Got Inflation?
Posted February 19, 2021
Graham Summers
Over the past few weeks, we’ve outlined some truly extraordinary facts pertaining to just how much money the Fed has “printed.”
As a brief recap:
- If you add up all of the money the U.S. has ever printed… over 40% of it was printed in 2020 alone.
- In three months in 2020, the U.S. increased its deficit by more than it had during the past five recessions combined (’73, ’75, ’82, early ‘90s and Great Financial Crisis of 2008).
- Under Jerome Powell, the Fed bought more Treasuries in SIX WEEKS than it did in 10 years under Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen.
All of this money printing has ignited an inflationary storm. The Fed refuses to acknowledge this, but the reality is staring us all in the face:
- Agricultural commodities are up 40% since August.
- The Commodity Research Bureau (CRB) index is up a whopping 75% since April.
- Lumber prices have just crossed $1,000 per 1,000 board feet for the first time in history (that’s double the price three months ago).
Put simply, inflation is ripping through the financial system.
And the craziest thing? The Fed just printed another $100 BILLION this week alone…
That’s not a typo. On February 20, the Fed balance sheet was $7.442 trillion. This week, it’s $7.557 trillion. The Fed balance sheet is not only at a new all-time high, but it’s now the size of the economies of Japan and the United Kingdom, COMBINED.
This is absolute madness. The media has claimed over and over that the COVID-19 pandemic is now under control and things will start returning to normal, but the Fed’s still printing over $120 billion in money per month.
At this pace, the Fed will print $1.4 TRILLION this year alone. Not billion, TRILLION — with a T.
And they show no signs of stopping.
Best Regards,
Graham Summers
Editor, Money & Crisis