Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when replacing a light bulb was barely worth mentioning.) Standard LED Light Bulb (2005 → 2025) 2005 Price — A standard household light bulb typically cost $1.50–$2.00. 2025 Price — A comparable LED bulb now commonly costs $5.00–$7.00, roughly a 3× increase to screw light into the same socket. Inflation has a habit of hiding in the background, quietly repricing the things we rely on so often we stop noticing them. And when the measuring stick bends, even the simplest act of keeping the lights on begins to claim more of the hours we traded to earn them. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Cobden believed cooperation outperforms coercion—that voluntary exchange knits societies together more effectively than centralized control ever could. Bitcoin carries this insight into money, enabling people to transact directly, across borders, without intermediaries that extract or distort. When exchange is permissionless, trust is earned, not imposed—and peaceful coordination becomes the default. #bitcoin #Cobden #Exchange #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (On New Year’s Day, this one feels especially fitting.) Bottle of Champagne for a New Year’s Toast (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A decent bottle of champagne or sparkling wine for New Year’s typically cost $10–$12. 2025 Price — A comparable bottle now commonly costs $30–$40, roughly a 3× increase for the same pop of the cork at midnight. New Year’s is when we measure our lives in years rather than minutes, pausing to notice what has changed and what has endured. And when the measuring stick bends, even our rituals for marking time quietly demand more of the hours and effort we carried with us into the new year. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Gibbon understood that history does not turn on intentions, but on resolve. Renewal without discipline is ritual; resolve without action is illusion. Bitcoin reflects this same principle by rewarding commitment over convenience—those who choose responsibility, scarcity, and long-term thinking shape the future rather than merely inheriting it. New years change nothing on their own; decisions do. #Bitcoin #Gibbon #Resolve #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when babysitting was paid in cash and gratitude.) Hourly Babysitting Rate (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A typical babysitting rate ran about $5–$7 per hour. 2025 Price — The same service now commonly costs $18–$25 per hour, roughly a 3–4× increase for watching the same kids during the same evening hours. Inflation often reveals itself where trust and time intersect, quietly repricing care until the change feels inevitable. And when the measuring stick bends, even borrowing a few free hours demands a larger share of the hours you’ve already traded away. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Polanyi understood that truth does not advance by decree but by freedom—by allowing individuals to test, dissent, and discover without coercion. Bitcoin applies this principle to money itself, creating a system where rules are transparent and participation is voluntary. By protecting individual autonomy at the base layer, bitcoin preserves the conditions under which truth, coordination, and trust can emerge organically rather than being enforced from above. #Polanyi #bitcoin #Liberty #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when school lunch was a couple of coins in your pocket.) Public School Lunch (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A standard public school lunch typically cost $1.25–$1.50. 2025 Price — The same lunch now commonly costs $3.75–$5.00, roughly a 3× increase for the same tray, carton of milk, and cafeteria line. Inflation has a way of embedding itself in routines we stop questioning, especially when the bill is small and recurring. And when the measuring stick bends, even feeding a child at midday quietly asks for more of the hours a parent traded to earn it. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Tocqueville saw freedom as a practiced skill, not a granted condition. When individuals lose the habit of responsibility, power quietly migrates upward to fill the void. Bitcoin reinforces this older insight by requiring personal stewardship—of keys, choices, and consequences—restoring civic muscle through voluntary, rule-based cooperation rather than managed dependence. #Bitcoin #Tocqueville #Responsibility #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when replacing printer ink felt annoying, not absurd.) Inkjet Printer Cartridge (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A standard inkjet cartridge typically cost $18–$22. 2025 Price — A comparable cartridge now commonly costs $60–$80, roughly a 3–4× increase for the same few milliliters of ink. Inflation has a talent for hiding inside inconveniences, quietly multiplying the cost of things we resent but still need. And when the measuring stick bends, even the simple act of putting words on paper demands more of the hours we already spent earning them. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Jouvenel strips power of its mystique and reveals it as a practical mechanism: control over means becomes control over people. Bitcoin interrupts this accumulation by removing monetary leverage from centralized hands and redistributing it across a network governed by rules rather than influence. In doing so, it weakens the quiet channels through which power usually flows. #bitcoin #Jouvenel #Power #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember feeding a parking meter with loose change.) Downtown Parking Meter (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — An hour at a downtown parking meter typically cost $0.50–$0.75. 2025 Price — The same hour now commonly costs $2.50–$4.00, roughly a 4–6× increase for occupying the same curb beneath the same streetlight. Inflation often parks itself in plain sight, quietly revising the cost of ordinary errands until the increase feels like part of the landscape. And when the measuring stick bends, even standing still for an hour begins to demand more of the time you already worked to earn. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Addams understood that lasting prosperity cannot be hoarded; it must be rooted in systems that respect human agency and fairness. When institutions concentrate power, even personal gains become fragile. Bitcoin reflects this insight structurally—by decentralizing trust and removing privileged intermediaries, it allows individual sovereignty to scale into shared resilience, turning private responsibility into a durable public good. #Bitcoin #Addams #Sovereignty #HumanDignity

