You project intentions onto Bernanke. You might very well be right about the consequences, but that says nothing about his motivation to do what he did.
Some not so random related thoughts:
- It's not always inflation by the way that eats away at money's value. Often it's replacement with something else, by force. Much of nazi occupied Europe has experienced this after WW II. Much of eastern Europe has experienced similar things after the fall of communism.
- Inhabitants of the US have not really experienced their money losing the majority of its value over the past ~200 years. In that way, the US have been more unique than many people realise.
- I've found David Graeber's "Debt: The First 5000 Years" [0] very interesting. He makes the point that we should think of at money as debt. Whether you agree or not, it's an enriching point of view.
- The biblical concept of the Jubilee [1] is fascinating. It demonstrates how debt forgiveness cycles were deeply embedded in some ancient Middle Eastern cultures.
Yes. Money is debt. When I receive money in my paycheck, I've exchanged real resources--my time and labor--for something which, in and of itself, provides no use value whatsoever. It is a debt that I can call in on anyone else in society, to receive the product of their labor in exchange for a token.
> Often it's replacement with something else, by force. Much of nazi occupied Europe has experienced this after WW II. Much of eastern Europe has experienced similar things after the fall of communism.
that is a single data point, and also a fairly unique situation. I don't foresee nazi like regimes in the west rising up any time soon (tho, given how trump's been going as of late, may be i m too optimistic?!).
The problem with inflation is that it's it eats away at money differently for the poor vs the rich. And i do believe the rich benefit much more from inflation than the poor does. But the poor make up a majority of the population.
I fail to believe that (low) deflation is actually as bad as the central bank economists claim. Inflation encourages investment, but also encourages more risk taking. I understand that high deflation has negative detrimental effects on an economy, but so does high inflation!
Low deflation encourages saving, and encourages prudent investment. I think such deflation will stop cyclical credit-induced recessions, and make the economy grow at the rate of technological improvement.
Some not so random related thoughts:
- It's not always inflation by the way that eats away at money's value. Often it's replacement with something else, by force. Much of nazi occupied Europe has experienced this after WW II. Much of eastern Europe has experienced similar things after the fall of communism.
- Inhabitants of the US have not really experienced their money losing the majority of its value over the past ~200 years. In that way, the US have been more unique than many people realise.
- I've found David Graeber's "Debt: The First 5000 Years" [0] very interesting. He makes the point that we should think of at money as debt. Whether you agree or not, it's an enriching point of view.
- The biblical concept of the Jubilee [1] is fascinating. It demonstrates how debt forgiveness cycles were deeply embedded in some ancient Middle Eastern cultures.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_(biblical)#cite_note-5