The government itself becomes the victim of its own inflationary debasement. Tax revenues decline due to the erosion of legitimate trade, the diversion of goods to the black market, and the pouring of money into non- productive speculation. The costs of government rise rapidly and the burdens on it increase as a result of economic instability. In the end the government is obliged to create still more fiat money or debase the currency still further in order to finance its own operation—and the spiral gets another vicious twist. With each turn of the cycle the descent becomes more rapid. There is no way out except to return to the discipline of gold, and this requires that the debased purchasing media be officially devalued in terms of their gold equivalent or written off entirely as in a bankruptcy. In either case, the holders of the debased coin or fiat money are the losers. Incredible as it sometimes seems, the United States and Great Britain have already gone far down the road leading to pure fiat money.<br>