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It's telling that the vast majority of the pushback on the 'inflation is bad' viewpoint comes from well-off academics, tech folks, and just generally people who

It's telling that the vast majority of the pushback on the 'inflation is bad' viewpoint comes from well-off academics, tech folks, and just generally people who are hurt the least by inflation.

Avshalom 5y ago
I unload trucks and stock shelves at Target. You think my viewpoint about inflation is gonna get published in a way that anyone sees?
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  There's a viral video going around of a Target employee placing a new price tag on Jimmy Dean breakfast biscuits. Sure it's not getting treated as seriously as an article in the New York Times written by Paul Krugman, but it's arguably having a greater impact than one of his milquetoast columns on the subject. So please, do share what you're seeing.
  - Avshalom 5y ago
    I mean that's not really the point. The thing is that if a journalist writes an article about inflation they might ask me if inflation is affecting me but of course the majority of the article will be from "experts" because otherwise they get called out for giving equal weight to Random J. Asshole as they do to economists or whatever. So every article pro/con/neutral about complex economic phenomena is going to be majority academics or bank CEOs or fed-reserve spox. That's the nature of journalism.
- feoren 5y ago
  I'll see it, if you type it out right now in this comment. I think shelf-stockers have more power than ever to get their views heard.
- imtringued 5y ago
  You benefit by keeping your job. In the current system deflation means you become useless to society. Yes capitalism is a ponzi scheme.
opportune 5y ago
Poor people can benefit from inflation in the sense of it wiping out debt or spurning wage inflation/decreasing wealth inequality
- dragontamer 5y ago
  > wiping out debt Do poor people have access to severe amounts of debt? The #1 source of debt in the USA seems to be the home mortgage, and #2 is probably the car-loan after that. Poor people don't have access to home mortgages because they can't afford it: they're in the renter class. So all inflation does is increase the price of rents to them. Car loans are also somewhat difficult for people with low credit scores. EDIT: Ah right: student loan debt. Which is once again, largely a rich person thing in the aggregate. Poor people aren't going to college. The middle class who can go to college may get significant amounts of student debt, but its nothing compared to the student loans the upper-class get for Lawyer / Medical Doctor schools. > spurning wage inflation While average wages have inflated, have they increased by 7.5% over the past year? I don't think so. --------- You need to be relatively well off to have a home-mortgage that benefits from inflation. (+Home value while decreasing the value to the loan). In fact, it is the richest among us who have the access to the most amounts of debt instruments (ex: a home speculator / house-flipper may own 10 homes and 10 different mortgages, but they needed a high amount of capital to find themselves in that situation).
  - glenstein 5y ago
    I would add medical debt, student loans, credit card debt.
    - dragontamer 5y ago
      I think I accept your point on medical debt. Medical debt can happen to anyone. But even credit-card debt is dependent on your credit score. Poor people don't have good credit, and therefore their ability to take on credit-card debt is limited compared to a richer person.
      - 5y ago
WillPostForFood 5y ago
Data does not support that. People with lower wages suffer the most with inflation. It's like a regressive tax. A $2 increase in the price of a gallon of gas takes a much bigger percentage chunk out of the disposable income of a minimum wage employee than tech folks. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-americans-are-afraid-of-inflation/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-americans-are-afra...
- tinalumfoil 5y ago
  I think you and parent are in agreement. The wealthier can also afford to put more money in riskier but inflation resistant assets like stocks, so it goes beyond gas prices.
- reedjosh 5y ago
  I think you misread the parent comment here. Your arguments seem to agree with it.

It's telling that the vast majority of the pushback on the 'inflation is bad' viewpoint comes from well-off academics, tech folks, and just generally people who are hurt the least by inflation.

Avshalom 5y ago

I unload trucks and stock shelves at Target. You think my viewpoint about inflation is gonna get published in a way that anyone sees?

BitwiseFool 5y ago
There's a viral video going around of a Target employee placing a new price tag on Jimmy Dean breakfast biscuits. Sure it's not getting treated as seriously as an article in the New York Times written by Paul Krugman, but it's arguably having a greater impact than one of his milquetoast columns on the subject. So please, do share what you're seeing.
- Avshalom 5y ago
  I mean that's not really the point. The thing is that if a journalist writes an article about inflation they might ask me if inflation is affecting me but of course the majority of the article will be from "experts" because otherwise they get called out for giving equal weight to Random J. Asshole as they do to economists or whatever. So every article pro/con/neutral about complex economic phenomena is going to be majority academics or bank CEOs or fed-reserve spox. That's the nature of journalism.
feoren 5y ago
I'll see it, if you type it out right now in this comment. I think shelf-stockers have more power than ever to get their views heard.
imtringued 5y ago
You benefit by keeping your job. In the current system deflation means you become useless to society. Yes capitalism is a ponzi scheme.

opportune 5y ago

Poor people can benefit from inflation in the sense of it wiping out debt or spurning wage inflation/decreasing wealth inequality

dragontamer 5y ago
> wiping out debt Do poor people have access to severe amounts of debt? The #1 source of debt in the USA seems to be the home mortgage, and #2 is probably the car-loan after that. Poor people don't have access to home mortgages because they can't afford it: they're in the renter class. So all inflation does is increase the price of rents to them. Car loans are also somewhat difficult for people with low credit scores. EDIT: Ah right: student loan debt. Which is once again, largely a rich person thing in the aggregate. Poor people aren't going to college. The middle class who can go to college may get significant amounts of student debt, but its nothing compared to the student loans the upper-class get for Lawyer / Medical Doctor schools. > spurning wage inflation While average wages have inflated, have they increased by 7.5% over the past year? I don't think so. --------- You need to be relatively well off to have a home-mortgage that benefits from inflation. (+Home value while decreasing the value to the loan). In fact, it is the richest among us who have the access to the most amounts of debt instruments (ex: a home speculator / house-flipper may own 10 homes and 10 different mortgages, but they needed a high amount of capital to find themselves in that situation).
- glenstein 5y ago
  I would add medical debt, student loans, credit card debt.
  - dragontamer 5y ago
    I think I accept your point on medical debt. Medical debt can happen to anyone. But even credit-card debt is dependent on your credit score. Poor people don't have good credit, and therefore their ability to take on credit-card debt is limited compared to a richer person.
    - 5y ago

WillPostForFood 5y ago

Data does not support that. People with lower wages suffer the most with inflation. It's like a regressive tax. A $2 increase in the price of a gallon of gas takes a much bigger percentage chunk out of the disposable income of a minimum wage employee than tech folks. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-americans-are-afraid-of-inflation/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-americans-are-afra...

tinalumfoil 5y ago
I think you and parent are in agreement. The wealthier can also afford to put more money in riskier but inflation resistant assets like stocks, so it goes beyond gas prices.
reedjosh 5y ago
I think you misread the parent comment here. Your arguments seem to agree with it.