The 3 Silent Tricks They Use to Steal From You

In 2025, governments don’t need to raise your taxes to shrink your net worth.

They’ve found quieter ways to do it—methods that don’t show up on a paycheck, and won’t make the evening news.

They use three main levers.

Each of them subtle. Each of them devastating over time.

Let’s break them down:

1. Currency Debasement (The Invisible Tax)

You already know inflation eats away your purchasing power.

But what most people miss is this:

When the government runs massive deficits (like the $1.8 trillion projected shortfall this year) and the Fed monetizes that debt by buying Treasuries, it creates more dollars without creating more goods.

More money + same amount of goods = each dollar is worth less.

That’s what’s happening now.

The Fed’s balance sheet may be off its pandemic highs, but fiscal policy hasn’t slowed down. The result? Prices rise, wages lag, and your savings lose buying power in silence.

This isn’t new. It’s the modern form of default—paying off past obligations with devalued currency.

And it works because most people don't feel it happening. Until it's too late.

2. Negative Real Yields (Punishing Savers Quietly)

“Real yield” = Nominal interest rate – Inflation rate.

Right now, the nominal yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries is around 4.3%.

Meanwhile, the latest official CPI data (as of April 2025) shows headline inflation at 2.3%, with core inflation at 2.8%.

On the surface, that gives you a positive real yield—barely.

But here's the rub:

• Those inflation figures exclude housing costs, insurance spikes, and other real-world expenses that most Americans feel daily.

• Consumer expectations are flashing red: the latest University of Michigan survey shows households anticipating 7.3% inflation over the next year—the highest level in decades.

So if you go by the real-world inflation people actually experience, your yield is likely negative.

That means you’re guaranteed to lose purchasing power, even if your account balance goes up.

3. Asset Inflation (And the Trap of Paper Wealth)

When interest rates are suppressed and liquidity floods the system (as it did from 2020–2022), assets rise—stocks, housing, even collectibles.

It creates a paper wealth effect. But here’s the catch:

• Entry prices surge (housing affordability is at multi-decade lows)

• Wages don’t keep pace (real wage growth remains flat)

• Volatility rises (valuations are stretched thin)

So while it looks like everyone’s getting richer, access to real assets becomes harder for average people.

You get priced out, forced into debt, or left chasing inflated markets.

And when the cycle reverses? You’re left holding the bag.

Why This Matters

Each of these tools is sold as “necessary policy.”

But together, they quietly transfer wealth—from the public to the state, from savers to debtors, and from citizens to central planners.

You’re not imagining it. You’re being drained by a system that pretends it’s helping you.

What You Can Do

• Own real assets — land, commodities, productive businesses.

• Reduce exposure to dollar-based illusions — stay wary of nominal gains.

• Follow the flows, not the headlines — because by the time the media notices, it’s too late.

If you’re not sure where to start, this free gold guide from American Hartford Gold lays it out clearly—how physical gold works, why it still matters, and how people are using it to hedge against a dollar that’s quietly bleeding value.

👉 Grab the free guide here

Until next time,
Death of the Dollar