Fear, the hidden Inflation inducer

 

An inflation factor that no one seems to discuss. What is it? It’s self-inflicted pain, injected into society by fear, which hinders economic growth and prosperity!

 

Numerous gurus tell us how much prices have increased; some even hint at the causes. But none of them acknowledge what we, the people, did to ourselves.

 

In economics, inflation refers to the general increase in the prices of goods and services within an economy. This is typically measured using the consumer price index. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

That sounds plausible, but what does it mean? I can relate to it when my fuel pump purchases double in price, or a carton of eggs jumps from 39 cents to 4 dollars a dozen. Or not too long ago, when you bought a hamburger at McDonald’s, you received change back on a dollar, while today, you’re lucky to get change back on a twenty-dollar bill.

 

That’s the kind of inflation that I and most other average citizens can comprehend. However, beyond that, economists, bankers, corporate management, and many other so-called experts have bombarded us with explanations of what it is. The one that particularly intrigues me is this one.

 

We have a 38 trillion national debt on our invisible credit card, which we will burden our grandchildren with. They say we must do something about it, but what exactly? This provides excellent talking points for aspiring politicians: “Elect me, and I’ll fight for lowering your taxes.” But through my 8 decades on this planet, this same old rhetoric has lost its appeal. Because no matter what we do, prices keep going up.

 

That’s why I believe inflation is primarily caused by the accepted invisible fear factor. That little four-letter word, “fear,” is the most manipulated word for controlling people.

 

In its simplest form, fear divides people into two groups: those who voluntarily fear their creator, and those whose fear is instilled by evil forces to control mankind. Originally, fear was given to mankind by Good through Moses as a reminder to only serve one God, the almighty creator of heaven and earth.

 

Deuteronomy 6:13 states, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only, and take your oaths in his name.”

 

Deuteronomy 10:12 reiterates this message, saying, “And now Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD.”

 

Moses would periodically assemble his people to remind them to learn and teach them to fear the LORD.

 

Deuteronomy 6:13 states, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only, and take your oaths in his name.”

 

As directed by God himself through Moses, fear was meant to be love, respect, adoration, trust, and reliance directed solely towards God with all one’s heart and soul. Fear of God was meant to be accepting, trusting, loving, and believing in Him as a loving father, not as an angry, hateful being expressing negative connotations such as alarm, fright, horror, terror, and more.

 

So, what does God say about fear? The answer is quite simple: do not be afraid because He is with us. May we rest in the words of Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

Conversely, evil forces have used fear since biblical times for the purpose of corrupting and extorting people. According to the Oxford dictionary, fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

 

Fear instilled in young children becomes their Paideia. For instance, tell a little child to stay away from dogs because they bite, and repeat it often. That child will be afraid of dogs for the rest of their life. Occasionally, you encounter an adult who is terrified of dogs and ask them why. Their response will be, “I don’t know, but it was instilled in me as a child. Dogs bite.”

 

Conversely, withholding the teachings of our Creator from a toddler about His greatness will have the same detrimental effect on the toddler’s later adult life.

 

My favorite illustration of this mythical trait of instilled fear is our collective fear of the IRS. Admit it, when you receive a letter or call from the Internal Revenue Service, you shudder and fear the worst. It doesn’t matter whether you are a hamburger flipper or an elected senator. The term IRS instills fear of the possible imagined submission of guilt. This negative emotion of being guilty of something has been instilled in the masses since the beginning of time. From slaves versus masters, aristocrats versus serfdom, white-collar versus blue-collar, rich versus poor, free versus controlled, the negative emotion of guilt has been a constant presence.

 

So, why this lengthy dissertation on fear? Because fear is the very tool that evil people employ to exert fear into the masses. It is ingrained in mankind since biblical times. There is joyful fear to serve God, and negative fear of authority. Negative fear can be injected into many entities, such as fear of height, fear of dogs, fear of governmental agencies, and so on.

 

Evil forces recognized the power of fear and injected it into statism, corporations, and government agencies.

In my opinion, one of the greatest feats of human conquest is the creation and Declaration of Independence in 1776. Honest and industrious men had established themselves in North America and thrived. Over time, British aristocrats exerted their perceived entitlement for increased taxation and control over the colonists, leading to resistance that prompted the writing of the Bill of Rights. Sponsors of the bill pledged their lives, reputations, and fortunes, fighting a war to make it happen. These individuals had the vision that only God could grant freedom to individuals.

 

Why did God inspire the Declaration of Independence to be written in North America and not in another country like Congo, Peru, or Venezuela?  Why did God choose America? Granting freedom in a self-governing form of government to individuals produced unprecedented material success in all aspects of life.

 

Success is achieved through wisdom applied with righteousness received from God. However, losing sight of its origins breeds sins such as opulence, nepotism, bias, apathy, and laziness.

 

As a result, our elected officials, who represent the citizens and perform the people’s work, eventually found themselves in a position to delegate their work by creating agencies that would do the work for them. Let’s take two examples: the Federal Reserve Board and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Federal Reserve Board was established to oversee the money supply, and the IRS was created to collect taxes. Both seem like noble causes. However, over time, these agencies became indispensable, and our elected officials no longer understand the complexity of the entities they created. At the same time, these departments expanded, with more regulation, more people, and higher costs.

 

I challenge the reader to click on the provided link and attempt to count all the departments and agencies that the average taxpayer is responsible for supporting. However, it’s important to remember that you are not directly paying for these services; instead, you are contributing to the national debt through your invisible credit card. 

