This is for Iryna. May she never be forgotten. Her death will not be in vain.

This is for Charlie. May he never be forgotten. His death will not be in vain.

Inflation creates an invisible imbalance in the relationship between governments and their citizens, an imbalance that quietly benefits the state while systematically disadvantaging ordinary people. As inflation rises, progressive taxation automatically increases government revenues because nominal wage growth pushes taxpayers into higher tax brackets. Meanwhile, many thresholds and benefits designed to support citizens remain rigid, rarely adjusted adequately, if at all. Consider thresholds such as savings allowances, eligibility limits for parental benefits, or income thresholds determining obligations to financially support elderly parents. These amounts are typically fixed by law. Over time, inflation erodes their real value, causing average earners to cross thresholds originally intended only for wealthier individuals. As a result, people whose real purchasing power has not significantly improved find themselves subject to heavier tax burdens, losing eligibility for benefits, or taking on financial responsibilities they were not meant to shoulder. This phenomenon is neither accidental nor isolated to any single country. It is widespread across many democracies. By neglecting to index thresholds and social benefits automatically to inflation, governments effectively enact hidden austerity measures. Politicians then periodically introduce selective and highly visible adjustments, framing them as acts of generosity or responsiveness. However, in reality, these corrections are usually minimal, delayed, and insufficient. This subtle but powerful manipulation poses serious challenges to democratic integrity, fairness, and transparency. What should be predictable and objective, regular automatic adjustments to inflation, becomes discretionary, subject to political maneuvering and short-term popularity. The remedy is clear: automatic indexing of thresholds, tax allowances, and public benefits to inflation must become standard legislative practice. Democracies need independent mechanisms or institutions to enforce systematic adjustments, protecting citizens against the hidden erosion of their financial rights and ensuring fairness over time. Without such structural reforms, inflation will continue to silently and disproportionately burden ordinary citizens, quietly reshaping societies in ways that are neither just nor sustainable.