Some More News - SMN: What, Why, How, And Who Is Inflation?

Episode Date: May 11, 2022

Hi. In today's episode, we have a frank, no-nonsense, and dare we say, understated discussion on all things inflation. Please fill out our SURVEY: HTTP://kastmedia.com/survey/ We now have a MERCH STORE! Check it out here: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/somemorenews Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/some-more-news/id1364825229 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ebqegozpFt9hY2WJ7TDiA?si=5keGjCe5SxejFN1XkQlZ3w&dl_branch=1 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/even-more-news Protect yourself with the VPN that Scott Bug trusts to keep him safe online. Visit HTTP://ExpressVPN.com/morenews. That's HTTP://ExpressVPN.com/morenews to get three extra months free. Check out Raycon's wireless earbuds—my guess is that you're going to want to leave them a five-star review too. Go to HTTP://BUYRAYCON.com/somenews TODAY to get 15% off your Raycon order! Athletic Greens will give you an immune-supporting FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase if you visit http://athleticgreens.com/morenews today. Source List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bkFnhUrfSzvFNeWOGi1W1AIVFtrgV-CAN38jTN28xwE/edit?usp=sharing  Support the show!: http://patreon.com.com/somemorenewsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Welcome to some more news. I'm Cody Johnston, your little news scamp. You know, pulling news out of your garbage cans, snuffling for news truffles, and leaving little news presents on your doorstep. And so today in, right, news, inflation. It's not just for balls, you know. Inflation is on's not just for balls, you know, inflation is on everyone's minds, like these people. Prices surging more than they have in 30 years and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Biden making history, but not in a good way. Surging gas prices and higher rents, pushing inflation to a 40 year high. New numbers tonight show an inflationary wave is still building in the U.S. economy. The Labor Department reports consumer prices jumped more than 6% in October from a year ago.

So there is a direct connection to inflation and the trans issue. I'd say, Charlie, come on, they couldn't be further apart. No, they're exactly the same. They're the same in this aspect. I'd say, Charlie, come on, they couldn't be further apart. No, they're exactly the same. They're the same in this aspect. When you believe that men can become women,

why wouldn't you also believe that you could print wealth? Inflation is happening. It's scary and it's coming for your family. It's going to take pictures of you while you sleep and sell them to the internet. And also, apparently, according to Charles J. Kirk, some guy, And also, apparently, according to Charles J. Kirk, some guy, it's happening because of trans people, which doesn't sound right. I'm not an economist or math-having dunner, but that just seems incorrect, you know?

So while a lot of people are panicking and using it as an excuse to blame people they already hate, what is actually happening with inflation? As of March of this year, inflation reached a rate of 8.5%. That's actually a lot. It's the highest rate of inflation in 40 years. But what is causing it? Should we panic?

Are hippies causing it? Or maybe furries? Is it the boars? According to stickers on gas pumps, gas inflation is Biden's fault. Some blame the woke COVID relief checks given during Biden's presidency, but not the Trump ones. Those were fine and not woke actually.

How red pilled and based of you Mitt Romney. But economists at the Federal Reserve of San Francisco estimate the amount of inflation caused by COVID stimulus added only around 0.3 percentage points in 2021 the Federal Reserve of San Francisco, estimate the amount of inflation caused by COVID stimulus added only around 0.3 percentage points in 2021 and 0.2 percentage points in 2022, a small fraction of the total 8.5% inflation rate people are worried about.

Of course, that doesn't mean that 0.2% contribution is insignificant, but clearly there are other factors at play since inflation has increased from 1.4% in 2020 to 7% in 2021 and now 8.5% in 2022. As if a global pandemic followed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine might have an impact that economists like to call a real fucked up situation.

And this isn't limited to the US, prices are rising worldwide with many countries, wealthy and poor experiencing a sudden increase in inflation in 2021 and 2022. But can we pause here and just, what even is inflation? Yeah, I know the basics, prices are going up, but money is a thing we made up. It's like pogs or Beyblades, but less cool.

