Live series
M2 Money Supply
$23.1T
Weekly money stock · +50.7% vs. Jan 2020
The emergency surge has partially retraced, but the stock of money is still far above its pre-2020 level.
Source: FRED · WM2NSLatest published: Apr 6, 2026
Data repository
Current conditions, comparison material, and longer reference points.
Start with the live layer. The aim is a readable first pass on monetary expansion, household pressure, and purchasing-power loss before the slower archival notes below.
This page is meant to be reviewed first. If the evidence feels coherent enough to keep testing, continue to the paper.
Current conditions
A live first pass on monetary expansion and household pressure.
Public FRED series only. No heavy charting, no dashboard theatrics — just enough live signal to orient a careful reader quickly.
- Live layer
- Money stock, Fed assets, CPI, shelter, energy, and purchasing power.
- Source base
- Public FRED releases with direct source links on every card.
Live series
Fed Balance Sheet
$6.7T
Federal Reserve assets · +61.6% vs. Jan 2020
The balance sheet is below its crisis peak, but the post-2020 expansion was never fully unwound.
Source: FRED · WALCLLatest published: Apr 22, 2026
Live series
Consumer Prices
3.3%
Official CPI, year over year · +27.5% vs. Jan 2020
The monthly pace is slower than the 2022 spike, but the accumulated rise since 2020 still compounds against wages and savings.
Source: FRED · CPIAUCSLLatest published: Mar 1, 2026
Live series
Shelter Costs
3.0%
Shelter CPI, year over year · +31.1% vs. Jan 2020
Housing remains a stubborn pressure point. Shelter keeps the everyday cost floor high even when other categories cool.
Source: FRED · CUSR0000SAH1Latest published: Mar 1, 2026
Live series
Energy Pressure
12.6%
Energy CPI, year over year · +42.6% vs. Jan 2020
Energy is still the fastest-moving pressure channel. It works through transport, utilities, and household expectations.
Source: FRED · CPIENGSLLatest published: Mar 1, 2026
Live series
Dollar Purchasing Power
−21.5%
CPI-adjusted buying power lost since Jan 2020
By the CPI measure, one dollar held since January 2020 now buys about 78 cents of the same basket.
Source: FRED · CPIAUCSLLatest published: Mar 1, 2026
Comparison layer
Official CPI and Chapwood are related, but not interchangeable.
The point is not to collapse the measures into one story. It is to show how an official national series and a more lived cost frame can describe different parts of the same pressure field.
BLS / FRED
Official CPI lens
- National, official inflation series used in mainstream reporting.
- Updated monthly and easy to compare across time.
- Best for showing that even the official measure still reflects serious cumulative pressure.
Chapwood Index
Chapwood lens
- City-by-city alternative inflation view built around 150 commonly purchased items.
- Updated twice a year rather than monthly.
- Useful as a pressure test when the official CPI framing feels too abstract or too mild.
How to use this page
Start with the live series, then move into the reference sections below if you want the slower historical framing and source trail.
What these data points do
They do not prove the whole thesis by themselves. They establish the pressure, extraction, and distortion the paper is interpreting.
Limits to keep in view
FRED reflects official releases, not a bespoke cost-of-living model. The live layer is a credible front door, not the last word on household pain.
Deeper reference points
The archival layer stays below the fold.
These longer anchor claims give the thesis historical depth. The presentation is quieter on purpose: less dashboard, more report.
Reference 012019–2021
M2 Money Supply
35% of all US dollars in circulation today were created in a two-year window. From 2019 to 2020, M2 increased by 19%, followed by 16% the following year. Everyone holding US dollars was diluted by 35% of the whole.
Implication. In 35 of every 100 dollars of savings, the life energy stored there was siphoned and redistributed without the holder's consent.
+35%
- Period
- 2019–2021
- Source
- Federal Reserve (FRED)
Reference 021913–2022
Dollar Purchasing Power
The United States dollar has lost about 97% of its purchasing power since the founding of the Federal Reserve in 1913. That means 97% of the human time and energy deposited in 1913 was taken from those who made the initial deposit.
Implication. A dollar deposited in 1913 today buys roughly what three cents would have then. The theft was slow, cumulative, and nearly invisible at any given moment.
−97%
- Period
- 1913–2022
Reference 03The inflection point
Wage-Productivity Divergence
From 1948 to 1973, productivity increased 96.7% and hourly compensation increased 91.3% — nearly in lockstep. From 1973 to 2013, productivity increased 74.4% while hourly compensation increased only 9.2%. The divergence began precisely in 1971 when the US abandoned the gold standard.
Implication. Workers produce more and receive less. The difference doesn't disappear — it gets redistributed upward via the inflationary mechanism.
1971
- Period
- The inflection point
Reference 041913–July 2022
Cumulative Inflation
Cumulative inflation since the founding of the Federal Reserve. The YoY rate compounds exponentially. A 2% annual inflation target, maintained for 50 years, is not a small thing — it is the mechanism by which value is quietly extracted from the population over time.
Implication. What appears moderate year-over-year is catastrophic across a human lifespan.
2,923%
- Period
- 1913–July 2022
- Source
- InflationData.com / BLS
A note on sources. The live section uses public FRED endpoints, so freshness is limited by the release cadence of the underlying weekly and monthly series. The deeper notes still rely on broader historical and interpretive sources. Even by the official metrics, the scale of purchasing-power destruction is hard to dismiss.