The Next Leg Down in Your Standard of Living Just Started

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Peter Schiff warns that the next leg down in American living standards has already begun, arguing that the dollar’s loss of its gold anchor in 1971 is now giving way to a broader global shift away from the dollar itself. In his latest episode, he ties recent inflation and retail data to a deeper problem: an economy that can only sustain itself through debt, printing, and trade deficits.

Peter Schiff points to a set of recent numbers he says signal stagflation rather than relief. Producer prices were up 4.7% year over year, core producer prices were up 4.2%, and July retail sales fell 0.6%, the steepest monthly decline in over a year. Consumer sentiment dropped to 51, driven by year-ahead inflation expectations of 4.3%. He also highlights Federal Reserve balance sheet growth of roughly $11.4 billion in a single week, which he describes as quantitative easing and inherently inflationary.

Peter Schiff also argues that bond markets are sending a warning the stock market is ignoring. The 10-year Treasury yield closed the week at 4.7% and the 30-year at 5.27%, and the TLT fund has fallen about 50% from its 2020 peak. He compares the setup to 1987, when bonds kept selling off while stocks shrugged until a crash arrived.

Looking back, Peter Schiff explains why he sees the 1971 decision to end dollar convertibility as a default that set the stage for decades of inflation, a weaker middle class, and stagflation in the 1970s. He argues that the world is now beginning to move off the dollar standard, which would make imports more expensive and force Americans to live within what they produce.

Key takeaways

  • Peter Schiff argues that recent producer price and retail sales data point to stagflation, not disinflation.
  • Consumer inflation expectations of 4.3% and sinking sentiment signal public recognition of the problem.
  • Rising Treasury yields despite weak data suggest bond investors are losing confidence in inflation control.
  • Peter Schiff frames the 1971 end of gold convertibility as a 100% default that fueled the 1970s stagflation.
  • He warns that dedollarization would raise the cost of imported goods and reduce the US standard of living.

Peter Schiff on plunging retail sales, sticky inflation, the Fed’s stealth QE, and why the world is now leaving the dollar standard.
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Retail sales just plunged, producer prices are still rising, and the Fed is quietly expanding its balance sheet again.
The July data tells the story the markets keep ignoring. Retail sales fell 0.6 percent, the biggest drop in over a year, and since those numbers are not adjusted for inflation, real spending fell even further. Consumer sentiment sank to 51 as households braced for 4.3 percent inflation, more than double the Fed’s 2 percent target. Producer prices rose 4.7 percent year over year, and instead of rallying on the weak data, the bond market sold off to its lowest weekly close of the year, with the 30-year at 5.27 percent. Meanwhile the Fed expanded its balance sheet by more than 21 billion dollars in two weeks, with the national debt about 80 billion dollars away from 40 trillion.
Peter marks 55 years since Nixon closed the gold window and calls it what it was: a 100 percent default on America’s creditors. His father Irwin testified against removing gold backing in 1968, and the 1970s proved him right. Now the sequel is underway. The world is going off the dollar standard the way America went off gold, and the next leg down in the American standard of living has already started. Gold near 4,400 dollars and silver above 66 are the market’s verdict.
Chapters:
00:00 Middle Class Squeeze
01:01 PPI Breakdown
04:08 Fed Balance Sheet Surge
05:23 Stagflation Signals
08:28 Bond Market Warning
11:39 Greenspan and 1987 Echoes
14:48 Stocks vs Bonds Diverge
15:33 Gold Shines Bitcoin Slips
18:16 Bitcoin Bear Case
21:08 Iran Sanctions and Oil
26:30 Nixon Gold Standard Legacy
28:52 Inflation Math Reality
29:30 Video Plug Fiat Failure
30:19 Electric Catamaran Tour
34:30 Cruising Plans Tax Credit
37:02 Gold Standard Break Explained
48:09 Dollar Standard Ending
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