It has value because we decided it has value, which is what a fiat currency is. So how does inflation work? Does the money have a mind of its own? If inflation is bad and we get to decide the rules of money, can't we just change the rules? And getting information about inflation isn't always easy because it can be shrouded in mysterious jargon

or presented with insulting gimmicks. Like the New York Times' augmented reality Instagram filter that like shrinks your car to somehow teach you about inflation because your car shrinking makes inflation more clear. Or hey, how about fish? You like fish? Would fish make inflation clearer for you? First, we have to talk about how inflation works. Think of the economy as a fish tank. When one fish spends their money, like out at a fish concert, that keeps other fish, like the venue workers, employed. And think of all the water in the tank as all the money being spent out in the economy. The video isn't necessarily wrong. It's just, why do the fish have money?

Why does the money turn into water? Why is it bad for the fish for the water to overflow? Don't fish like water or money? Why is there a tiny clownfish-sized shark hosting the underwater fish concert? How did it get so small? Is it a baby shark? Why would a baby shark get to be a DJ? Why don't instead of fish,

you just say it's like human beings in a society. You're already making the fish do human things. Just make them people. I just want to learn about inflation without some stupid gimmick. That's weird. I definitely told the power company that money was fake. So, wait, who's there?

Oh, what the? Oh, no. Is this because of all the news I stole from the garbage cans? Hello, Mr. Cody. Do you know why I want you here? Ugh, Wormbo. Really? No, my name is Mean Fiend. Mystery Man. Okay, Mean Fiend. So what's up? You gonna cut off my skin? What?

Gonna cut off and fuck my loose skin? Is that it? No. Wow, no. You speak heresy against the money, silly goat. Now has time the money is made up, but it is real. Real as the rope stick behind you. Now, Mr. Cody, prepare thyself for a lesson... in economics! NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN which is how television used to work. Yeah. Silly.

Silly, come on, there we go, okay. Professor Scott Bug's Learning on Tape, Volume Four, Puberty and Uberty, Your Body's Voyage to Maturity. Whoa, wait, this is a Scott Bug video? Isn't he like not actually very good at science? Also, I'm pretty sure he's me, so I would remember filming... Quiet! Hi there. I'm Professor Scott Bug with a degree in biology from Bug U,

where even you can get a degree for only $999.9999 a month. Now, you may have noticed some changes with your budding body. Maybe a bit of a hairy situation in crotch places you wouldn't expect. This is, of course, because you are evil. Because you see- Oh, dang, one tape. That's for later. Unless Mr. Corley wants to explain what's happening to what- Mean Fiend- McMistery- Mean Fiend McMistery man. No, I don't want to explain puberty to you. Mean fiend McMistery man. Uh, here we go. Mean fiend McMistery man.

Sure. Okay. Professor Scott Buggs learning on tape volume 12, 12, Inflation and You, Your Economy's Voyage to Maturity. Inflation. It's not just something you can do with party balloons and hamsters and, as discussed in Volume 4 and 7 and 14 later on, penises. So what is this elusive phenomenon known as inflation? Well, imagine you have a right big fish tank, yeah? Full of fish, you see? Water, right? And money, yeah? Oh my god! Can you just tell me without using fish? Imagine you have a country, and it uses paper for money. When the price of things increases,

it means you need to spend more of this paper, or money, to buy the items, or things. This is called inflation. Take, for example- Don't say fish!...birds, which, when coaxed, can vomit eggs. In 1910, a dozen raw eggs was around 30 cents. Now a dozen raw eggs are about $2. Thanks a lot, Biden. Wait, when was this video made? You see, inflation can occur at a steady rate over long periods of time.

In fact, the Federal Reserve aims for a rate of around 2% inflation every year, which is as normal as the hair in your armpits and knees. A little bit of inflation is healthy for a growing economy and for your bones. Okay, that, I mean, that all makes sense, which is actually surprising. I did not think you would know anything about economics. Now, in case you were wondering,

I am of course a professor of economics, but over the years I've come to realize that much like the climate or psychology, economics is everything. The oceans are economics, the stars, bluegrass music, but in a very real way that I have studied, money and inflation are also economics. Okay, so inflation means each dollar is worth less because prices go up and there's a normal rate of inflation. But what causes inflation? I'm glad you asked. You can hear me?

