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nflation should now be added to
death and laxes. Was there cver a
time when prices weren't contin–
ually skipping up an eterna! incline?
Economists tcll us that. yes, back in
the deepes t pre-Keynesian days
pr ior lo
1932.
prices actua lly weren
't
a/ways
going up. Most of us alive
now. howevcr, have never known
such conditions. and thosc who have
can also remember o ther such ante–
di luvian phenomena as p rohibition.
raccoon coats, and speakeasies.
lnflalion. in short, is with us 10
s1ay. The intelligent thing to do
would be to try to makc the best of
it.
The kncc-je rk resp.onse to in–
ftation on the parl of many august
authori ties in the world of personal
financia! help is to recommcnd any
number of assorted. esoteric. and
otherwise elabora te combinations of
investments in go ld. stocks, si lver. or
like as not. Swiss francs and Eu–
robonds. This line of approach,
however. presumes that those
in
need of thcir advice have enough
money
a/ready
to make it worth–
while
to
study the in tricacics of for–
eign currcncies or commodity
options. Most o f us, however. are
not yet in the monetary big !cagues.
Ou r approach must be a bi t less
esoteric.
O
lnvest in Yourself
The premier strategy fo r coping
wi th inflation is, if possible, to invest
in one's se lf. In essencc. the idea
translates into some sort of voca–
tiona l training. lnstead of plopping
down one's hard-earned cash on
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976
The famous economist, Lord
Keynes, when asked about the
/ong-range effects of his policies,
answered:
" In
the long run, we're
al/ dead." We/1, the long run is
here now, and those of us who
are sti/1 around have lo live in a
wor/d of continually rising prices.
This means the smart consumer
wi/1 know the steps to minimize
the impact of inflation on his
pocketbook.
some "can't-miss" commod ity op–
tion or ho t stock. one can spend thc
money on acquiring a markctable
skill.
Most individua ls in the U.S. and
Canada have some sort of higher
ed ucation open to them. Al local
colleges, many of wh ich are ex–
tremely low in cost. one can learn
accounting. drafting, engineering.
bus iness management , financc, or
paramedical work, all of which are
in high demand these days. Or , at
local trade and vaca tional schools.
one can become proficient in auto–
motive repair. machine shop opera–
tions. woodwork, upholstery work,
or any number of other lincs of
work .
lf one can acquire a good job,
one's wages will tend
to
increase a
prices go up. Of course, some jobs
do better than other , but in a mod–
ero economy, even most low-paying
jobs will sec continua! cost-of-living
wage increases.
One must remember that it i n't
education per se, but education
by
Jetf Calkins
lcad ing to employment which con–
stitutes a bona fide "investment."
E) auyaHouse
TraditionaUy. both the U.S. and
Canada have been graced with a
tremcndous amount of open space.
This over-abundance of land kept
the price of real esta te, and hence o f
housing, relatively low. Even today.
she ltcr - one of man's primary
needs - still costs less in North
America than it does in Europe or
Japan.
Today. however. construction
costs, labor costs, government regu–
lations, and thc interna! dynamics
of the real estate market ha ve
jacked the prices of homes beyond
the reach of many families. What's
worse, it is another vicious cycle. As
more and more people buy homcs
at inftated prices. they are forced to
se ll their homes for more than they
paid for them in arder to be ab le to
buy their next home.
The net etfect is that housing has
become a necessary inveslmen t if
one can atford il: the hitch being
lhat lhe appreciation of one's invest–
ment will probably be eaten up by
lhe higher price of one's next dwe ll–
ing place. (In the U.S., there is a
capita l gains tax on the protit one
makes from sell ing one's home fo r a
higher price than one paid for it.
The only way lo get out of it i!> lo
buy another house. The law, of
course, causes thc continued in–
ft a tion in real eslate values becausc
moncy which might have bccn
spcnt elsewherc is pumped back
into the housing markct.)
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