Quote of the Day: Peak of Prosperity

“The economic situation during the past 20 years has been unprecedented in the history of the world. You will find no other 20-year period in which prices have been as stable – relatively speaking – in which there has been as little variability in price levels, in which inflation has been so well-controlled, and in which output (GDP) has gone up as regularly.

You hear all this talk about economic difficulties, when the fact is we are at the absolute peak of prosperity in the history of the world. Never before have so many people had as much as they do today.

I believe a large part of that is to be attributed to better monetary policy. The improved policy is a result of the acceptance of the view that inflation is a monetary phenomenon, not a real phenomenon. We have accepted the view that central banks are primarily responsible for maintaining stable prices and nothing else.”

Milton Friedman