Two Important Graphs and Rick Rule

Two Important Graphs and Rick Rule

From Mises Media by Mises Institute

May 2, 2026 · Episode 170

About this episode

Mark Thornton discusses the gold correction and inflation trends, followed by an interview with Rick Rule on the commodity super cycle.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Mark Thornton

Guest: Rick Rule

Topics covered

  • gold correction
  • inflation
  • commodity super cycle
  • economic analysis
  • investment

Keywords

  • gold
  • inflation
  • commodity
  • debt
  • investment
  • CRB index
  • economic analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: VRC Media, Mises Institute, CRB

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