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when grabbing a case of water felt almost trivial.) Case of Bottled Water (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A case of bottled water typically cost $3–$4 at the grocery store. 2025 Price — The same case now commonly costs $7–$10, roughly a 2–3× increase for the same plastic bottles filled from the same sources. Inflation has a way of seeping into necessities so quietly that we barely notice until the receipt tells the story. And when the measuring stick bends, even the most basic comforts of modern life begin to demand more of the hours we traded to earn them. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Ruskin reminds us that prosperity divorced from human dignity is an accounting illusion. True wealth preserves agency, time, and the capacity to choose well. Bitcoin echoes this older wisdom by anchoring value to voluntary exchange and long-term stewardship, not extraction—quietly restoring money to serve life rather than consume it. #Ruskin #bitcoin #Stewardship #Freedom

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when getting your car inspected was barely an inconvenience.) State Vehicle Inspection (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A standard state vehicle inspection typically cost $10–$15. 2025 Price — The same inspection now commonly runs $30–$50, roughly a 3× increase for the same checklist, lift, and sticker on the windshield. Inflation often hides in regulatory routines, quietly compounding costs where repetition dulls our awareness. And when the measuring stick bends, even the simple act of staying compliant asks for more of the hours we traded to earn it. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Burke’s insight rejects the comfort of passivity and reminds us that responsibility is measured by action, not scale. Civilization advances through countless small acts of stewardship freely chosen, not grand gestures imposed. Bitcoin reflects this ethic in practice: each individual choice to opt into sound money may seem modest, yet together they form a durable foundation for trust, cooperation, and long-term human flourishing. #Bitcoin #Burke #Responsibility #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember wandering the aisles on a Friday night.) Movie Rental (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — Renting a VHS tape typically cost $2.99–$3.99 for a few days. 2025 Price — Renting a new digital release now commonly costs $5.99–$7.99, roughly a 2× increase for the same two-hour escape. Inflation often slips by under the cover of convenience, trading late fees and rewind buttons for higher prices we barely question. And when the measuring stick bends, even small moments of leisure quietly demand more of the hours we traded to earn them. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Emerson reminds us that prosperity is hollow if it does not produce character. Seasons of abundance reveal what systems cultivate beneath the surface—dependence or dignity, consumption or stewardship. Bitcoin aligns with this deeper measure by rewarding responsibility, long-term thinking, and voluntary cooperation, anchoring wealth to human values rather than institutional metrics. #Bitcoin #Emerson #Character #Sovereignty

Bent Measuring Stick (If you remember when hopping on a train felt like pocket change.) City Subway Fare (1995 → 2025) 1995 Price — A typical U.S. city subway fare was about $1.25. 2025 Price — The same ride now commonly costs $2.75–$3.25, roughly a 2–2.5× increase for traveling the same rails beneath the same streets. Inflation has a way of slipping underground, quietly inflating the cost of movement until it feels like part of the scenery. And when the measuring stick bends, even the simple act of getting to work demands a larger share of the hours we traded to earn it. #soundmoney #bitcoin #inflation #purchasingpower #fiat

Montesquieu’s observation is not cynical but empirical: unchecked power tends to expand until it is constrained. Bitcoin answers this centuries-old problem by removing discretion altogether—rules over rulers, limits over promises. By hard-coding restraint, bitcoin transforms suspicion of power into a system that no longer requires trust to function. #Montesquieu #bitcoin #Power #Sovereignty