During covid times I heard many interesting conspiracy predictions such as the value is money will fall to zero, the whole society will collapse, the vaccine will kill 99% of the population etc. None of those things have happened yet, but can you add some other predicitons to the list?
Actually, long before covid hit, there were all sorts of predictions floating around. You know, things like the 2008 recession will cause the whole economy to collapse and then we’ll go straight to Mad Max style post-apocalyptic nightmare or 9/11 was supposed to start WW3. I can’t even remember all the predictions I’ve heard over the years, but I’m sure you can help me out. Oh, just remembered that someone said that paper and metal money will disappear completely by year xyz. At the time that date was like only a few years away, but now it’s more like 10 years ago or something. Still waiting for that one to come true…
The one about printing a huge amount of money causing runaway price increases seems like it ended up pretty true.
Also known as hyperinflation. Famous examples would be Germany in 1921 and Zimbabwe in 2007. Those events did have many serious consequences, but they weren’t quite as apocalyptic as the doom and gloom conspiracy theories tend to suggest.
I didn’t realize we were only discussing the batshit crazy theories. Plenty of people had some ideas that were laughed at as conspiracy during COVID times but look pretty reasonable in hindsight. That’s all I’m driving at.
Ok, so you were talking about inflation between 2% and whatever the limit of hyperinflation is. I guess you could call it “high inflation” then.
Correct. It does seem that many of the COVID measures did come at the expense of the quality of life for citizens. Upward mobility feels like a pipe dream now. I’m glad I didn’t have to make the decisions about lockdowns and spending because that’s not an easy choice.
I just think those in opposition may have had some valid points that were dismissed as insensitive or heartless by those who will, now, never be able to afford a house. That sort of stuff. It’s a shame we can’t talk without devolving into “your team is evil” rhetoric any longer.
What’s the suggested connection between lockdowns and soaring housing costs?
At least in Germany raising housing costs have been on steroids since at least 2015 or so. It’s insane now, but I can see quite different reasons for that than those lockdowns or excessive mask purchases.
The argument I have heard being lockdowns (moreso the duration of them) put extensive pressure on small business to shut down but allowed the large corporations to remain open, creating an effective monopoly. This created a situation where governments had also had to assist with those shortfalls so folks can survive. To do that, they increased the monetary supply which in turn devalues the currency. This causes the inflation which makes things more expensive. The government then gives out more money…and the cycle repeats.
Now, I’m not an economist but it sounds pretty logical to me. I know it came down to saving lives and I’m in support of doing that. But could we have done things in a way that didn’t put an entire generation 10 years behind? That’s a conversation worth having if you ask me.