Inflation and the capital markets

The Recovering Investment Banker

01:12 - Inflation is the sickness of money. Money is worth less over time, because there's more of it in the marketplace.

05:12 - World War 1 was funded by taxation, borrowing (war bonds), and the printing of new money.

09:12 - Money is no longer stable in the economy, and has not been since the creation of fiat currency. Fiat meaning the currency is not backed by anything except an agreement on its value.

15:28 - A strategy to combat inflation is to borrow at a low interest rate and pay it back in cheaper dollars over the years. But this is risky when the economy faces a downturn.

16:41 - Incentivizing people to take out debt is a perverse incentive, because those who manage their money well and do not have much debt will be penalized. The point is, the reason why governments allow for inflation is because it's a way of silently stealing from people. It devalues your money.

19:50 - Hopefully our inflation doesn't go worse than the 1970s, but it's hard to tell. Worst case scenario is hyperinflation like Germany in the 1920s, Brazil and Argentina in the last few decades, and Venezuela today.

22:48 - The government has no incentive to be fiscally responsible.

26:16 - Ludwig Erhardt helped turn Germany from destroyed to an economic powerhouse in one generation. Two main policies. First, he banned crony capitalism and special favors. Second, he lowered the tax rate from 85% to 18%.

27:46 - Summary. Thanks for listening!

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