Why are you surprised that the costs of goods like foods, gasoline, and services are going up?

No matter what happens in the world, your government sets an inflation target, and that inflation target is 3 percent and has been 3 percent for at least 20 years. In other words, no matter what happens anywhere in the world, in oil prices, in the use of crops for fuel alcohol instead of food—the price of everything in the United States will increase by an average of 3 percent per year. That’s about 10 percent in 3 years, 30 percent in 10 years, and almost 100 percent in 30 years. Think about it; if you want to calculate the price of anything in the 1970s just divide current prices by 2, you’ll be close. If you want to get even closer, just take the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) calculation of inflation since the 1970s. The reason prices will keep going up forever is the government programs and controls inflation.

The government is able to influence inflation by manipulating the value of money. Under a value standard, like gold (the gold standard), money has a real and fixed value.A government cannot affect the value of money without the notice of the people. Money under a standard has a real value. Without any standard, the value of money, the dollar, floats along based on the interest rates set by the Federal Reserve and the perception of other governments as influenced by the US Treasury. The government manipulates the value of money to promote inflation because it benefits the government—not the people.

The government pays its bills with preinflation dollars while the rest of us pay our bills with inflated dollars. The whole point of inflation for the government is to cheat you out of the value of your money—and prices keep going up. Prices will go up and up and up until the government stops controlling the value of your money and instead of setting inflation targets sets the value of the dollar to a fixed value.

Until then, your dollars will be worth less and less and less—I hope your and my salary goes up at about the same rate.

Lionel D. Alford, Jr. is an independent design engineer, program manager, and experimental test pilot currently working with and consulting for Defense Research Associates, EG&G, AirLaunch Systems, the University of Dayton Technical Institute and the University of Dayton. Alford is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, and an experimental test pilot with over 6000 hours in more than 60 different kinds of aircraft.

He is an active member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Daedalians, the Airlift/Tanker Association, and the Air Force Association.

During his Air Force career, Alford served in four operational Air Force combat squadrons and led missions in North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Central America.

He lived in Germany as a Forward Air Controller flying the OV-10A Bronco and supported the 1/16, 1st Infantry Division US Army. As a C-21A (Lear 35) Instructor Pilot, he was the pilot for the CINCSAC (Commander in Chief Strategic Air Command). He led the Training Division of the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing during Desert Storm/Shield and trained tactical airlift pilots to fly the C-130 in critical airlift and special operations missions in Europe, Central America, and South West Asia. Based on his flight experience and his M.S. Engineering degree, Alford was selected to attend the USAF Test Pilot School.

After graduation, he was the chief test pilot for many critical aircraft programs. He made the first flight and was the program manager for an extensively modified Air Force Sabreliner. While stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, he managed and was the senior evaluator for the Air Force T-39 fleet and ran the Air Force Testing Commercial Aircraft for Military Applications (TCAMA) office. He was a test pilot for the newest Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) aircraft and the Chief of the T&E Division overseeing test for all nine AFSOC aircraft types and all AF rotary-wing and tilt-wing aircraft. Lieutenant Colonel Alford worked in Headquarters Air Force Material Command as the Chief Test and Evaluation Policy Manager for Air Force developmental test. He was the Chief of System Safety Engineering for the Mobility Systems System Program Office at the Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

He is a prolific writer and a dynamic speaker who has published and presented over 40 papers and articles in international forums and journals. He is the author of three historical fiction novels, Centurion 2008, Aegypt 2008, and The Second Mission published in 2003. Alford was selected three times by the AF to compete at NASA for the position of pilot astronaut. Alford is married to the former Tammy Nix. They have four children: Tanna, Christin, Erin, and Devon.

Websites
http://www.LionelAlford.com
http://www.LDAlford.com