alt Hacker News> Money is by definition zero sum, otherwise the word "inflation" would have no meaning.
Not sure that I agree, nor that the one follows from the other.
Without having the advantage of an Economics degree, I have witnessed when rising tides have lifted all boats and a majority of U.S. society benefited. Perhaps "wealth" is not a zero sum.
And if that is case, talking about "money" is orthogonal. We should talk instead about disposable income, standard of living, etc.
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Discretionary income, really, not disposable. What we really should care about is the cash people have left over after they've paid for all their essentials, not just what's left over after taxes.
It might seem like it would sound impressive to say that someone has $20k/month of disposable income, but not so much if the housing market has gone crazy and groceries have become scarce and they have to spend $15k/month on a small apartment and barely enough food to feed themselves.
Currency is zero sum, prosperity shouldn’t be.