Random Thoughts

For a long time, gold bugs were referencing the above image. In the last decade, they were joined by crypto evangelists. The presented loss of purchasing power is a foundational narrative to recommend alternative stores of value. Despite being factually correct, it misses a boat in what really matters. It's a manipulation by omission.

In an economy, labor sells its skills for money, to trade them for all the things it needs and wants. The money is an abstraction. Goods and services we buy are not. Our well-being, and our standards of living, in a materialistic sense, depend not on how many dollars it takes to buy X, but on how many hours of labor it takes to buy X. Dollars are just an exchange medium.

Additionally, these images don't show the variety of goods and services created over time. We have improvements in medicine, computers, the internet, better housing, airplanes, the list goes on and on. The average folk can buy more today than in the past with fewer hours of labor. Most of these things didn't even exist back then.

That's the true measure of progress and standards of living. Don't be fooled! Don't confuse money and wealth.

#economics #AmericanDynamism

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176 viewsJan 25 at 19:06

For a long time, gold bugs were referencing the above image. In the last decade, they were joined by crypto evangelists. The presented loss of purchasing power is a foundational narrative to recommend alternative stores of value. Despite being factually correct, it misses a boat in what really matters. It's a manipulation by omission.

In an economy, labor sells its skills for money, to trade them for all the things it needs and wants. The money is an abstraction. Goods and services we buy are not. Our well-being, and our standards of living, in a materialistic sense, depend not on how many dollars it takes to buy X, but on how many hours of labor it takes to buy X. Dollars are just an exchange medium.

Additionally, these images don't show the variety of goods and services created over time. We have improvements in medicine, computers, the internet, better housing, airplanes, the list goes on and on. The average folk can buy more today than in the past with fewer hours of labor. Most of these things didn't even exist back then.

That's the true measure of progress and standards of living. Don't be fooled! Don't confuse money and wealth.

#economics #AmericanDynamism

BY Random Thoughts