Rand Paul: “All government spending represents a tax. The inflation tax, while largely ignored, hurts middle-class and low-income…”

“All government spending represents a tax. The inflation tax, while largely ignored, hurts middle-class and low-income Americans the most. The never-ending political squabbling in Congress over taxing the rich, helping the poor, PAYGO, deficits, and special interests ignores the most insidious of all taxes, the inflation tax. Simply put, printing money to pay for Federal spending dilutes the value of the dollar, which causes higher prices for goods and services. Inflation may be an indirect tax, but it is a very real tax, and the individuals who suffer most from the cost-of-living increases certainly pay a tax. Unfortunately, no one in Washington, especially those who defend the poor and the middle class, cares about this subject. Instead, all we hear is that tax cuts for the rich are the source of every economic ill in the country. Anyone truly concerned about the middle class suffering from falling real wages, underemployment, a rising cost of living and a decreasing standard of living should pay a lot more attention to monetary policy. Federal spending, deficits and Federal Reserve mischief hurts the poor while transferring wealth to the already rich. This is a real problem, and raising taxes on those who produce wealth only make conditions worse. This neglect of monetary policy may be out of ignorance, but it may well be deliberate.”