Inflation is the term generally used when there are increases in the money supply and prices go up. Inflation, then, is the devaluation of goods when units of value become too plentiful. This principle applies to other areas of life: rules can be inflated, classifications of diseases or disabilities can be inflated, relationships can be inflated and warnings can be inflated. David Henderson points out that the government puts out so many warnings, the warnings have become worse than useless. They have become dangerous:

In Carmel, California, a few miles from where I live, is Monastery Beach, sometimes referred to by the locals as “Mortuary Beach.” At that beach, the undertow is particularly severe. Many people have drowned there. I remember one time reading in the local paper that all the members of a visiting family had drowned.

Notice the word “visiting.” Almost all the people who drown there are tourists. Why is that relevant?

The locals tend to know about the undertow. Outsiders do not. On the beach, for well over 15 years, has been a big sign warning of the undertow. I think many tourists simply think the sign is typical government overstatement. They think the government is crying wolf. Then, even when the risk is real, they discount it heavily. And that causes some people to die.

If health activists cry that every food is unhealthy, people will start ignoring them and eating the worst food along with moderately unhealthy food. If disability advocates start labeling everything as a disability, people with real hardships will be marginalized and ignored. If the government makes too many rules, people will lose respect for the law and violate real crimes. When the government cries wolf, people die.