What is the inflation rate of Steem? Every once in a while I jot down the circulating supply by hand.


Date / Steem / SBD
3-3-18 /251,012,736 /10,038,216
4-6-18 /255,912,562 / 11,382,505
5-6-18 / 254,596,936 / 13,169,768
6-6-18 / 258,722,593 / 14,784,856
7-7-18 / 264,129,936 / 15,408,050
8-7-18 / 269,744,995 / 16,848,166
9-5-18 / 273,960,849 / 15,471,646
12-12-18 / 302,464,146 / 12,738,300
1-6-19 /307,577,184  / 11,703,508

In the ten months I've been tracking this, the average monthly increase has been 5.6m Steem.  But, the first 6 months and last 4 months are very different. In the first 6 months the increase was 3.8m Steem per month, for the last 4 months it has been 8.4m Steem per month! That is about the time of the hard fork btw. If you annualize the increase for the last 4 months you get a shocking 36% annual inflation rate. 

What the fuck is that?

If you are not making at least 36% a year return from your posting, voting, delegating etc you are losing purchasing power in Steem. 

In basic economics it is vital to know the difference between nominal and real. Imagine walking the wrong way on one of those horizontal escalators at the airports. Sure, in nominal terms you can take 10 steps forward, but if the walkway takes you backwards twice as fast as you are walking forward you are LOSING GROUND. It's relative. Anyone who thinks the US dollar is strong while trillions are being printed out of thin air every year should have their chromosomes examined.

Is anyone making 36% a year? Is it possible to make 36% a year? Are the witnesses' block rewards enough to cover that kind of inflation rate? 

What is going on here? Looks like anyone who considers Steem a viable currency didn't receive the scarcity memo.

![venezuela1.PNG](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNx9homgGP1nJ6RsCU3suu3tG49p71j2bsfCWYr1Sbn4t/venezuela1.PNG)