As money loses its value, the country crashes. Lesson from Rome.

"Monetary policy therefore always serves, even if it serves badly, the perceived needs of the rulers of the state. If it also happens to enhance the prosperity and progress of the masses of the people, that is a secondary benefit; but its first aim is to serve the needs of the rulers, not the ruled. And this point is central, I believe, to an understanding of the course of monetary policy in the late Roman Empire."

Read the rest of a fascinating article here.  


I never knew that you could debase gold and silver coins, but read all about how the Roman Emperors destroyed their coinage in their increasingly desperate attempts to expand and preserve the Empire.