Behold! The 1967 Sunbeam Funwagon!
$4995 cash money could get you this fine piece of British Americana. These were produced exclusively for the United States market and you can enquire about this antique which only a few exist.
https://davidsclassiccars.com/other-makes/2238-1967-sunbeam-funwagon-rv-motorhome-camper-van.html
This one is a partial which the Craigslist reference says $1,400.
Which begs the question, “What did the Sunbeam Funwagon cost in today’s dollars? The answer is there is a site for that:
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com
The answer is $4995 in 1967 is $46,409.53 in 2024! That’s a cumulative rate of inflation of 829.1%!!!
That’s hard to imagine that for every $1 of spending power is now costing you $9.29 in today’s dollars. Closer to home pre-pandemic 2019 $1.00 takes $1.21 in March 2024 for a cumulative inflation rate of 21.4%.
How can this be? It’s the value of fiat money decreases as the money supply increases. Inflation also happens when too many dollars chase too few products or services. When the United States went to a fiat money system, not backed by physical gold in 1971, dollars are only as valuable as what someone is willing to spend. Debt increases the money supply out of thin air where borrowed money is created by the central banking system. Money is reduced or restricted by interest rates increasing and tightening lending standards.
Almost every time the US government faced an economic crisis, the solution was to increase the money supply by lowering the cost of debt, which encourages borrowing for purchasing, development and production.
We (these United States) have done this overspending and over borrowing to the tune of $32.5 trillion dollars as of March 16th, 2024 and there is no end to the deficit spending and debt in sight.
The interest on the National Debt is on par with what is being spent for National Defense (to include supporting foreign wars) . Certainly we will never be able to pay this off so another solution is to inflate down the cost of the debt. You must had made 21.4% on your money from 2019 to 2024 just to break even with your value of buying power.
This is a monster, much like Godzilla, created by humans, humbling them as he becomes out of control.
As of today, this inflation monster will always be with us – when ignore it, it surprises us. We feed it, it becomes stronger. We seek to take control of it as it becomes more destructive.
The only thing feared more than inflation is deflation, which may cause an outright fiscal collapse due to the removal of investment, growth and defaults on debt.
Bottom line is to get your own house in order, strengthen relationships, eliminate personal debt, stock up, diversify for contingencies and prepare for what’s coming. We don’t know when it will hit, but it is inevitable if we do not change course.
GenX Turns Fifty 
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