Inflation. High Prices. A Currency Crisis, Not a Supply Crunch
Posted By RichC on November 29, 2025
In the grand theater of economics, supply and demand are often cast as the star performers—shortages driving up prices, gluts pulling them down. But peel back the curtain, and you’ll find a quieter, more insidious culprit: the weakening U.S. dollar.
As the world’s reserve currency, the dollar’s value doesn’t just influence trade; it permeates every price tag American consumers see. A depreciating dollar inflates the cost of imports, commodities, and even domestic goods priced against global benchmarks, creating the illusion of scarcity-driven inflation. This isn’t abstract theory; it’s playing out in real time with gold’s relentless climb and gasoline’s stubborn refusal to drop despite record U.S. oil output. Policymakers and pundits fixate on supply chains and corporate greed, but the real story is monetary erosion—fueled by unchecked deficits, low interest rates, and geopolitical jitters—that’s eroding purchasing power faster than any cartel could dream.
Consider gold, the ultimate dollar barometer. Historically, its price in USD moves inversely with the greenback’s strength: when the dollar weakens, it takes more dollars to buy the same ounce of bullion. Gold isn’t just jewelry or a hedge; it’s a global store of value, and its surge reflects not mining disruptions or jewelry demand, but a flight from fiat fragility. As the dollar has shed value—down over 6% year-over-year against major currencies—the price of gold has skyrocketed nearly 57% in the same period. This isn’t supply and demand run amok; it’s the market screaming that the dollar buys less.
The same dynamic plagues the pump. The U.S. is pumping more crude than ever—a record 13.5 million barrels per day on average in 2025, up from 11.3 million in 2020—making America the world’s top producer and flooding global markets with supply. Yet, average gasoline prices hover around $3.08 per gallon as of mid-November 2025, down only modestly from pandemic peaks but still 30% above pre-2020 levels. Why? Oil is priced in dollars on global exchanges. A weaker dollar bids up crude costs for everyone, including U.S. refiners, who pass it on despite domestic abundance. OPEC’s games and refinery hiccups get the blame, but the root? A currency that’s lost its luster, inflating energy costs even as barrels overflow.
This isn’t isolated—it’s systemic. Broader inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), sits at 3% year-over-year through September 2025, a cooling from 2022’s double-digit frenzy but still double the Federal Reserve’s target. Economists tout “sticky” wages or housing shortages, but correlation with dollar weakness is stark: as the Dollar Index (DXY) dipped below 100—its lowest in years—CPI ticked up, gold soared, and gas refused to retreat. Import-heavy categories like electronics, apparel, and food bear the brunt, with foreign suppliers demanding more depreciated dollars to maintain their margins.
The implications are dire. If we misdiagnose the disease—treating symptoms like “greedflation” with price controls or antitrust saber-rattling—we risk deeper currency debasement. A weaker dollar erodes savings, hits exporters with retaliatory tariffs, and invites rivals like the euro or yuan to chip away at dollar dominance. The Fed can’t keep saving us and without fiscal discipline, we’re on a treadmill to nowhere.
It’s time to rewrite the script. Inflation isn’t a supply-side boogeyman; it’s the echo of a hollowed-out dollar. We need to stabilize the currency through balanced budgets, strategic tariffs on manipulators, and a pivot from endless money-printing. The buck stops with the buck itself.
Edit add: TheHustings add this to the right column for December 2nd. 
I hope others recognize what “we” are doing to the U.S. Dollar?
I want to do, shouldn’t prevent me from mentally being stimulated … or even continue to keep learning new things (albeit slower than when I was younger). 