Of course, I cannot literally hear you, but I've just assumed your question. And we shall get to the bottom of this quandary right after these commercial messages. Why would the VHS tape have... The internet is very large. By some estimates, it's at least six miles wide in every direction. Think of it like a very big cauldron. Why would the VHS tape have- That's why I use ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN hides your IP address, essentially taking your subletters or numbers as they are also called, and hiding them with a digital bed sheet. In goes the bed sheet into the cauldron, making your IP address harder to trace and sell to advertisers.

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Trust to keep me safe online. Visit expressvpn.com slash more news. That's E-X-P-R-E-S-S-V-P-N dot com slash more news to get three extra months free. Go to expressvpn.com slash more news right now to learn more. Learning is... Yes.

Gosh, guys, if you know me, you know that I am always falling down steep hills everywhere I go. I once slipped while visiting Big Sur, pinwheeled for seven seconds before landing headfirst on a park bench. And that, my friends, is why I use Raycon wireless earbuds. Not only do they deliver the best sound and comfortable, optimized gel tips, but they never fall out of your ears. It doesn't matter if you fall down a small embankment or tumble violently over the edge of a dam. These puppies do not budge.

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order. That's buyraycon.com slash some news to score 15% off. Buyraycon.com slash some news. The causes of inflation. We're not talking bicycle pumps. Welcome back. I bet you're asking, well, gee whizizzo, jizzo, capizzo, mobismo, capizmo, Professor Scott Bug, what causes inflation? Ask it. Well, gee, whizzo. Indeed, there are many causes of inflation. Society, music, cats of all sizes, breads of all sizes, feelings. The most scary cause is when we print so much money, it makes the United States too heavy, which causes it to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

Yeah, that doesn't sound right. See, I found this economics textbook with my head blood on it, and it doesn't say anything about too much money making the United States sink into the ocean. Okay, well, if you want to get technical and precise about it, printing money can cause inflation

because it gives people more spending power. And with that spending power, people are more able to buy things like cars and sexual toys, and more people buying things causes prices to rise. If I have something you really, really want, like a nice ice of cream cone or band-aids for your head wound, and if I'm running

an ice of cream band-aid store, I know I can ask for more money from you. So as demand goes up, prices also go up. Okay, that actually makes sense. But wouldn't wages go up as well? Because if you give people more money in say a stimulus bill, they have more savings and flexibility to turn down jobs that don't pay well.

So they can demand higher wages. And if wages are rising in pace with inflation, is there even a problem? Yes, yes, technically this may work, but if you print too much money, inflation will outpace wages, and what you earned a week ago will be almost worthless the next week.

Take for instance 1920s German Weimar Republic. After Germany had lost World War I, they were forced to pay war reparations equivalent to half a trillion modern US dollars. They obviously couldn't afford this, so began printing huge amounts of German marks, which is the German version of bug coin or dollar bills. And this led to something called hyperinflation, which stands for hyperinflation. The German mark became practically worthless, as in 1922, 160 German marks were equal to a single US dollar-o-buckaby, and by the end of 1923, that US dollar-o-buckaby would be worth 4 trillion, 210 billion, 500 million marks.

This impacted the working class the most, as the inflation was so rapid, their wages couldn't keep up, and things like cars and sexual toys became unaffordable. So if you were paid in the morning, your salary might be worthless by the evening. So everyone had to spend their money immediately, which made banks useless.

And so when hyperinflation happens, economies have to either switch to bartering or switch to a new currency, might I suggest bug coin, now made out of only 60% lead, the most fiscal element. Okay, but don't you think post-World War I Germany is kind of an extreme example?

I mean, surely you can print some money without causing hyperinflation. Hmm, yes, I suppose you may be right, audience. In general, whom I cannot see or hear. So look, I've been reading this bloodstained economics textbook, and it says you can actually print money during a recession without causing inflation because of the lower demand.

