It never stops
The money printer
Money isn’t fixed — more of it is created constantly. Watch the supply climb in real time, and what that quietly does to the cash in your account.
U.S. money supply (M2), right now
$23,052,300,000,000
That number climbs by about $40,763 every second — roughly $2,445,795 a minute.
Based on the latest M2 (as of May 2026) growing at its recent ~5.6%/yr pace. The printer doesn’t stop.
Now do your savings
The same force quietly drains what you hold in cash.
Lost in 1 year
$335
of purchasing power
Lost in 5 years
$1,565
of purchasing power
Lost in 10 years
$2,886
of purchasing power
You’ve already lost $0.00 of it while reading this — at the current ~3.5% inflation rate.
Why it matters
This is the gap between your raise and your rent.
When the supply of money grows faster than the things money buys, each dollar holds less. Owners of assets — houses, stocks, businesses — stay ahead. People holding cash and a paycheck fall behind. That gap is the whole story of 1971, and it’s still running today.
The Briefing