On August 15, 1971 the Nixon administration closed the gold window, removing the last restraint on government inflation of the paper money stock.  Currency plus checking-type accounts in the hands of the public (M1) increased from $226.5 billion to $3.5 trillion since 1971, an annual inflation rate of 6.1%.  Yippee, we are all rich now, right?  Since the financial crisis of 2008-9, M1 ballooned from $1.4 trillion to $3.5 trillion, an annual 12% inflation.  Even mo better!

What about federal debt?  At $408 billion in 1971, it grew to $10,000 billion (= $10 trillion) by early 2009 and then doubled to $19.8 trillion by this year.  Blame Obama?  Be my guest, yet the average national debt increase has been 8.8% per year since 1971 and 9% per year since Obama took office in early '09.  Kind of average in other words.

What about the share of the national debt held by the public?  That increased from $305 billion in 1971 to $6.4 trillion in early '09 and then to $14.4 trillion this year.  That's an annual growth of 8.7% per year since 1971 and 10.7% since '09.