5 ms·

Some things he says in this video bug me. 1. "Printing money doesn't always cause inflation." -- Printing money causes inflation under all cases unless money i

Some things he says in this video bug me. 1. "Printing money doesn't always cause inflation." -- Printing money causes inflation under all cases unless money is literally destroyed at the same rate it is printed. A loan temporarily inflates the economy until it is paid off. By replacing credit with printed money you turn the "temporary inflation" into permanent inflation. 2. "Increase your productivity faster then your income." -- Are you kidding me? I can't speak for everyone but most people in society want to be rich and well off. That means achieving income that is far greater then what is humanly productive. Even Elon Musk as hard working as he is cannot achieve his level of income off of his own productivity alone. He had to build his wealth off the shoulders of others (aka employees). By telling people to be productive for less income he's basically telling people to work harder and don't ask for a raise. If you're not being paid an income equivalent to the amount of work you do, then the extra value generated by your work will, of course, go to your employer. This increases income disparity and decreases consumer buying power. Here's what I advise instead: Increase your productivity but demand that your income increases at the same rate. Be paid what you're worth. It helps the economy. 3. He fails to elucidate where income comes from and thus fails to model one very important aspect of the economy: The money cycle. The economy isn't just income coming out of thin air to facilitate transactions of product and services. Money moves in a cycle, it flows from employer to employee as wages then back to the employer when the employee pays for products. The total amount of money cycling through the economy would otherwise be fixed if it wasn't for loans and money printing.

sharemywin 12y ago
productivity is people + machines(computers included). most productivity is created by getting a machines to do something people manually did before. you create wealth by creating a machine that is more productive than anyone else at the time.
- crimsonalucard 12y ago
  in terms of productivity produced by human capital, we are all bounded by our physical form and intelligence.
Terr_ 12y ago
> Printing money causes inflation under all cases unless money is literally destroyed at the same rate it is printed. Absolutely not! Deflation occurs naturally in any growing economy--even when your currency is indestructible--as the same quantity of money-units is chasing a greater quantity of goods and labor. Consider the case of a crew stranded on a deserted island, who choose to found a new civilization. They decide to use the 100 "buttons" they recovered from the ship as their currency since they cannot be forged on the island. On day 30, a 1 button is worth a coconut. On day 3000, the island is dotted with dwellings, fences keep in herds of domesticated animals, and a scattering of boats fishes offshore... A "button" is going to be worth a heck of a lot more than a coconut.
- crimsonalucard 12y ago
  you're right. my mistake.
ajankovic 12y ago
> Even Elon Musk as hard working as he is cannot achieve his level of income off of his own productivity alone. Elon has specific role in "production". If his work/energy/decisions are going to spawn new factory, new technology or new product that is going to improve productivity of millions then by all means his income is justified by his productivity. > Printing money causes inflation under all cases unless money is literally destroyed at the same rate it is printed. This is not true. Emphasis on "all cases". If you create money at exactly the same rate as the economy's produce grows than money has it's background in actual "things" that have value. As for other arguments I think author was trying to convey very complex subject in 30 minutes of video. Of course there will be certain generalizations so he can better convey the message.
- crimsonalucard 12y ago
  >Elon has specific role in "production". If his work/energy/decisions are going to spawn new factory, new technology or new product that is going to improve productivity of millions then by all means his income is justified by his productivity. A new technology, a new product, and improving the productivity of millions are not activities or goals that are achievable by any single individual. Elon must utilize additional human capital to achieve any of these goals. Thus there is a limit on how productive a human can be and in turn a limit on how much wealth he or she deserves. >This is not true. Emphasis on "all cases". If you create money at exactly the same rate as the economy's produce grows than money has it's background in actual "things" that have value. My bad, I meant most cases. Sorry.

sharemywin 12y ago

productivity is people + machines(computers included). most productivity is created by getting a machines to do something people manually did before. you create wealth by creating a machine that is more productive than anyone else at the time.

crimsonalucard 12y ago
in terms of productivity produced by human capital, we are all bounded by our physical form and intelligence.

Terr_ 12y ago

> Printing money causes inflation under all cases unless money is literally destroyed at the same rate it is printed. Absolutely not! Deflation occurs naturally in any growing economy--even when your currency is indestructible--as the same quantity of money-units is chasing a greater quantity of goods and labor. Consider the case of a crew stranded on a deserted island, who choose to found a new civilization. They decide to use the 100 "buttons" they recovered from the ship as their currency since they cannot be forged on the island. On day 30, a 1 button is worth a coconut. On day 3000, the island is dotted with dwellings, fences keep in herds of domesticated animals, and a scattering of boats fishes offshore... A "button" is going to be worth a heck of a lot more than a coconut.

crimsonalucard 12y ago
you're right. my mistake.

ajankovic 12y ago

> Even Elon Musk as hard working as he is cannot achieve his level of income off of his own productivity alone. Elon has specific role in "production". If his work/energy/decisions are going to spawn new factory, new technology or new product that is going to improve productivity of millions then by all means his income is justified by his productivity. > Printing money causes inflation under all cases unless money is literally destroyed at the same rate it is printed. This is not true. Emphasis on "all cases". If you create money at exactly the same rate as the economy's produce grows than money has it's background in actual "things" that have value. As for other arguments I think author was trying to convey very complex subject in 30 minutes of video. Of course there will be certain generalizations so he can better convey the message.

crimsonalucard 12y ago
>Elon has specific role in "production". If his work/energy/decisions are going to spawn new factory, new technology or new product that is going to improve productivity of millions then by all means his income is justified by his productivity. A new technology, a new product, and improving the productivity of millions are not activities or goals that are achievable by any single individual. Elon must utilize additional human capital to achieve any of these goals. Thus there is a limit on how productive a human can be and in turn a limit on how much wealth he or she deserves. >This is not true. Emphasis on "all cases". If you create money at exactly the same rate as the economy's produce grows than money has it's background in actual "things" that have value. My bad, I meant most cases. Sorry.