Why You’re Getting Poorer Every Year

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Every once in a while, someone explains what you’ve been feeling… but couldn’t quite put into words.

This is one of those times.

In a recent sit-down with Peter McCormack, macro analyst Lyn Alden didn’t sugarcoat it. She didn’t hedge it, she didn’t dress it up in economist jargon, she just said it.

“Do you believe we’re living through a slow financial collapse that the majority of people don’t even recognize is happening?

Her answer, “I do.”

Sip on that for a moment. Because if you’ve been wondering why everything feels tighter (even when you’re making money) you’re not crazy. You’re just living inside the system she’s describing.

---

The Slow Bleed Nobody Sees

Alden breaks it down in a way that hits a little too close to home. Your paycheck? Losing value. Your savings? Losing value. Your buying power? Definitely losing value.

Not overnight. Not in some dramatic “bank collapse” headline. But slowly. Quietly. Relentlessly.

“People kind of look around and say… I’m still earning money, but it just doesn’t feel like it goes as far… and a lot of times they’re right.”

And here’s the kicker. It’s not a bug. It’s the system. According to Alden, modern currency systems are designed to grow… or die. And that “growth”?

It comes from debt, money creation, and whether people realize it or not, debasement.

---

The Game Is Rigged (And You’re Probably Not Playing It)

This is where things go from uncomfortable to outright brutal. Alden explains that the real winners in this system aren’t the savers. They’re the borrowers. The ones who can take on debt, buy assets, and effectively “short the currency.”

Everyone else? They’re holding the bag.

“Governments are shorting it, corporations are shorting it… and the least able to short it are… those at the bottom of the income stack.”

Translation?

If you’re just working, saving, and trying to do the “right thing”… you’re getting squeezed from both sides. And most people don’t even know it’s happening.

---

“By the End, It Resembles Theft”

This is the line that should make people sit up. Because Alden doesn’t dance around it.

“You kind of keep adding new layers to the system… until by the end it resembles theft.”

Not theft in the traditional sense. No one’s kicking your door in and grabbing your wallet. It’s quieter than that. It’s your dollar buying less. Your savings shrinking in real terms. Your future is getting more expensive.

All while the system keeps humming along like nothing’s wrong.

---

By the Numbers: The Quiet Collapse in Plain Sight

• $39 TRILLION+
  Current U.S. national debt discussed; levels that historically don’t end cleanly
• ~7% / YEAR
  Average money supply growth in developed countries
  (Your dollars are being diluted at this pace)
• 2–4% / YEAR
  Typical wage growth for most people
  (You’re losing ground every year)
• 0%
  Long-term supply growth of Bitcoin (by design)
  (Alden highlights scarcity as the key differentiator)
• ~2% / YEAR
  Gold supply growth
  (Historically why it holds value better than fiat)
• NEAR 0% INTEREST (historically)
  Central banks forced rates to zero to keep debt alive
  (System has to grow—or it breaks)
• 2008 → NOW
  Private debt crisis → shifted to public debt
  (Losses socialized, system reset… temporarily)

---

So What Happens Next?

Here’s the part nobody wants to hear. There’s no clean exit.

“Once you get to the part where there’s this much debt… there’s really no way out of it other than they’re going to default.”

But don’t picture some dramatic “we can’t pay” moment. Modern default doesn’t look like that. It looks like printing your way out of the problem and letting inflation do the damage.

Slow… or fast… depending on how bad things get.

---

Why This Matters to the 2A Crowd

This is where it all comes back home. Because history has a pattern:

• Economic instability → political instability
• Political instability → social tension
• Social tension → bad decisions (and worse laws)

When systems start cracking, governments don’t suddenly get smaller. They get more aggressive. More control, more restrictions, more “for your safety” policies.

And that includes your rights. The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting. It’s about uncertainty. It’s about recognizing that systems (financial, political, social) aren’t permanent.

And when they wobble? You don’t want to be the guy who assumed everything would just keep working.

---

The Bottom Line

This isn’t doom porn. It’s reality with the volume turned up. We’re not in a freefall collapse… yet. But if Alden’s right, and the data suggests she might be, we’re in something slower. Something more subtle.

A long grind where the rules quietly change… and most people don’t notice until it’s too late.

So the real question isn’t whether the system is shifting. It’s whether you’re paying attention while it does.

---

How Do You Protect Yourself From This?

If the system is slowly eating away at your money, doing nothing isn’t a strategy. You don’t need to go extreme, but you do need to be intentional.

Start by getting out of pure cash. If your savings are just sitting there, they’re losing value every year. Think in terms of hard assets (real estate, commodities, long-term equities) that hold or grow value over time, not just dollars in an account.

Understand how debt actually works in this system. Used wisely, fixed-rate debt can work in your favor as inflation rises. But there’s a big difference between leveraging assets (buying something that pays you) and drowning in liabilities (buying something that drains you).

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin, Gold, or Guns: What’s the Smart Play?

It also makes sense to have at least some exposure outside the traditional system, whether that’s hard assets, commodities, or alternative stores of value (Gold, BTC, Guns!). The goal isn’t speculation. It’s diversification.

At the same time, don’t overlook the basics. Skills, adaptability, and self-reliance don’t inflate away. In uncertain times, those matter more than most people realize.

And yes, personal security matters. Economic pressure has a way of spilling into the real world. The Second Amendment isn’t about theory, it’s about being prepared if things don’t go according to plan.

Above all, stay aware. Most people don’t get wiped out overnight. They get worn down slowly because they didn’t see the shift happening.

You don’t have to predict the future. But you do have to recognize the game you’re playing.

*** Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica! ***

https://gunsamerica.com/listings/search