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>Is this true? Of all the years that various countries have used traditional fiat currency, has debasement happened more years than it hasn't? I don't think so

by jdasdf 4y ago

>Is this true? Of all the years that various countries have used traditional fiat currency, has debasement happened more years than it hasn't? I don't think so but I'm not certain. Do you know of any currency over the past 200 years that has suffered deflation throughout that period? I don't mean "occasionally has one year with deflation", I mean, the real value of 1 unit of that currency 200 years ago was less than what it is today.

thr0wawayf00 4y ago
Certainly major currencies have experienced periods of deflation (i.e. the Great Depression, the Great Recession, etc.). But deflation is a sign of weakening economy as well. There's an obsession with inflation, but the reality is that some inflation is inevitable in a growing economy as demand outpaces supply. Economists agree pretty consistently on that.
- jdasdf 4y ago
  I want to be very clear here, because I believe you're saying what you are saying because you have been taught that way, and because the mainstream media and general economic literature seem to hold that view, and so you, in good faith, are merely repeating it. You are wrong. The economist that agree with that view are also wrong, or they are biased by conflicts of interest. The central banks that support and propagate that view, have a significant conflict of interest as well. I heavily recommend you consider the incentives of the people teaching that view, and that you re-think from the most elementary of economic principles how exactly that would work. There is no long term benefit to monetary inflation. I cannot repeat this enough, monetary inflation, just like monetary deflation, is a distortion on the market, and like any other distortions on the market, it has a net negative expected value. Of course this negative expected value is distributed throughout the entire economy, whereas the benefits are concentrated on one entity, the issuer of the currency, which is the central bank and the state by association.

by jdasdf 4y ago

thr0wawayf00 4y ago

Certainly major currencies have experienced periods of deflation (i.e. the Great Depression, the Great Recession, etc.). But deflation is a sign of weakening economy as well. There's an obsession with inflation, but the reality is that some inflation is inevitable in a growing economy as demand outpaces supply. Economists agree pretty consistently on that.

jdasdf 4y ago
I want to be very clear here, because I believe you're saying what you are saying because you have been taught that way, and because the mainstream media and general economic literature seem to hold that view, and so you, in good faith, are merely repeating it. You are wrong. The economist that agree with that view are also wrong, or they are biased by conflicts of interest. The central banks that support and propagate that view, have a significant conflict of interest as well. I heavily recommend you consider the incentives of the people teaching that view, and that you re-think from the most elementary of economic principles how exactly that would work. There is no long term benefit to monetary inflation. I cannot repeat this enough, monetary inflation, just like monetary deflation, is a distortion on the market, and like any other distortions on the market, it has a net negative expected value. Of course this negative expected value is distributed throughout the entire economy, whereas the benefits are concentrated on one entity, the issuer of the currency, which is the central bank and the state by association.