I thought this was well known. Perhaps not the specifics listed here, but debasing the coinage is an old and established trick. The Romans often had financial crises because the government spent too much and then needed to stretch the money supply further than it could go.
“I thought this was well known.”
Agreed—debasement of the currency is a “classic” .gov scam.
The “progressive” income tax turned it into .gov windfall time.