Inflation is both an immediate result and a continuing cause of the money failing. Governments, banks, and corporations shift the common person's wealth to the elite, then print money out of thin air to cover the theft, and the more money they print, the less the existing money is worth. Official figures claim inflation has stayed between 1% and 3% for years, but everyday experience says otherwise. The basket's rising items, such as healthcare, education, and food, are necessities, while the falling ones, such as electronics, are discretionary, so shoppers feel the increases without benefiting from the decreases. Wholesale food prices are up 8.1% year over year and consumer prices in general 6.2%. Over a decade, ground beef has risen 46.3%, shelf-stable seafood 45%, rice and pasta 40.3%, and bread 38.9%. Inflation is accelerating again and is expected to worsen. Prices rise while median income and government cost-of-living adjustments do not, so older Americans on indexed Social Security benefits see any meager increase wiped out. Consumers are tapped out, bankruptcies are rising, and lending is tightening. Most Americans are worse off regardless of official statistics. The dollar, a Federal Reserve note of debt, is propped up only by confidence and is worth about three cents compared with 1913. No president can fix these systemic problems, so people should prepare for hard times, beginning by getting out of debt as fast as possible.