Instead the markets have barely noticed. It seems that the majority
opinion on Wall Street and Washington is that we have entered an era of
good fortune made possible by the benevolent hand of the Federal
Reserve. Ben Bernanke and now Janet Yellen have apparently removed all
the economic rough edges that would normally draw blood.
As a
result of this monetary "baby-proofing," a strong economy is no longer
considered necessary for rising stock and real estate prices.
But unfortunately, everything has a price, even free money. Our
current quest to push up asset prices at all costs will come back to
bite all Americans squarely in the pocket book. Death and taxes have
long been linked by a popular maxim. However, there also exists a
similar link between debt and taxes. The debt we are now
incurring in order to buttress current stock and real estate will
inevitably lead to higher taxes down the road. However, don’t
expect the taxes to arrive in their traditional garb. Instead, the
stealth tax of inflation will be used to drain Americans of their hard
earned purchasing power.