Economic Freedom as measured by the The Heritage Foundation has been dropping in the United States from its high of 81.2 in 2007 to its low of 72.1 in 2022. This was largely the result of one component of this score, fiscal health, which dropped to zero.

On Tuesday, March 8, 2022, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show with Rob Schilling to talk about “How The United States Ruined Its Own Fiscal Health.”

Here is an outline of the discussion:

[0:00] Drop in the 2022 United State’s Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom score.

[3:12] What causes inflation?

[5:46] Given inflation, should we hold cash?

[6:44] Does the CPI index accurately report inflation?

[9:23] Should we put our money in gold?

[11:45] Washington Post supposed experts’ suggestions to fight inflation.

You can listen to the audio here:

Related Links & Notes

• The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom.
• The Heritage Foundation’s score for the United States
• Article: High Inflation, Low Fiscal Health, and What Comes Next for the U.S.
• Washington Post’s “What should the White House do to compact inflation? Experts weighed in with 12 ideas. “
• Article: Do We Need Price Controls to Stop Exorbitant Hospital Fees?
• Article: The Real and Present Danger of Inflation, Even for Babies
• Article: Greenspan, Friedman, Keynes and Lenin All Agree on Inflation
• Since 1997, the government has manipulated the raw data and significantly underreported inflation. Now, they use a “hedonic deprecator.” If the quality of a commodity increases more than its price, the quality increase is counted as deflation. And because consumers use “creative substitution,” switching from an expensive good to a similar but cheaper good, the government argues that only a portion of price increases should be counted as inflation.
• Article: Inflation Part 1: How the Government Lies About Inflation
• Article: The Optimum Asset Allocation to Gold Is Always Zero
• Article: Your Portfolio Needs Rebalancing
• Milton Friedman said, “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output. ” You can listen to his explanation in this clip from the “Free to Choose” network.
• Biden said “When did Milton Friedman die and become king? ” This is a mistake on the idiom “Who died and made you king?” If Milton Friedman had died, which he did in 2006, he would be his own heir.
• Biden said “Milton Friedman isn’t running the show anymore. ” This is also wrong. Milton Friedman has not had a chance to run the show. Politicians have been running the show, and none so much as Biden who was first elected in 1973.

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