably be one of the worst inflationary periods that this country has ever seen. Right now, inflation has been kept in check by the faltering economy. Businesses aren't going to raise prices when so many are losing their jobs. Businesses are holding the line on their prices so that their sales don't completely fall through the floor. But, that condition won't last forever.

Inflation is a horrible economic disease. It destroys people on fixed incomes. The poor can hardly survive because food, clothing, energy costs and other household items will go through the roof. For some, even the cost of toilet paper could be too much to bear. This is what the Democrats are committing this country to with all the spending for unnecessary social programs that they call stimulus. Further, there won't be enough rich people and rich business in this country to pay enough taxes to cover all the human anguish that will result.

This is an extremely dangerous situation. When inflation is out of control, the government of any country is then in that situation where it becomes susceptible to overthrow; and not necessarily by force. It can quietly take place over time. To fight a rapidly inflating economy, a nation's government will increasingly have to install more social programs and continue to expand them in order to take care of its citizen's needs. It is a spiral. With each step in this process of socialization, more and more capitalism will have to die by either high taxation or by deemed-necessary nationalization of businesses. Eventually, any residual forms of capitalism will be totally unable to support the society's needs, and society will then see any form of capitalism as a failure. That's when all business operations in a country become nationalized entities and socialism has completely taken control.

You've got to wonder if that isn't what the intent is here. For the last two decades, social reformers like George Soros have increasingly been involved with our politics by backing the far left elements of the Democratic party. Barack Obama also, has a history of surrounding himself with anti-Americans and suspected socialists like Reverend Wright and William Ayers. With the stroke of his pen over the last 10 days, our new President has installed one far left program after another. Our Congress is poised to take out the secret balloting system in unionizing against any company. There is talk of stifling conservative talk radio by re-implementing the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Probably, as a means of cutting off any criticism. Barack Obama just went out of his way to criticize a private citizen, Rush Limbaugh. When is the last time any President has ever singled out a private citizen for their opinions? That was extraordinary. Then, under the guise of this ugly recession, the Democrats are pushing a near-trillion dollars of what is, primarily, a bunch of social programs. You just can't help wondering what's going on. Are we seeing the end of America as we know it? I hope I'm wrong. But, I'm not sure. And, that's just my opinion.