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>central bankers are robbing people of their past value of their labour, especially low income labourers, to make themselves look like they are doing the countr

>central bankers are robbing people of their past value of their labour, especially low income labourers, to make themselves look like they are doing the country a solid No, that's not at all the reason. Low targeted inflation is to prevent the wild economic swings that preceded central banking as wild inflation and deflation routinely wiped out people, including low income laborers. Take some time with this list of historical US recessions [1] Virtually zero people hold pure cash as their only wealth, so virtually zero people lose value over time from low inflation. Other goods like real estate, stocks, etc., rise with inflation. Wages rise with inflation. So your low income laborer part getting robbed makes no sense. The reason inflation target of zero is not used is to avoid deflationary spirals, a lesson learned again over history through repeated painful events. The evidence on these is so solid every single country, all 200ish choose this system. It's not a grand conspiracy of evil wizard people. It's what educated people choose as a solution to past problems. If other systems worked better for an economy, don't you think at least 1 of 200ish countries would be doing it? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_Unit...

throwawaymaths 4y ago
Well the united states went from 1860-1900 with deflation and things were pretty good. The us went from wartorn backwoods country to world power, so it's not clear to me that deflation is necessarily "bad for countries". Re: conspiracies. There is also no conspiracy to make suvs more and more atrocious but the incentive and competitive structure made it so that entire classes of cars disappeared (e.g. station wagon) that's not an argument that the station wagon is inherently bad (the Toyota Prius V is a fantastic vehicle), it's just not what people chose because of mass action. Countries chose inflation because it's less obvious way to tax people, and because screwing over labor makes you short term competitive in trade markets (they took er jerbs). Especially as other countries inflate. It's an easy choice to make.
- ChrisLomont 4y ago
  1860-1900 most certainly was not "pretty good" for people living then. Read some. The Long Depression [1] saw nearly 20,000 businesses fail, ten states went bankrupt, unemployment soared, some places saw 25 percent unemployed. Multiple panics destroyed significant assets. The period was so bad that it directly led to creating the Fed because the people wanted the uncertainty and suffering to stop. > Countries chose inflation because it's less obvious way to tax people I think you're missing significant understanding about money and inflation. Explain carefully how inflation taxes people to the benefit of the govt. Your explanation should carefully distinguish between the Fed and the Treasury, the three methods the Fed used to influence the rate, the laws and accounting both use. I'm pretty sure you have no idea, and are simply making up ghost stories to cover misunderstandings. So, explain the process. Because I do know in detail how these pieces fit, and nothing like your beliefs occur. So you explain it. Oh, and by the way, inflation helps nearly anyone with debt such a college loans, car loans, or mortgages, because it lowers effective payments. Given most people have more debt than cash as savings, inflation helps borrowers and costs lenders. Think about that a bit [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression
  - orwin 4y ago
    Don't bother, everytime it is the same argument from people who don't bother even looking at Wikipedia (not talking about opening an history book).
    - ChrisLomont 4y ago
      Yeah, but it's interesting seeing how far they go to rationalize untenable positions in the face of evidence :) And others, like you perhaps, read the content and learn something useful.
  - throwawaymaths 4y ago
    Honestly the description of the horrors you provide could apply to any 50 year period of us history. So if it's all the same, how about we don't fucking steal from the poor to give to the rich? > Oh, and by the way, inflation helps nearly anyone with debt such a college loans, car loans, or mortgages, because it lowers effective payments Only if you are getting pay raises. We know the workers return on productivity has stagnated since 1970. Why do you love stealing from the poor? Lowering the cost to borrow by volume mostly helps finance: big corporate bonds, and financial instruments like shorts and options. Think about that for a bit.

throwawaymaths 4y ago

Well the united states went from 1860-1900 with deflation and things were pretty good. The us went from wartorn backwoods country to world power, so it's not clear to me that deflation is necessarily "bad for countries". Re: conspiracies. There is also no conspiracy to make suvs more and more atrocious but the incentive and competitive structure made it so that entire classes of cars disappeared (e.g. station wagon) that's not an argument that the station wagon is inherently bad (the Toyota Prius V is a fantastic vehicle), it's just not what people chose because of mass action. Countries chose inflation because it's less obvious way to tax people, and because screwing over labor makes you short term competitive in trade markets (they took er jerbs). Especially as other countries inflate. It's an easy choice to make.

ChrisLomont 4y ago
1860-1900 most certainly was not "pretty good" for people living then. Read some. The Long Depression [1] saw nearly 20,000 businesses fail, ten states went bankrupt, unemployment soared, some places saw 25 percent unemployed. Multiple panics destroyed significant assets. The period was so bad that it directly led to creating the Fed because the people wanted the uncertainty and suffering to stop. > Countries chose inflation because it's less obvious way to tax people I think you're missing significant understanding about money and inflation. Explain carefully how inflation taxes people to the benefit of the govt. Your explanation should carefully distinguish between the Fed and the Treasury, the three methods the Fed used to influence the rate, the laws and accounting both use. I'm pretty sure you have no idea, and are simply making up ghost stories to cover misunderstandings. So, explain the process. Because I do know in detail how these pieces fit, and nothing like your beliefs occur. So you explain it. Oh, and by the way, inflation helps nearly anyone with debt such a college loans, car loans, or mortgages, because it lowers effective payments. Given most people have more debt than cash as savings, inflation helps borrowers and costs lenders. Think about that a bit [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression
- orwin 4y ago
  Don't bother, everytime it is the same argument from people who don't bother even looking at Wikipedia (not talking about opening an history book).
  - ChrisLomont 4y ago
    Yeah, but it's interesting seeing how far they go to rationalize untenable positions in the face of evidence :) And others, like you perhaps, read the content and learn something useful.
- throwawaymaths 4y ago
  Honestly the description of the horrors you provide could apply to any 50 year period of us history. So if it's all the same, how about we don't fucking steal from the poor to give to the rich? > Oh, and by the way, inflation helps nearly anyone with debt such a college loans, car loans, or mortgages, because it lowers effective payments Only if you are getting pay raises. We know the workers return on productivity has stagnated since 1970. Why do you love stealing from the poor? Lowering the cost to borrow by volume mostly helps finance: big corporate bonds, and financial instruments like shorts and options. Think about that for a bit.