6 ms·

The problem will get printed away anyway... All those doom and gloom posts get boring...

nathanaldensr 6y ago
"Printing" doesn't resolve any problems. If it did, we wouldn't need to do it over and over. Have you heard of hyperinflation? Do you know where "printed" money tends to end up (hint: it's neither in your pocket nor mine)?
- reader_mode 6y ago
  Depends - if you are in debt - hyperinflation is a clean slate, if you have savings in the currency you're screwed, also depends on how stable your income is. Considering the ridiculously low interest rates right now if you want to bet on inflation - take out as much loans as you can and buy assets that won't depreciate much.
- kilo_bravo_3 6y ago
  I have been waiting for hyperinflation to occur in the US, as doomsayers have been predicting, for at least 25 years. They may have been claiming it will happen for longer than 25 years but I've only been paying attention for 25 years. At this rate, I think the Return of His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may occur sooner than hyperinflation. Is it for real this time? Is hyperinflation finally happening? I would love to wallpaper my bathroom in $100,000 bills after using four of them to pay off my mortgage.
tmaly 6y ago
I went to Whole foods last night to buy some vodka sauce as it was going to be faster that making it myself due to time constraints. The container is about half the size ( 10 ounces ) now for the same price. The cashier even noticed it and said something to me. Modern monetary theory still does not solve this problem.
- Fjolsvith 6y ago
  Good thing gold doesn't shrink.
AnimalMuppet 6y ago
Forget money. Think in terms of stuff (goods and services). Our society is producing less stuff (quarantines, shutdowns, people not working). We still want to consume as much stuff. Eventually, that's going to be a problem - one you can't fix with money.
- klyrs 6y ago
  Exactly. Folks want to carry on and not live in a world with a pandemic (or climate change, or slavery). But they also don't want to implement austerity at a personal level. They also don't want government to implement austerity at a larger scale. So the pandemic will rage on, climate change will continue to accelerate, and commodities will be produced by child and slave labor. All this will continue until the externalities bite us and revolution or collapse takes it all away. The US could have handled this better if the politics weren't so polarized; but as it stands, the country is all too happy to cut its nose to spite its face. Perhaps economic collapse of the country which consumes the most resources in the world will reduce that consumption, and hence pollution and slavery. Maybe it will create a vacuum of power where another nation will take over; one which puts a greater focus on the environment but doesn't mind slavery. Or maybe we'll just say "fuck it" and start tossing bombs.
  - nradov 6y ago
    The last coronavirus pandemic didn't cause collapse or revolution. The acute phase of the pandemic will end within a few years even if we do nothing to control it (I am not advocating doing nothing). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7252012/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7252012/
    - Bombthecat 6y ago
      Uhhh back then, people didn't travel around the world for fun and buisness in masses and within a few hours...
      - nradov 6y ago
harambae 6y ago
In theory, states can't print money - it's illegal and no one would accept it regardless. (California has come close with some of its IOU's but that's another story.) Certainly there will be a push for federal money printing to bail out states, though, you're right. Whether it actually works depends on politics and maybe how far things swing in 5 days.

"Printing" doesn't resolve any problems. If it did, we wouldn't need to do it over and over. Have you heard of hyperinflation? Do you know where "printed" money tends to end up (hint: it's neither in your pocket nor mine)?

reader_mode 6y ago
Depends - if you are in debt - hyperinflation is a clean slate, if you have savings in the currency you're screwed, also depends on how stable your income is. Considering the ridiculously low interest rates right now if you want to bet on inflation - take out as much loans as you can and buy assets that won't depreciate much.
kilo_bravo_3 6y ago
I have been waiting for hyperinflation to occur in the US, as doomsayers have been predicting, for at least 25 years. They may have been claiming it will happen for longer than 25 years but I've only been paying attention for 25 years. At this rate, I think the Return of His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may occur sooner than hyperinflation. Is it for real this time? Is hyperinflation finally happening? I would love to wallpaper my bathroom in $100,000 bills after using four of them to pay off my mortgage.

tmaly 6y ago

I went to Whole foods last night to buy some vodka sauce as it was going to be faster that making it myself due to time constraints. The container is about half the size ( 10 ounces ) now for the same price. The cashier even noticed it and said something to me. Modern monetary theory still does not solve this problem.

Fjolsvith 6y ago
Good thing gold doesn't shrink.

AnimalMuppet 6y ago

Forget money. Think in terms of stuff (goods and services). Our society is producing less stuff (quarantines, shutdowns, people not working). We still want to consume as much stuff. Eventually, that's going to be a problem - one you can't fix with money.

klyrs 6y ago
Exactly. Folks want to carry on and not live in a world with a pandemic (or climate change, or slavery). But they also don't want to implement austerity at a personal level. They also don't want government to implement austerity at a larger scale. So the pandemic will rage on, climate change will continue to accelerate, and commodities will be produced by child and slave labor. All this will continue until the externalities bite us and revolution or collapse takes it all away. The US could have handled this better if the politics weren't so polarized; but as it stands, the country is all too happy to cut its nose to spite its face. Perhaps economic collapse of the country which consumes the most resources in the world will reduce that consumption, and hence pollution and slavery. Maybe it will create a vacuum of power where another nation will take over; one which puts a greater focus on the environment but doesn't mind slavery. Or maybe we'll just say "fuck it" and start tossing bombs.
- nradov 6y ago
  The last coronavirus pandemic didn't cause collapse or revolution. The acute phase of the pandemic will end within a few years even if we do nothing to control it (I am not advocating doing nothing). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7252012/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7252012/
  - Bombthecat 6y ago
    Uhhh back then, people didn't travel around the world for fun and buisness in masses and within a few hours...
    - nradov 6y ago

harambae 6y ago

In theory, states can't print money - it's illegal and no one would accept it regardless. (California has come close with some of its IOU's but that's another story.) Certainly there will be a push for federal money printing to bail out states, though, you're right. Whether it actually works depends on politics and maybe how far things swing in 5 days.