So when demand is low enough and you give people more spending money, suppliers can easily produce more products or hire more people, and their costs aren't going up since demand has not exceeded supply. It's only when you print money when supplies are being utilized to the max that it can contribute to inflation,

because, okay, imagine the economy is like a game of tug of war between fish. Fuck, no, no! I did not mean to do the analogy, I'm sorry. See, it's pretty hard not to, right? Not so incomprehensibly handsome now, are we? Okay, okay, no analogy, just a hypothetical. If I was hypothetically unemployed and desperate,

I would hypothetically take a job at any wage. I would work for candy bars if I had to. And then I'd sell those candy bars to wealthy babies. But since I already have a nice job as a news gremlin here at Some More News Incorporated, if Reuters wants to hire me for some absurd reason, I can demand a higher wage. They're going to have to offer me

more than a veiny chocolate and a handshake, if you know what I'm saying. At least according to this economics textbook, which I just read with a concussion. But there is still a problem with this explanation, Mr. TV Man. Dr. Professor TV Man. Professor TV Man, you mentioned there are other causes

of inflation, right? People often blame it on printing money, like the sharp increase happening now. But the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's analysis of stimulus spending is estimated that it's likely only contributed a small fraction of a percentage point to inflation. So something else is going on here, right?

And you may be wondering, well, heck, couldn't something else be going on here? And you're right. Let's talk more about demand. Surprise and Demand Remember, when there's high demand when the economy's resources are being used to the max, inflation will go up. But what raises demand?

Sometimes it's being given more money, but other times it can be raised by supply chain disruption. Now, imagine the supply chain as an assembly line of fish. Nope! Imagine the supply chain as a happy hive, which stands for House Live of Bees, and the honey is money. Stop! I refuse. Okay, Mr. Fellow, imagine the supply chain as a chain. If one link in the chain is cut, the chain explodes because chains are very volatile. The cause of this could be anything from shortages due to war and sanctions to a boat getting

caught in a canal. Even a hypothetical global pandemique could cause a supply chain disruption. You see, the economy is all about human behavior and human psychology. Something like a pandemique changes human behavior because a virus literally controls your mind and makes people panic and buy certain things or stop consuming things, which makes manufacturers also panic and stop production, only to then have a sudden sharp increase in demand when people realize, hypothetically, they need to convert their home into an office and need to buy a desk and one of those little basketball hoops you put over your trash can.

This is all weirdly specific. And in this highly specific but entirely hypothetical pandemic situation, many people actually accumulate savings as they're spending less money on gas, travel, and other services. But during this fictitious pandemic, where people are stuck at home watching heroic tales of tiger kings, they might use their money instead to buy more goods from, say, some extremely wealthy nerd's futuristic internet bookstore that sells cheap imported goods. The sudden surge in buying imported goods would put more pressure on the supply chains for these goods. The pressure on the supply chain can make it difficult for vendors to keep up with the demand, which will feed inflation. So I think

the lesson here is clear. That inflation may be inevitable during huge global events like a pandemic because of the pandemic's effect on human behavior, because the economy is a human construct and thus entirely beholden to our collective behaviors? No, you fool! It's that saving up your money for later is bad and makes the economy sad. It misses the money dearly and takes to drink. And that's how we get storms.

So what, we should spend all our money? No! God no! Spending your money is the worst thing for inflation. That's why my bug coin are worth half the value of your human dollars. To save the economy, you must invest in bug. To the moons! Okay, I have several questions. Primarily, it really seems like you're responding directly to me, and that doesn't seem like it should seem like that. Secondly, you seem spot on in some places while extremely ro-

