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Why, the misery of poor folks, of course - as measured against a representative bundle of various non-value-producing traumas (i.e. Rich People Problems, in the common parlance.) You see, when the "We" you reference in your second sentence - who I will actually refer to as "They" going forward (I hope this is not too presumptuous, if it is please notify me as quickly as you can after your 1st or 2nd eight-hour shift and I will update this) - Anyhow, the issue arises when They are no longer sufficiently motivated to infinitely reproduce these iPhones, cars, clothes, etc. for everyone to consume and dispose of. It should go without saying that this state of affairs is massively destabilizing for both We and They. As the parent to your comment astutely observes, when "everyone is becoming wealthy by just clicking buy" (note: I will likewise be using the term "everyone" in the usual sense, as shorthand for "everyone I care about or know too well to assume financial standing directly maps to moral standing") then there is simply too much money sloshing around for it to continue flowing within the Banks as intended. It then, to borrow a phrase from esteemed economist Dr. Bonzo, begins trickling down to ever lower segments of the population. Obviously, this is Very Bad; and indeed, if this trickle-down continues it may eventually reach populations far below C-level. That brings us to our current crisis. In the above context, you may think of the money-printer-go-brr approach of 2020 onward as a sort of Hundred Year Flood. What's worse, this flood was already largely concentrated in the lowest-lying areas it was ever intended to reach. Although We had the foresight to levy protective taxes on these areas, even these levees became overtaxed in the deluge and the usual trickle turned into a torrent. Suddenly, even the poor could afford to purchase some of the things they produced. Needless to say, this caused a dramatic decrease in the Productive Misery supply at exactly the moment when We demanded it most. Enter inflation. Looking back on this disaster, one thing is clear: Though I'd always considered the phrase far too pessimistic to be true, a rising tide really does lift all boats. In fact, these days the yacht gets stuck in traffic so often, I wonder if a third one is even worth it. |