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Is this whole thing caused by those stupid covid relief checks that they sent out? Or are there other reasons why inflation got so out of control?

by Dig1t 3y ago

baseballdork 3y ago
I can't tell if this is a serious question or not considering the past few years of disease and war.
- Dig1t 3y ago
  Legitimate question, I’m not very economically literate. We went through wars in the past without crazy inflation, gulf war, Iraq, Afghanistan. Is it because of all the Ukraine aid we’re sending? If so, why is this different than other conflicts? How does disease cause inflation?
  - stu2010 3y ago
    Disease, disaster, war all cause significant inflation because they harm or destroy both things and productivity in the real world without destroying money. If factories shut down and supply chains are disrupted and we only make half as many cars this year, how much would people be willing to pay for those cars? Much more.
pers0n 3y ago
The mere $2000 stimulus checks are nothing. It was the billions in PPP loans that lots of people used fraudulently, including our own politicians. On top of that, it was decided they didnt need to be paid back, so people go to keep all the fancy cars, electronics and real estate they bought with it.
- lamontcg 3y ago
  It wasn't even that since you've got entirely normal bullwhip effects on top of that. Nearly everything physical shut down (except for home remodeling). Then everyone wanted everything again right away.
epakai 3y ago
It's a combination of things. Tax cuts juicing an already hot economy, economic stimulus attempting to minimize the effect of a temporary pandemic, former executive fighting against interest rate increases. However this is a very US centric view. It's also important to remember inflation is a global phenomenon. US policy might have outsized effect, but it is certainly not the whole story. Global gas prices hit decade-long highs last year, after massive lows during the pandemic. We had to somewhat jumpstart the global economy, and recover from slowdowns during that time as well.
ecf 3y ago
Relief checks are a drop in the ocean compared to the pure, unadulterated fraud that was the PPP program and how much of that was forgiven. I personally know companies that got 5-10 million dollars by lying about how many they employed. Any whistleblower programs out there with a reward for reporting them?

Is this whole thing caused by those stupid covid relief checks that they sent out? Or are there other reasons why inflation got so out of control?

by Dig1t 3y ago

Is this whole thing caused by those stupid covid relief checks that they sent out? Or are there other reasons why inflation got so out of control?

baseballdork 3y ago

I can't tell if this is a serious question or not considering the past few years of disease and war.

Dig1t 3y ago
Legitimate question, I’m not very economically literate. We went through wars in the past without crazy inflation, gulf war, Iraq, Afghanistan. Is it because of all the Ukraine aid we’re sending? If so, why is this different than other conflicts? How does disease cause inflation?
- stu2010 3y ago
  Disease, disaster, war all cause significant inflation because they harm or destroy both things and productivity in the real world without destroying money. If factories shut down and supply chains are disrupted and we only make half as many cars this year, how much would people be willing to pay for those cars? Much more.

pers0n 3y ago

The mere $2000 stimulus checks are nothing. It was the billions in PPP loans that lots of people used fraudulently, including our own politicians. On top of that, it was decided they didnt need to be paid back, so people go to keep all the fancy cars, electronics and real estate they bought with it.

lamontcg 3y ago
It wasn't even that since you've got entirely normal bullwhip effects on top of that. Nearly everything physical shut down (except for home remodeling). Then everyone wanted everything again right away.

epakai 3y ago

It's a combination of things. Tax cuts juicing an already hot economy, economic stimulus attempting to minimize the effect of a temporary pandemic, former executive fighting against interest rate increases. However this is a very US centric view. It's also important to remember inflation is a global phenomenon. US policy might have outsized effect, but it is certainly not the whole story. Global gas prices hit decade-long highs last year, after massive lows during the pandemic. We had to somewhat jumpstart the global economy, and recover from slowdowns during that time as well.

ecf 3y ago

Relief checks are a drop in the ocean compared to the pure, unadulterated fraud that was the PPP program and how much of that was forgiven. I personally know companies that got 5-10 million dollars by lying about how many they employed. Any whistleblower programs out there with a reward for reporting them?