“‘Government,’ observed the renowned Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, ‘is the only institution that can take a valuable commodity like paper, and make it worthless by applying ink.’ Mises was describing the curse of inflation, the process whereby government expands a nation’s money supply and thereby erodes the value of each monetary unit — dollar, peso, pound, franc, or whatever. It shows up in the form of rising prices, which most people confuse with the inflation itself. The distinction is important because, as economist Percy Greaves once explained so eloquently, ‘Changing the definition changes the responsibility.’” (11/19/08)