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by DeanCollinsNY 4095 days ago
agree.....it still amazes me to this day that people don't wake up and realize that inflation is "government theft" you had 100 dollars today....next year with 6% inflation next year you have $94

idiots run around looking at their 401k's and their "property values" thinking they are rich but its really.....no you idiot the government stole from you and you are too stupid to realize.
2 comments
RobertoG 4095 days ago
That’s a very strange way of thinking about money. Money is valuable but only in the context of an economy. Your example is true only if the economy didn’t grow that year. You could make the opposite example. You have 100 dollars today and 100 dollars tomorrow but the economy shrinks a 6%, what is the real value of your money?

A most interesting way would be see money as infrastructure. In order the economy to work you need money. In order to it work properly you need the proper quantity of money. Of course we can disagree in what is the proper quantity.

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zo1 4094 days ago
What way should one think of it, if you concede the fact that the "new" money printed doesn't get equally distributed to all the individuals based on their proportion of ownership of the previous total of money supply?

I.e. if there is 1000 floating around, and 2 individuals in the population. Then if the government prints an extra 100, it needs to give 50 to each individual (not 100 to the one, but not the other). Probably not logistically feasible with a large population, but that way you can at least say it's not "theft".

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Gurkenmaster 4095 days ago
Deflation also causes problems because the value of your money increases over time. Should I spend it today, tomorrow or in 10 years?
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zo1 4094 days ago
>"Should I spend it today, tomorrow or in 10 years?"

Whenever the "future" benefit does not outweigh the "current" benefit of said money. People do it now with the interest rates the other way around, why would it be any different with deflation? I.e. they spend now, or they invest now, or they invest in financial instruments now that will beat "inflation".

Both sides of inflation/deflation affect peoples' actions based on their time preference of money[1].

[1] Economists correct me on my usage of that term, if I'm wrong.

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