All in all, these spending proposals, combined with those already approved, could bring total spending for the current budget year to around $8 trillion—by far the highest level ever recorded in America’s history.

In all the years I have been writing this column (approaching 35) and in my writings elsewhere, I have to admit that I never foresaw the kind of immense changes that have been wrought during the past two months…

First, in order to compensate for the diminishment of purchasing power that usually accompanies rising inflation, investors normally have demanded higher interest rates on their investment assets. This was particularly true in the 1977-81 era when inflation soared to almost 20% and interest rates rose to roughly the same level.