Cryptocurrencies

[OngBonga]

Printing money should increase inflation, yet we don't see that in the recent years in the US.

Huh?

https://www.inflationtool.com/us-dollar

$100 is 2018 is today worth $105.73

And if there is inflation, it means it takes care of the national debt

This assumes inflation is above interest rates. That isn't the case, not by a long shot. Hyperinflation might have this effect, but the downside of that will be far more damaging than manageable national debt.

I don't think inflation is a good thing. When governments print money, they are reducing the value of everyone's savings. It's basically a stealth tax. Of course, quantitative easing isn't the only driver of inflation. Increasing wages, in particular an increase in the minimum wage, causes an increase in business costs, which they then pass on to the consumer in the form of increased prices. In this latter case, assuming increased revenue from higher prices exactly matches the increase in salary costs, then nobody has lost or gained anything, it's not a tax. But in the case of quantitative easing, that's essentially theft. They're taking money from savers.

[CoccoBill]

Huh?

https://www.inflationtool.com/us-dollar

$100 is 2018 is today worth $105.73

I didn't say there's no inflation, I said printing money should increase it, yet it doesn't.

See the curve on that page you linked? Does it show the effect of the FED printing money since ca 2008? (click on the "MAX" above the chart)

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-...-balance-sheet

This assumes inflation is above interest rates. That isn't the case, not by a long shot. Hyperinflation might have this effect, but the downside of that will be far more damaging than manageable national debt.

Until recently treasury rates across the globe have been negative, now they have risen some. US 10-year rates are at 1.7%, inflation in the US in 2020 was 2.6%. And even if it didn't nullify the debts completely, which I didn't mean in the first place, it helps tremendously. If a country can get cheap loans for effective 0 interest, have inflation help in the payback, why isn't everyone investing as much as they can?

I don't think inflation is a good thing. When governments print money, they are reducing the value of everyone's savings. It's basically a stealth tax. Of course, quantitative easing isn't the only driver of inflation. Increasing wages, in particular an increase in the minimum wage, causes an increase in business costs, which they then pass on to the consumer in the form of increased prices. In this latter case, assuming increased revenue from higher prices exactly matches the increase in salary costs, then nobody has lost or gained anything, it's not a tax. But in the case of quantitative easing, that's essentially theft. They're taking money from savers.

Yeah, inflation sucks. But the only thing worse than that is deflation.

[boost]

Since we're talking about inflation:

BTC's finite supply makes it inherently more stable than fiat, but it also gives it a ticking clock towards obsolescence. I suppose there can be a fork or another coin, but BTC has both a finite supply and has a finite divisibility. This means that at some point, due to inflation, a Satoshi will be too big of a unit to facilitate trade. Now I know people think inflation is bad, but I'd argue that it is baked into capitalism.

A simple illustration of the necessity of inflation: I make product A and sell it for Y, you improve on A, let's call your product A1, which provides more value to the consumer and therefore enables you to charge Y*>1. The consumer's demand for A1 puts upward pressure on wages, and there we have it: inflation.

Of course the price of A could decrease with A1 simply subsuming its price point, but human psychology seems to support the model of A1 entering as a luxury for early adopters at Y*>1, followed by a decrease in Y*>1 where it settles at some point above Y.

So, yeah, this is where fiat's openness to central manipulation seems to be a plus.