Why does life keep getting more expensive, even as technology makes everything cheaper?

Every year, we produce more, innovate faster, and work harder. Yet somehow, it feels harder than ever to get ahead.

This episode reveals why that feeling isn’t a failure… its design.

We uncover the hidden architecture of inflation: the mechanisms, incentives, and feedback loops that keep modern economies running on perpetual money creation. 

Inflation isn’t random. It’s engineered. 
And understanding how it works explains why you feel poorer in our most technologically-advanced age yet. 

Here’s what we’re unpacking:
* Why “growth” has become a disguise for dilution
* How new money always flows to the ultra-wealthy first (the Cantillon Effect in modern form)
* The missing prosperity that technology should have delivered, and who’s capturing it instead
* Why governments can’t stop printing (and why inflation is now policy, not accident)
* How the system feeds on productivity itself, keeping you running faster but never getting ahead

If you’ve ever felt like you’re running faster but standing still, this episode will show you why.

See you on the inside.

 

IMPORTANT: The Investor Lab is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research and seek independent professional advice before making any investment or financial decisions.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Today’s mission: Hidden Architecture of Inflation
07:32 – Should prices fall? Free markets, tech, and Jeff Booth’s maxim
10:31 – Quantity Theory of Money (MV = PQ) made simple
22:45 – The Cantillon Effect: why new money lifts assets first
39:16 – Inflation–Productivity Delta: the missing 5.6% a year
54:20 – Politics of perpetual inflation: debt, velocity, and incentives
1:16:20 – Rapid recap + what we’ll cover next week (what to do about it!)

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: 
Why You Feel Poorer Even as the World Gets Richer

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SERIES: Why Getting Ahead Is Getting Harder (and What To Do About It)

Have you noticed that, no matter how hard you work, it feels harder to get ahead? 

Wages look bigger, property prices keep climbing, and the headlines say Australia is richer than ever. But for many households, the reality is the opposite — pay rises don’t stretch, saving feels impossible, and the dream of home ownership slips further away.

In this new mini-series — Why Getting Ahead Is Getting Harder (and What To Do About It) — we expose the hidden forces behind the squeeze: from the illusion of prosperity created by money supply growth, to the widening divides between owners and non-owners, to the strategies you can use to protect yourself and build real wealth today.

The old rules no longer work: work hard, save diligently, and expect security.

The new rules are here. And in this series, we’ll show you how to use them to your advantage.

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Catch Up On Recent Episodes:

• AI, Housing & Money Printing: 3 Big Questions Shaping Your Financial Future 
• Turning Property Wealth Into Retirement Income
• The Great Melt-Up: When Trust in Money Dies 
• The Illusion of Prosperity: Why Getting Ahead Feels Impossible 
• First Home Guarantee Scheme, Property Scarcity, and Why It Matters for Everyone Else
• NZ Property Market Crash: What Does It Mean For Australia?
• Bitcoin vs Australian Real Estate
• We Answer Everything: When You Have "Enough" Money, Why Cash Flow Is Dead & The Future of Money
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• Beyond 2030: The Prosperity Wave Most Investors Will Miss (Biggest Opportunity Ever)
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• The Coming US Debt Collapse (And What It Means For Australia) 
• How to Help Everyone You Care About Win in the New Economy
• How to Design a Life You Won't Regret in the Next 5 Years
• How AI Will Change Your Economic Future 
• AI Is Here: And Most People Aren't Ready
• Is A Supercycle Coming? (Housing Market Outlook)
• The Inner Game of Investing
• Trusts & SMSFs: How Advanced Investors Are Rethinking Their Structures in 2025
• Tariffs, Trade Wars, and What It Means For Your Portfolio
• Portfolio Acceleration Masterclass
• Financial Jiu-Jitsu: How to Break Through Your Portfolio's Cashflow Constraints
• Winning the Investment Game: How to Set & Beat Your Hurdle Rate
• Fake Gold? Markets Down? Liquidity Up? – What’s REALLY Going On?
• The RBA Just Changed the Game — Here’s What It Means for You
• Hold vs Sell: How to Know When to Take Profits
• Bitcoin: Why Every Property Investor Needs to Consider Owning It
• Everything You Need To Know About Property Investing Finance
• Property Investing In Australia In 2025: What You Need To Know
• Investment Strategies for 2025
• Follow the Money: How Liquidity Drives Asset Prices (and How You Can Benefit)
• What You Don’t Know About Money Could Cost You Everything 

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