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Comment by doggosphere | Hacker News Reader

Inflation is absolutely a "bad" thing in the same way that gaining weight from eating ice cream is "bad". It is the consequence of indulgence. An increase in the cost of living is generally never a "good" thing.

The question is if it is controlled and the tradeoffs worthwhile.

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No, inflation is more like the weight gain of a child growing to an adult. The metaphor breaks down at adulthood.

> An increase in the cost of living is generally never a "good" thing.

Inflation is only an increase in nominal, not real cost. If I give you a dollar more and charge you a dollar extra, then you haven't lost any purchasing power.

Except real wages aren't actually increasing for most people.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us...

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/despite-wage-growth-the-av...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickwwatson/2018/09/25/real-...

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/aftertax-income-is-barely-...

That's been true since the 70s, but it's not an intrinsic feature of inflation. In fact, this time it may be different, and that's what all the CEOs are complaining about.

But I'm not getting a dollar more, I'm just getting charged a dollar extra. Wages will never actually keep up with inflation, they certainly haven't thus far. In part because government inflation statistics are not trustworthy

Government inflation statistics do report that wages have inflated more slowly than a consumption basket since the 70s, on average.

If you want to talk about consumer price inflation as distinct from wage inflation, do so, but be specific.

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