Episode
Two Important Graphs and Rick Rule
- Podcast
- Minor Issues
- Published
- May 2, 2026
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Summary
On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton opens with a detailed analysis of the gold correction. Is the three-month decline a sign that inflation is over, or a temporary reallocation driven by war? The answer is in the data: the CRB commodity index continues to climb, the money supply is at an all-time high, and there is no evidence of deflation anywhere in the price structure. The inflation regime remains firmly in place, and the gold correction is a normal feature of bull markets whose real-world zigzags get smoothed away on long-term charts. The second half features a panel interview from VRC Media with Rick Rule, hosted by Darrell Thomas. Rule lays out the case for a decade-long commodity super cycle driven by 30 years of underinvestment in productive capacity. He delivers a sobering calculation: $39 trillion in on-balance-sheet federal debt plus $120 trillion in off-balance-sheet unfunded entitlement promises (a combined $160 trillion against $170 trillion in total private American net worth). The only realistic resolution, Rule argues, is a "dishonest default," inflating away the purchasing power of the dollar, just as happened in the 1970s when the dollar lost 75% of its value. Mark concurs, noting that the money supply is growing at record pace even as Washington insists it's being "restrictive." Mark's "Gold vs CRB Index" graph is available here: https://mises.org/MI175_Graph The original VRIC interview is online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kMiiC08TNo 20% off listener offer on the new insulated Minor Issues tumbler and three of Mark's books, signed if ordered by the end of April: https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumbler . Use coupon code Thornton. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues