alt Hacker NewsNobody wants to go back to the gold standard.
Inflation is useful (within limits). So is deficit spending in a growing economy.
> Inflation is really just a hidden tax
No it isn't. The idea that the government should fix the value of money -- and that if it does otherwise it is stealing out of your pockets -- is goldbug crank territory.
If inflation was a tax, then deflation would make people richer. It doesn't. Why? Because in a deflating economy, your creditors can't pay you back.
Deflation is very damaging, and avoiding it is more or less the number one goal of macroeconomic policy.
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slopinthebag • today at 2:32 AM
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Deficit spending is not universally able to create wealth. It can when invested in durable infrastructure at reasonable prices that increases productivity of the economy. But when countries borrow to pay pensions and other transfers, it destroys wealth and makes society poorer.