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At least we don't have hyperinflation. That's even worse for the poor. Though to be sure I agree with you. We really need to fix this, but it's not going to

At least we don't have hyperinflation. That's even worse for the poor. Though to be sure I agree with you. We really need to fix this, but it's not going to happen. Right now we're paying an enormous -unprecedented?- political attention tax that is starving lots of important issues of oxygen.

arcticbull 6y ago
Inflation doesn't affect the poor so long as wages keep up with inflation. If you don't have money, there's nothing to inflate.
- samatman 6y ago
  They did say hyperinflation. Characteristic of hyperinflation, is that nothing keeps up with it. Forget wages keeping up: your very paycheck is worth less at the end of two weeks than it was when you received it.
- gruez 6y ago
  > Inflation doesn't affect the poor so long as wages keep up with inflation Does it? In an inflationary environment the status quo is that your wages shrink. I guess it’s better than holding cash because you can renegotiate your wages back, but I don’t think rich people have most of their assets as cash.
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    > In an inflationary environment the status quo is that your wages shrink. The US is a classical inflationary environment and wages have kept pace with inflation forever. Indeed, inflation only, and intentionally, punishes those who hoard cash.
    - gruez 6y ago
      Not always, depending on your timeframe. eg. if you look at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/United_States_real_wages_%28red%2C_in_constant_2017_dollars%29.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/United_S... there’s about 2 decades where the real wage went down.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - arcticbull 6y ago
        Fair enough. I would note that chart begins prior to ending the gold standard in 1971, and it has tracked very well since 1995. I was off-base when I said "forever." I should have said in recent history.
- ivanche 6y ago
  Your comment makes me think you weren't even close to hyperinflation, ever. Sincerely, a guy who survived 313 000 000 % inflation per month.

arcticbull 6y ago

Inflation doesn't affect the poor so long as wages keep up with inflation. If you don't have money, there's nothing to inflate.

samatman 6y ago
They did say hyperinflation. Characteristic of hyperinflation, is that nothing keeps up with it. Forget wages keeping up: your very paycheck is worth less at the end of two weeks than it was when you received it.
gruez 6y ago
> Inflation doesn't affect the poor so long as wages keep up with inflation Does it? In an inflationary environment the status quo is that your wages shrink. I guess it’s better than holding cash because you can renegotiate your wages back, but I don’t think rich people have most of their assets as cash.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  > In an inflationary environment the status quo is that your wages shrink. The US is a classical inflationary environment and wages have kept pace with inflation forever. Indeed, inflation only, and intentionally, punishes those who hoard cash.
  - gruez 6y ago
    Not always, depending on your timeframe. eg. if you look at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/United_States_real_wages_%28red%2C_in_constant_2017_dollars%29.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/United_S... there’s about 2 decades where the real wage went down.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - arcticbull 6y ago
      Fair enough. I would note that chart begins prior to ending the gold standard in 1971, and it has tracked very well since 1995. I was off-base when I said "forever." I should have said in recent history.
ivanche 6y ago
Your comment makes me think you weren't even close to hyperinflation, ever. Sincerely, a guy who survived 313 000 000 % inflation per month.