Comment Re:$100k today the equivalent of $80k in 2004 (Score 1) 193
"You would prefer a fixed money supply?"
Not a fixed supply per se, but one that cannot be routinely manipulated to siphon peoples savings into the pockets of the well-connected and already super wealthy would certainly be nice.
The bimetallic standard, for example, did not result in a fixed money supply. New gold and silver are still being mined, after all. But unlike paper money, the expansion was somewhat limited, it takes time, and effort (and money!) to mine precious metals. Supply and demand moderated the expansion as well - when expansion was more desirable the price of the precious metals rose, encouraging mining, and when it was less desirable the price came down, discouraging the same activities.
With fiat money we lost all of those safeguards. The only limitation on inflation is political, not physical or material. And the outcome of that is as predictable as it is tragic - the powerful gain massively (and are happy to send a tiny portion of their windfall out as 'campaign contributions' to those who enable it, of course) while the common people are each 'only' losing a few cents here, a few cents there, not enough to really motivate an effective pushback.
Which means financial collapse is in our future and approaching at a gallop.
Not a fixed supply per se, but one that cannot be routinely manipulated to siphon peoples savings into the pockets of the well-connected and already super wealthy would certainly be nice.
The bimetallic standard, for example, did not result in a fixed money supply. New gold and silver are still being mined, after all. But unlike paper money, the expansion was somewhat limited, it takes time, and effort (and money!) to mine precious metals. Supply and demand moderated the expansion as well - when expansion was more desirable the price of the precious metals rose, encouraging mining, and when it was less desirable the price came down, discouraging the same activities.
With fiat money we lost all of those safeguards. The only limitation on inflation is political, not physical or material. And the outcome of that is as predictable as it is tragic - the powerful gain massively (and are happy to send a tiny portion of their windfall out as 'campaign contributions' to those who enable it, of course) while the common people are each 'only' losing a few cents here, a few cents there, not enough to really motivate an effective pushback.
Which means financial collapse is in our future and approaching at a gallop.
