“How to destroy the dollar” column needed more research

Dear Colin McKim,

Your last article, titled “How to Destroy the Dollar,” left me in a state of amusement and I feel like I need to clarify some points that you have made.

In your article you claim that the federal government and the Federal Reserve will “create” the money to finance the stimulus bill. Perhaps your forget that an increase in government spending is not the same as an increase in the money supply. The U.S. government can increase their spending to finance this bill by going into debt. It is a very unsophisticated argument to say that the government is simply printing more money to cover the costs.

You also make an interesting comparison between the current price of a loaf of bread and the price thirty years ago. Did you forget that the average income in the ’70s was substantially lower than today’s income? Your comparison is very misleading, and the actual price of a loaf of bread in the ’70s is $1.40 in today’s money. You use this example to show the steep incline of prices, yet according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices are actually dropping right now.

Your article seems like the typical rant that offers no concrete solution. I would suggest that you do your research and try to remember some basic economics before writing an article that has no citations, no proof and no solution.

Lukas Schubsda

biomedical engineering sophomore