Why does life feel manageable… and then suddenly everything gets harder?

Prices rise.Mortgage and rent payments jump.Jobs feel less secure.Savings don’t stretch as far.

And every time, we’re told the same thing:“That’s just the economy.”“No one could have seen it coming.”

In this episode of Taxed & Taken, we explain why that story doesn’t hold up.

Booms and busts are not random. They are not natural disasters. And they are not failures of free markets. They are the predictable result of governments and central banks manipulating money — especially interest rates, the price we all pay to borrow.

When borrowing is made artificially cheap, it creates an illusion of prosperity. Businesses overexpand. Households take on more debt. Asset prices soar. Everything feels fine — until reality catches up.

Then the crash comes. And when it does, it isn’t bankers or politicians who feel it first. It’s ordinary people.

Using clear, real-world examples — from Ancient Rome to the dot-com bubble, the 2008 housing crash, and the post-COVID cost-of-living crisis — this episode breaks down:

* how “good times” are created by cheap money

* why those booms always turn into busts

* who really benefits from the cycle

* and why ordinary people keep paying the price

Most importantly, this episode shows that once you understand the business cycle, the economy stops feeling chaotic — and starts to make sense.

Because when you can see the pattern, you’re no longer helpless inside it.

Get full access to Taxed & Taken: Money, Power & Freedom from the State at patelankeet.substack.com/subscribe