alt Hacker NewsThis is the same author that attempted to short bitcoin and lost most of his money. [0] Perhaps that is why he is upset about cryptocurrencies.
But the true scam is the complete debasement of the US dollar and people will slowly realize why the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago as it continues to be printed to zero and number go up with stocks and crypto.
It is also the reason why some people are crying that $1m is not enough to retire on, and they are right. Because $1m is worth less today than it was 40 years ago.
Hence why people here need >$500k and above a year to live, when in reality, it is the fiat currency becoming more worthless over time.
Sounds like a scam in the long term.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/15/ben-mck...
Replies
Where do you live where you need to make $500k and above to live in the US? Silicon Valley?
If so, that’s definitely the exception rather than the rule.
> Because $1m is worth less today than it was 40 years ago.
And? $1 is also worth less than it was 40 years ago. You also make more than the same person would doing the same thing 40 years ago, so that’s not a useful comparison. If you want to make statements about standards of living, you need to use the same measuring stick. You can use inflation adjusted values to do so.
>>But the true scam is the complete debasement of the US dollar and people will slowly realize why the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago as it continues to be printed to zero and number go up with stocks and crypto.
Any workable currency needs inflation. If you don't have inflation then holding currency is a free call option on the future - it's always more profitable to hold it instead of real assets as holding real assets is risky (not only that those assets lose value but that other assets gain more value).
As nothing is free in nature someone else is paying for your free call option. Things are even worse with deflationary currency. This is what Bitcoin maximalist imagine: a few kings that hold it and everyone else working for them.
If anything 2% inflation target is too low to offset that cost. I think it should be considerably higher. As it is protecting the call option of currency holders is often more important for central banks than economic development.
> the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago
at this point, you don't even have to go that far back.
> But the true scam is the complete debasement of the US dollar and people will slowly realize why the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago as it continues to be printed to zero and number go up with stocks and crypto.
By contrast, there was essentially no inflation in England from 1614 to the start of WW1.
He doubled down on his thesis. Shorted again, and made a bunch of money.
So I guess, he was right?