Are you high employment? Now, let's talk about something plaguing these United American States of America. Too many people having jobs. What? That's right. Low unemployment. Now you may be thinking,

well gee, Mr. Professor Scott Berg, I'm a fucking dildo and I thought employment was good. That's where you're wrong. You imbecile, you buffoon. Rude. At least when it comes to defeating inflation. You see, high employment increases inflation by putting more money in the pockets of consumers, who are then more willing to buy things. Low unemployment can also mean higher

wages because workers can make more demands, as there isn't a line of unemployed workers ready to replace them. Okay, so I can see how it could cause inflation, but certainly doesn't mean high employment and high wages are bad. What are we supposed to do? Force people to be unemployed and or poor? And if we do that, do we just let people starve. What are we supposed to do? Force people to be unemployed and or poor? And if we do that, do we just let people starve? Wouldn't we need to give people like a basic income so they can survive? Nah, but giving unemployment income

could still drive up inflation because then people have more money to spend. Remember, more money means more demand, which means? Right, no, I get it. But you shouldn't just forcibly lay off a bunch of people and you can't just let people starve No, of course not. That's why I suggest professor Scott bugs patented sleepy time cryogenic stasis pods Okay, these babies are built for comfort and can keep you snoozing for centuries with only minimal organ damage or as some might call it A lot of organ damage. So your suggestion, as a professor, is that we fire everyone and put them in your stasis

pods that I'm guessing just kill people? No, of course not. We can't fire everyone. Just enough people to stave off inflation, but still keep those corporate profits going. Oh, and I almost forgot. Excess corporate profits can also be a symptom of inflation. The power we briefly gloss over how corporate profits contribute to inflation. Yes, monopolies can cause inflation.

Whoops! Anyway, more of inflation right after these messages. Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da Technically, hypothetically, if, say, you had rampant unchecked corporate power in the United States for many decades, they may try to keep prices low while still reaping excess profits by suppressing the wages of workers. But if workers are able to finally demand a higher wage when they have more leverage, these corporations would most likely choose to raise prices rather than accept any slowing to their increasing profit margins, which might hypothetically be the findings of the Economic Policy Institute in the far off year of 2022. In this futuristic situation, the rising prices wouldn't simply make up for the rise in wages, but actually continue to increase corporate profit margins, because corporations have

become addicted to endless, infinite growth. This is of course not their fault, as growth addiction is often genetic. And once inflation starts, they can likely make people accept higher and higher prices, especially if they're de facto monopolies, eventually consuming all life and matter on the planet. It's what killed the dinosaurs. And also, the same reason gas companies don't immediately lower the cost of their product even when oil prices go down. The consumer is already accustomed to paying more, and so they get to make a profit from

it. You know, like a villain would do. Interesting fact about the word dinosaurs. You see, it comes from the Greek word dienos, which means fuck Hungary, but the woke libs won't tell you about it. So, it seems like there are a bunch of different things that can cause inflation. Good things, like people having more jobs and more money, and things that are often framed as good but are probably actually bad, like high corporate profits. So, is inflation even

really a problem? What can happen under inflation? What a smart question. You are right. We haven't cut to an ad break in quite some time. That's not what I said. Green. It's not a color we like to talk about due to its many historical atrocities. Hello, I'm Professor Scott Bug, here to tell you about a green that you can trust. Most specific to this sentence, I'm speaking about AG1 by Athletic Greens. While the average human being has to consume three sycamore trees to obtain their daily vitamin goals, AG1 takes all of those tree powers

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an immune-supporting, free, one-year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase if you visit athleticgreens.com slash more news today. Again, simply visit athleticgreens.com slash more news to take control of your health and embrace the color you once feared. And that color is green. Inflation prognosis, uh Uh oh, the economy is sick.

Welcome back. We were just asking what can happen when inflation gets too high. Well, when inflation is high enough, bad things start to happen. Like news anchors being driven to osteoporosis by $11 milk. I bought a gallon of milk last night. Granted, we live in New York, things are higher priced than a lot of other areas in the country. It's nearly $11 for a gallon of milk at a New York grocery store. Milk isn't $11.

