The Dollar’s Collapse: Inflation, Debt and the Printing Press
For decades the U.S. dollar has been secretly hemorrhaging value, leaving your savings and wages worth a fraction of their former selves. According to Federal Reserve data, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 38.8 in 1970 but has surged to 313.7 by 2024 – an 8-fold increase in prices. In other words, $1 in 1970 buys roughly what $0.12 does today. This century has seen stealth inflation: after decades of moderate gains, prices spiked 8.0% in 2022 (the highest in 40 years) and remain elevated .
Behind the scenes, the Federal Reserve and Congress have printed and borrowed trillions. U.S. federal debt has ballooned to about $36 trillion in 2024 , roughly 97% of GDP. Much of it is held by Wall Street and even the Fed itself, which doubled its Treasury holdings during the 2020 bailouts . This flood of new money and debt is an invisible tax on your dollar, quietly devaluing it. As one analysis warns, further degradation of America’s soil and infrastructure “would amplify food-price volatility and potentially plunge millions into hunger and poverty” – all while insiders profit. Welcome to the Great American Scam: a rigged monetary system that keeps the masses drowning in debt and inflation.
Key points: The CPI’s long-term rise shows an 8x jump since 1970 . Recent annual inflation peaked at 8% (2022) . U.S. debt is above $36T , funded by endless money printing and borrowing. The “dollar collapse” is no accident – it’s driven by policy choices that enrich bankers and politicians, not consumers.
Food Fraud & Processed Poison in Every Bite
As the currency is devalued, the food on your plate has quietly been degraded or doctored with fraud. Official reports highlight a tenfold surge in food fraud in recent years . Invisible additives and substitutions are rampant: imported olive oils are often diluted with cheap fillers, honey in stores may contain no real pollen , spices are laced with lead and twigs , and fish like “tuna” are commonly other species. This systemic adulteration is about one thing: corporate profit at your expense.
Modern industrial food is often hyper-processed – stripped of nutrition and loaded with cheap fat, sugar, salt, and chemicals. Major commodity chains rely on questionable ingredients (corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, pesticides) that create addictive junk food. Fast-food chains and packaged snacks boast huge profit margins from selling “food” that contributes to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In effect, Americans have been tricked into eating poison, all while a constellation of lobbyists, regulators and Big Industry look the other way. It’s no wonder trust is shattered: consumers have a right to be outraged that so many common foods are diluted or mislabelled, undermining both nutrition and safety .
Key points: Cases of food fraud have skyrocketed – one report found a 10× increase in just four years . Adulterated olive oils, fake honey, mislabeled fish, adulterated spices – these examples show a broken system . Each tainted bite pushes more profit to corporations and paves the way for chronic health problems.
Nutrient Loss & Soil Depletion: Farming for Fertilizers, Not Food
Even when your food is “real”, it’s far less nutritious than our grandparents’ meals. Decades of intensive agriculture have stripped vital minerals from the soil, leaving crops “overfed but undernourished” . University studies comparing USDA data from 1950 and 1999 found dramatic declines in dozens of nutrients: today’s fruits and vegetables have significantly less protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C, B2, and more . In plain language: crops have been bred for size and yield, not health, so nutrient concentrations have diluted.
Scientific American sums it up bluntly: “fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today.” Soil depletion is the main culprit . One landmark study using USDA data (1950 vs 1999) found “reliable declines” in iron, calcium, phosphorus and vitamins in nearly all examined produce . Follow-up analyses found that from 1975–1997, average levels of calcium fell ~27%, iron ~37%, vitamin A ~21% and vitamin C ~30% in vegetables . British data show similar trends: between 1930–1980 vegetables lost about 22% of their iron and 19% of their calcium .
The problem is global: a recent review notes many fruits lost 25–50% of key nutrients in the last 50–70 years, thanks to genetic dilution and polluted soil . For example, bananas – once a stellar source of minerals – have seen their phosphorus drop ~52% and iron ~56% since the 1970s . In other words, you’d need nearly twice as many today to match the nutrient intake of past generations.
This “hidden hunger” means Americans can eat calories all day but still suffer deficiencies. Reports warn we are literally malnourished while overeating . The soil crisis won’t be solved overnight: FAO data show 33% of global agricultural land is already moderately to highly degraded by erosion, salinity, and chemical pollution . Until farming practices change, our produce will only get worse.
Key points: Intensive farming has stripped nutrients from soil, causing dramatic nutrient loss in food . Historic data show major declines in Ca, Fe, vitamin C, and others (e.g. veggie calcium down 27%, iron down 37% in 1975–97 ). Bananas lost ~52% P and ~56% iron since the late 20th century . Healthy soil is vital: one-third of farmland is already degraded, imperiling food quality .
