Topic: Behold: one of the largest Ponzi schemes of all times - page 2. (Read 5374 times)

exactly as you say, measuring various price changes in goods. Imagine you have measure the water level in a huge lake then you would take measures on various scales previously set-up. Hope this explanation helps

Yes, but they're not providing data about inflation by your definition. They're just measuring price changes of various goods. I was asking, how would you measure increase of the money supply.

I guess I am condemned to believe the official data from Central Banks.

They can go on printing euros (actually letting banks create money out of thin air) until the end of times for all I care as long as they let the productive economy use another currency (like bitcoin).

The thing is since the euro and the dollar are in a simultaneous free fall, everybody can pretend nothing is happening: its only showing in the cost of living, affecting the poor much harder than the rich who has disposable income.

And how would you measure it?

I live in EU and from my perspective, most of things you have said are correct. Add to it that "wealthier" countries are helping paying depts for "poorer" countries, which don't give a damn about this help and continue to increase their depts.
Sweet place to live, eh?

Ending [Krugman] here. First start with your definition of 'inflation'. In my perspective, that would be the increase of the money supply (in the broad sense).

So, any speculation as to how long until I can buy a small Italian villa near the beach for very cheap? I'm hoping for something in Nettuno...

Am I the only one who thinks this is completely insane?

You can't fix the speculators at negative interest rates after inflation, and if you don't, they will end up with more money, causing inflation, bang feedback to the interest, game over.

You have to trust the governments to not play a Tragedy of the Commons in which they compete to borrow just at the limit and spend, inflation, double feedback to the banks, kills you in just a few years. But simply deleting the debt gets you a burst of bankruptcy filings together with the financial equivalent of an MW 9 earthquake due to illiquid markets.

How the hell is this supposed to work? Who should pay the bill of the debt that is never intended to be paid back? I don't have the feeling that someone thought this through to the end.

One simple question is: once locked in debt feedbacks, can you ever reduce inflation again without the governments dying instantly?

Even there is no problem, money still needs to be printed more and more every year, and printing more money does not necessary cause inflation, as long as printed money have somewhere to go (in this case paying the debt), and the productivity of goods and services can catch up

Actually this will encourage the loan activities, since the borrower will always be backed by printed money in a worst case scenario

I think they were realised, only wat they also realised, was the truth in "après nous le déluge".

And here I thought this was going to be yet another thread about Bitcoins...

Yeah, the EU is screwing things up.  Though, the screwups really started many years ago, it's just that the consequences weren't realized until now.

Welcome to the EU government bonds market.

Bankrupt countries pay back bonds by printing new bonds. Last buyers: bag holders.

I really wouldn't want to play the game they're currently starting. EUR inflation is at its limit before a feedback may hit all bond interest rates, however, Italy and Spain are at the limit of destabilizing their rates because their finances are too bad. Now the ECB tries to buy just the right amount with newly printed money to walk the edge. But with each further mistake or inefficiency of the participating governments, the path grows narrower. And these "inefficiencies" might even be of short-time advantage for the governments in question, possibly causing a Tragedy of the Commons in which the debt increases further.

An attempt to solve the problem with printing money. No, I really wouldn't want to play it like that. These people are either too good at this for me to understand their plan, or they're just not giving a shit anymore. My guess is the latter, politicians never gave a shit before.

Let's see who the bag holders will be. According to interest rates, the market does not consider banks any safer and has already switched from making profit to limiting losses. Some big deals have negative yields even before inflation is factored in.