 

And that, my friends, is statism. It’s that helpless feeling, that gnawing pain, when something happens and you can’t do anything about it, and you just shrug it off. All these departments, with their employees’ payrolls and benefit packages, add to the cost, and what do you get for your money? Higher prices for everything you buy, caused by various forms of taxes, dues, permit fees, tolls, levies, and so on. And when that’s not enough, our elected officials gave authority to agencies for deficit spending, adding to the national credit card.

 

Here’s a link to a list of federal agencies in the United States:

 

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_federal_agencies_in_the_United_States

 

And here’s a definition of statism:

Merriam-Webster defines statism as the concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government, often extending to various aspects of society.

 

In development studies, statism refers to the direction and control of economic and social affairs by the state. This involves practices such as investment in public enterprises, centralized economic planning, regulation of employment, and other price-distorting interventions in the markets.

 

If statism is perpetuated by its very existence, it raises the question of whether the ageless assumption that perpetual motion is impossible deserves closer scrutiny.

 

I take the liberty to provide my definition, first in the governmental realm, followed by the corporate world.

 

The similarities between the two are astonishing.

 

Both contradict individualism.

 

What is a simple definition of a corporation?

 

A corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. Under the law, corporations possess many of the same rights and responsibilities as individuals. They can enter contracts, borrow and lend money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets, and pay taxes. However, neither a corporation nor any government agency has a conscience.

 

Our creator reserved that for the individual.

 

Government agencies

 

In the U.S. government, there are four general types: cabinet departments, independent executive agencies, regulatory agencies, and government corporations.

 

Now that we have come full circle, let’s explore the connection between statism and inflated prices. Consider a simple item used in home construction: a stud or a 2” x 4” x 8’-0” board. What factors influence the price of this board as it travels from a West Coast forest to an East Coast construction site? Let’s further break down its price into direct costs and statism-induced costs.

 

I vividly recall how the price of lumber was significantly impacted by an exaggerated environmental movement issue that gained notoriety as tree-huggers. Between 1989 and 1995, timber harvests on federal land plummeted by approximately 90%, according to the Oregon Forest Research Institute. They attributed the decline primarily to the spotted owl, litigation over timber sales, and other endangered species. Depending on the source, lumber prices have surged by anywhere from 70 to 90 percent since October of that year, reaching unprecedented levels. Fear-mongering perpetuated by tree-huggers’ lamentations led to the shutdown of the US timber industry. Consequently, lumber had to be imported from Canada, resulting in a much higher price.

 

Bureaucrats who thrive on statism relish panic and fear-induced opportunities to expand their influence. Creating new regulations that increase the cost of products or services is virtually impossible to repeal.

 

As of now, our 2 x 4 is still on the West Coast. I challenge the reader to identify all the bureaucratic red tape associated with transporting this essential component across the country. This includes carbon emission rules, the Green New Deal, and various government agencies that seek a share of the action, not by contributing value, but by regulating builders in the name of preventing harm to the public. Zoning and building permits, OSHA safety regulations, and so on. Remember, every one of these new regulations adds to the cost of the component.  

 

Occasionally, an extraordinary opportunity arises, causing regulators to eagerly leak their chops. A prime example is the creation of the Homeland Security Agency (HS) after the 9/11 attacks. Instead of implementing severe measures to combat radical Islamists, we created a whole department. HS agents derive pleasure from observing people being inconvenienced during airport security checks, while simultaneously enjoying job security and a guaranteed pension.

 

Fast forward to recent days, when the same agency permits millions of undocumented immigrants to enter the country without any qualms. These individuals then appear before Congress, demanding additional funds to hire more bureaucrats who will simply shuffle paperwork. What’s even more troubling is that the creators of this agency are vehemently working to block the deportation of such illegal immigrants.

The COVID-19 pandemic was another instance where governmental and corporate bureaucrats exploited the situation for personal gain.

 

What is the solution to restore George’s (or the citizens’) freedom?

 

George must recognize that he, along with his contemporaries, allowed these events to unfold and has the power to reverse them while they still hold influence.

 

- Did George exercise his right to vote, or did he dismiss it, as many others do, believing that his vote doesn’t matter?

 

- Did George take the time to research and evaluate the candidates before casting his vote, or did he remain indifferent to the individuals on the ballot?

 

- Did George attend any school board or city council meetings to gain an understanding of how political bodies function?

 

If all these answers are negative, how can George ever benefit from his unalienable rights, which are inherent to all individuals?

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  

 

George and many of us are often referred to as the silent majority. We’ve fallen into complacency, believing that our vote doesn’t matter and that we don’t want to get involved. However, if we enjoy the benefits of this great nation, we are indeed involved. Furthermore, if we call ourselves righteous, believe in God, and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior who communicates with us through the Holy Spirit, it is our duty, as instructed by Jesus in John 15:5, to be involved.

 

Therefore, we pray, Lord:

 

- That you would reaffirm our faith in the Holy Trinity.

- That you would guide us according to your will to participate in our school, local, county, and state election procedures to ensure their honest and fair administration.

- That you would provide us with the knowledge to recognize inflammatory rhetoric from both sides of the political spectrum and guide us to seek the truth.

- That you would give us the strength to stand up for what is right and true instead of succumbing to the flow of today’s politically distorted rhetoric.

- That you would help us elect leaders who will uphold our inalienable rights and steer our country away from evil, corruption, and controlling factions.

- That you would appoint elected officials who are committed to restoring the country’s faith in God so that we can be a beacon of light, hope, and prosperity for other nations to emulate.

- That after the election, you would lead us to forgive those who have wronged us.

- That we may serve as examples and encourage our families, friends, and neighbors to join us in helping to keep the next election clean.

 

In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

 

Rudy Heusuk

April 2026