Visualizing The Declining Purchasing Power Of The US Dollar
The purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has seen a dramatic decline over the last century, shrinking from its 1913 value to just a few cents today, according to Federal Reserve data. This erosion of value, driven by inflation, is visualized using the "Purchasing Power of the Consumer Dollar" index, which shows steep drops during major inflationary periods like World Wars and the oil shocks of the 1970s. The shift from the gold standard in 1971 made money creation easier, contributing to an expanding money supply that, when outpacing real economic growth, accelerates the dollar's loss of value.