Price vs. Nutrition: 1970 to Today
What has all this meant for your wallet and health? Everyday staples cost more in real terms and deliver less nutrition. Consider two common foods:
|
Food |
~1970s Price |
~2025 Price |
|
Bananas (per lb) |
~$0.23 (1975) |
~$0.66 (2025) |
|
Chicken Breast |
(about $0.70–0.80) |
~$4.21 (2025) |
Sources: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture/BLS data over decades. Prices have clearly outpaced wages, meaning each dollar of income buys less food than ever. (For reference, a dozen eggs was ~$0.61 in 1970 and only ~$4.95 today, despite inflation adjustment.) Yet ironically, some items like bananas remain relatively cheap thanks to global supply chains .
Now compare nutrition. A 100g banana today has roughly half the vitamins and minerals it did in 1970. Studies show bananas’ phosphorus content is down ~52%, iron down ~56%, and vitamin A (beta-carotene) down ~57% over recent decades . Likewise, a head of lettuce or tomato today provides substantially less calcium, magnesium and vitamins than the same weight forty years ago . As price tags inflate, nutritional labels quietly deflate.
Statistical insight: A chicken breast might cost 5–6× more than in 1970 (while adjusting for inflation) – yet the feed given to chickens is grown on depleted soils, and many industrial farms use hormones/antibiotics (FDA restricts hormone use, but antibiotics in feed are common) that raise concerns about meat quality. In short, you pay more for less.
Health Crisis & Big Pharma Profits: The True Beneficiaries
The inevitable outcome of a toxic food system is sick people – and that means huge profits for Big Pharma. America now spends a fortune on healthcare while its population suffers record rates of chronic disease. A recent analysis found Americans shelled out $535 billion on prescription drugs in 2018 alone, up 50% from 2010 . This explosion in drug spending mirrors the rise in obesity, diabetes, autoimmune and neurological disorders.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies reap windfall margins. A Government Accountability Office report shows the top 25 drug firms average profit margins of 15–20% – roughly double that of similar non-drug companies (4–9%) . New “specialty” drugs for chronic conditions can cost tens of thousands per patient: Gilead priced its hepatitis C cure at $84,000 per treatment . The tactics are deliberate: by patenting small molecular tweaks (evergreening patents) and aggressive price-hikes, Big Pharma keeps revenues high and competition at bay .
It’s no coincidence that as nutrient deficiencies rise, Americans become ever more dependent on pills and procedures. We have more money than ever flowing into healthcare, yet population health metrics (childhood diabetes, heart disease, cancer) are worse than decades ago. In 2019 alone, companies raised prices on over 3,400 drugs, even as many Americans went bankrupt just paying for essential meds .
Key points: The “sickcare” system is wildly profitable: drug costs skyrocket while Americans get sicker . Pharma’s extraordinary profit margins (15–20% on top drugs ) are in stark contrast to their beneficiaries – you, the consumer, who pay for every failing organ. In short, weakened Americans become a selling point for Wall Street’s drugs.
Tables & Trends at a Glance
Inflation vs. Nutrition (1970–2024): Key Stats
|
Indicator |
1970 (or ’70s) |
2024 (or latest) |
Change |
|
U.S. CPI (All Items) |
38.8 |
313.7 |
+707% (×8.1) |
|
Oil Price (per gallon)* |
~$0.36 |
~$3.10 (2024 avg) |
+761% |
|
Debt Held by Public (GDP%) |
~25% (1974) |
97% (2024) |
+72 pts (quadrupled share) |
|
Vegetable Calcium levels (avg) |
Baseline (1975) |
~73% of 1975 values |
-27% |
|
Vegetable Iron levels (avg) |
Baseline (1975) |
~63% of 1975 values |
-37% |
*Gas price: 1970 ~36¢/gal vs. ~$3.10 recently (inflation-adjusted rise). All data from government and peer-reviewed sources.
The Truth Will Not Be Bottled Up
Every statistical chart here has a story: one of systemic neglect and profit. The Great American Scam is about more than money and food – it’s about power. As citizens become sicker and pay more, the economic elites who design fiscal and food policy grow richer. The decline in real dollar value and nutrient value wasn’t an accident; it was an engineered choice of modern economic and agricultural policy. We’ve exposed the data: inflation-fed devaluation, soil-starved crops, fraudulent food and skyrocketing drug profits.
Your health and wealth are not the priority of these broken systems. It’s time Americans wake up and demand real change – from farm to Fed. Share the facts, support sustainable local farming, and stay informed about the invisible poisons in our food and currency. Only through awareness and grassroots pressure can we begin to roll back this sham.
Sources: Official CPI and USDA data ; peer-reviewed nutrition analyses ; FAO soil reports ; FDA and industry reports on food fraud ; and investigative economics on Big Pharma , among others.
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### SOURCES
- USDA Nutrient Database: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/
- Scientific American - “Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/
- Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
- FAO Report on Soil Degradation: https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/en/
- University of Texas Nutritional Decline Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15637215/
- Food Fraud Database: https://www.foodsafetytech.com/tag/food-fraud/
- Big Pharma Pricing Analysis - GAO: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-207