Comments on: Another reason why inflation is a good idea

By: McChavelli

McChavelli — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:06:20 +0000

inflation is a good idea for banks and funds managers; for 90% of the population as well as for the REAL economy, the inflation is destructive

By: Joel

Joel — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:00:11 +0000

I do agree that we should axe the corn subsidies. But political reality forbids that from ever occurring. I mean, can you ever imagining being the president that was responsible for doubling the price of a McDonald’s hamburger?

By: brooklyn

brooklyn — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:41:39 +0000

He’s very young. All these ideas are academic until one has more experience of life, and (for most of us) of real adversity. As soon as Mr. Salmon has a family, or loses his job, or someone gets sick, he’ll join the rest of us and realize that the middle class is greatly beleaguered, and that will hurt everyone.

By: Jojo

Jojo — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:35:54 +0000

Man, this guy Felix is pretty dumb.

Inflation acts like a drag on the economy as real as any wage DECREASE.

If you make $100 and your wages drop to $96, you have to cut $4 worth of stuff to buy.

If you make $100 and inflation increases prices 4%, you have to cut the same $4 worth of stuff.

Why don’t you ask Germany or any other country that experienced massive inflation how that works.

This piece is just a prelude to the MASSIVE inflation we’re going to see from this stimulus spending, and to convince everyone it’s all OK.

It’s not.

By: Jojo

Jojo — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:31:46 +0000

This is what the left believes: kill the economy to make life more “sustainable” and “fair”.

Kill America’s economy to bring equality for everyone in America and the rest of the world.

Increase fuel costs so we’re forced into alternatives.

These people are mindless leftists blithely chasing a NON-EXISTANT utopia. All it’s going to do is make everyone miserable and hateful.

By: Alan Vanneman

Alan Vanneman — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:12:54 +0000

Amen to everyone who said that this post is lame. If a store is actually selling clothes so cheaply that replacing them is almost as inexpensive as cleaning them, that’s a good thing, not a bad one. The notion that people ought to lead frugal lives when they don’t have to is ridiculous. Apparently, Felix feels that people have a moral duty not to spend money in a way that irritates him.

By: Amagnon

Amagnon — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:44:40 +0000

The US and western countries are living on credit, and consuming items produced by countries with much lower labour costs – this effect is ending now as free trade is equalising international labour costs.

If globalism is the aim – then wages and living standards will be equalised throughout the world – so averages will lie between African and American standards.

This is a pure outcome of free trade – labour is a commodity like any other, and if corporations are free to pursue competitive labour markets, they will chose the cheapest – and this obviously reduces the living standards of all western nations.

By: Michael Ham

Michael Ham — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:34:50 +0000

Leo, income being higher doesn’t equal standard of living being higher. The average american has less spendable income after their necessities and bills are paid for now than they did 40 years ago.

By: jerry lee

jerry lee — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:36:31 +0000

Clothes aren’t too cheap. Dry cleaning is too high.

By: Leo

Leo — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:19:46 +0000

I’d heard that the middle class are still vastly better off today than they were forty years ago. Googling for support I found http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/steck el.standard.living.us
which shows a near doubling of per capita income over 25 years.
Likewise, I understood inflation to come from Nixon taking the US off the Gold standard. Wikipedia supports this. The consequent inflation is can be measured by the fact Gold is no longer $35.00 per ounce.
Inflation is toxic to economies. The blog’s headline is badly phrased, implying as it does that inflation is a good thing, rather than that including externalities in prices is a good thing.
However, even this second proposition has a number of dubious assumptions. Is cure always more expensive than prevention? Would higher prices accurately reflect the cost of the externalities? Do the ‘green’ alternatives truly have the environmental benefits they allege, and on which it is proposed to interfere with market forces? Consider the environmental impact of mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs, the insane environmentalist phobias against genetic engineering and nuclear power, the externalities of biofuel causing starvation. The answer is we shouldn’t fiddle with markets, because we have only a little knowledge. It’s a dangerous thing. And at the end of the day, the green alternatives will still suck.

By: Anubis

Anubis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:59:57 +0000

Inflation will rob all the wealth of a people over time. The real problem is low labor costs for imported goods that compete with similar goods made here at home in a high wage economy. Economic dependence is never a good thing. A nation that is economically self sufficient is not susceptible to the economic woes of their critical suppliers of goods and resources. In a self sufficient economy plenty of competition from smaller manufacturers is the answer to monopolies that do not improve products or innovate to meet consumer demand.

Ultimately free markets are guided profit motive. The need for alternative energy and sustainable resource use will only become appealing when the cost of fossil fuels have become prohibitively expensive. This was precisely the situation the U.S. found itself in last summer/fall. The ensuing economic collapse was so rapid that fossil fuel prices collapsed in months leaving alternative energy again too expensive. High unemployment made the prospect of a legal mandate to move us to sustainable energy an economic and political impossibility. This should have been done decades ago when we could afford it. The current form of capitalism is and will be unable to move this society away from fossil fuels towards green solutions. It is time for real change.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:33:22 +0000

Craziest blog I’ve ever read on reuters. Thank God the commenters on here get it, the people who are going to be hurt the most by our soon to be rapid inflation are the poor and lower middle class.

Making the cheapest ways for children to eat and be clothed should be made more expensive, yes that sounds wonderful.

Hopefully we can get enough inflation that we can make the world greener with the fertilizer from all the dead starved lower class children, how’s that sound Felix?

This just sounds like a way for a blogger to justify the criminals in the federal reserve and their unrelenting demand of creating more money in order to give to their favorite cronies and CEO’s to have their way with. Dispicable.

Started about 27 years ago when Reagan started printing our way out of debt, then Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama thought this was a good idea and continued the trend. It’s no wonder the middle class standard of living is significantly lower than it was 40 years ago and it’s no wonder our economy can’t ever sustain 5 consistent years without some type of meltdown.

By: Name

Name — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:57:35 +0000

Some people lack the common sense to come in out of the rain.

Low prices for luxury items it what has allowed Americans and Europeans a higher standard of living. It has ensured a longer life expectancy, higher birth rate, lower childhood mortality, etc. Inflation will essentially take money, goods, services, etc. away from those that need it most in this country.

It is easy for us to look around at all the waste in our society and say, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if…”; but the IF kills people.

By: Zach

Zach — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:38:27 +0000

Felix,

Were the comments on your previous home this terrible? I don’t agree with this post like many of the other commentors (sp?), but the comments they have (mostly) nothing useful to add.

By: ha vy

ha vy — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:57:30 +0000

in fact, every countries has it own targeted inflation. A reasonable iflation rate will help to boost national consumption.
It’s must be a reasonable inflation rate.