How We Protect the Fed From Its Own Consequences

While the Fed prints money endlessly, there is always the irresistible feeling that the effects of that printing are not felt in full. The money supply greatly increases and brings inflation in tow, yet life never gets as bad as we would expect it to. The fundamental shifting of money’s value should have an even stronger effect than it does. While inflation and economic stability from financial machinations have taken their toll, a few elements of our society have uniquely shielded Americans, and our government from facing the consequences of the Fed’s actions. The labor market has changed fundamentally in ways that benefit the irresponsibility and elitism of Keynesian-inspired thinkers by providing a buffer between poor monetary policy and its devastating effects. The destruction of the traditional home economy has increased demand for money by making far more people seek jobs within an economy that has not doubled its standard of living. Secondly, people have shifted towards white collar jobs that demand high salaries without adding as much underlying value as that salary would go in many other fields. The core of inflation’s societal protection net however, is the uniquely high amount of material greed that has been engendered by the school system, culture, and media.

The idea that real jobs are outside the home eventually led to a situation where people had no choice but to both work outside the home. Some of the households competing for homes now had access to twice as much income, and anyone who wanted to own a home was forced to either double their debt load or force a domestically working family member to start working a job outside the home. The work done inside the home is and was the core of societal well-being and separated the private from the commercial life more robustly. In many circumstances, money was a supplement to the industry that occurred in the home. However, the desire to earn more has led to much more demand for money without necessarily replacing the goods made when at home. A family that worked together within the home, while often not as productive as an industrial company, allowed an unheard of amount of flexibility and personalization of products. An increase of money in circulation was gladly gobbled up by this newly transitioned workforce. The government loves a few things more than letting it citizens suffer for its mistakes, and in this circumstance, the loss of domesticity in the American home greatly increased demand for money that could be spent today and dealt with by the government. 

Generations pushed into college by habit created a proliferation of semi meaningless white collar jobs. They serve as placeholders of status and providers of comfort contributing little meaningfully to the standard of life. The most wealthy in society can pay a premium for an army of organizers and safety seekers, but in paying for peace of mind, they are rerouting valuable potential. Rather than a life consumed by a singular career, many would benefit from a more diverse range of jobs and methods of adding value. At a certain point the benefit of earning more becomes outweighed by the benefit of an increased home economy. The very existence of a hoard of highly educated individuals looking for something to do has created a status quo that prizes position over potency. The demand for high salary and work within rigid professional boundaries allows employees and employers to be momentarily served by an increase in money supply. While real salaries may have gone down in many ways, inflation can let people feel as though they’re being rewarded more. 

Boundless greed, perpetuated in every facet of our culture has made an increase in money supply a reason for some to rejoice. Even though the real centers of human happiness are not more accessible than they were 20 years ago, there are innumerably more trinkets, ways to spend time and things to spend money on. Movies and music glorify wealth and denigrate traditional homes so it should be no surprise that “wealth” is more accessible and supply and demand for homes has plummeted. The desire to make more and consume is even explicitly described as a good thing by many thinkers who share the Fed’s idea of growth. They act as though an increase in wants will somehow grow the productivity of the economy. While production in the home will not show up numerically in the same way as a normal job, it still contributes as much if not more to flourishing and quality of life.