What is she buying? The Queen's breast milk? And how? You see, inflation can hurt everyone, even people who shop at specialty royal milk stores. But inflation disproportionately affects poor people. Which is why I'm introducing Professor Scott Bugg's Economy Class Sleepy Time Cryogenic Stasis Pods. Now with enough room for both of most of your legs, kind of. But I digress. Inflation doesn't always impact prices evenly. It can cause a greater increase for different products depending on demand,

supply chain issues, and everything else we just discussed. For instance, if, say, in the distant future of 2022, there was a war that caused a supply disruption in agriculture, this may theoretically cause non-luxury food items to greatly rise in price, which would affect not only lower-income people more, but poorer nations as well. Man, your hypothetical situations are, like, super specific. But it does make sense. There's gotta be a way to help alleviate the disproportionate weight

that poor people have to bear, right? By giving them financial assistance. Ah, but if you give financial assistance, it means you're putting more money into the economy, which means more inflation. So you're saying we have to take money out of the economy, but why does it have to be poor people's money then? Why not like tax higher income brackets, which would take money out of the economy? Then you could give some of the economy, but why does it have to be poor people's money then? Why not like tax higher income brackets,

which would take money out of the economy? Then you could give some of the money to poor people who are getting the brunt of inflation and keep some of it out of the economy by like paying off debt or throwing it into volcano or whatever. You could even use some of the money you tax to invest in programs that will offset inflation

in the long run, like building more housing that drives down rental costs, or investing in green energy that reduces our dependence on oil, which would protect us from oil shortage caused inflation. Again, I cannot hear you, I am inside the television. Anyhoo, another impact of inflation is the psychological domino effect, named as such after the Tony Scott film, Domino. Typically, people don't notice inflation if it's low enough, up to around 2% a year. But when people start to notice inflation, they adjust and may rush to buy things, fearing that prices will continue to rise. And this rush to buy things causes

more demand and even more inflation, just like everyone rushed to see the film Domino. Which is why I am developing a prototype psychic helmet to connect consumers in what I like to call Professor Scott Bugg's patented anti-inflation super mind. You see, as individuals, we may make decisions that are rational on the individual level, but aren't good for the hive. So if we can all join together as one in one beautiful, throbbing, shared consciousness.

Honestly, that sounds fun and sexy, but I get it. Runaway inflation could be harmful, but is there anything good about inflation? Is it all bad stuff? Now, I bet you're asking, well shit in my stupid ear, Professor Scott-Bug, is inflation ever good? Well, it can be beneficial in small doses to borrowers. You see, if you borrow money at a fixed interest rate loan, you are paying a constant rate

of interest on that money. So say you're a fish, and you borrow $1,000 for your fish school, and you pay an interest rate of 1% a month for fish school. You have to pay $10 a month for those fish. During an inflationary period, you're still paying $10 a month, but those $10 aren't worth as much,

so you're effectively paying less for the fish. So inflation can actually be good for fish with student debt? It seems like kind of a shitty system if that's the only way to escape crippling debt. Maybe we should just make college free or cancel student loans and make college free. No!

You can't make college free. How will I gather tuition for Bug You to pay for my compound and all of my little buglings? So many mouths to feed. Besides, forgiving student debt would make inflation worse because more money in the hands of people means more demand means... More inflation, no, I get it. Or rather, I get why my head hurts. Besides being bludgeoned. Boy, there's a lot of blood coming out of there. Might I suggest pouring more different blood on the wound so that it confuses your blood so much

it has no choice but to remain inside of you. That doesn't sound medically correct. I'm sorry, once again, I cannot hear you. Okay, but if inflation is in simplified terms, caused by too much money circulating in the economy, you take some of the money out of the economy to reduce inflation, but we can choose where to take that money, right? We could still forgive student loans, and again, tax the higher income brackets more,

which also solves the fears people have about student loan forgiveness giving money to the rich people. I mean, ignoring that most people who suffer from loans are from middle-class families with incomes of 40,000 to $59,000 a year. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, my little budding economist.

We haven't gotten to the part where we talk about what to do about inflation. That's after my five minute interpretive skit that uses a creative farm animal analogy for monetary theory, which begins right, woo-ow. Okay, I am almost certainly going to. And that's why you can't judge a cash cow by her udders.

Sexy, sexy stuff. Now, I bet you're wondering, professy, what can I do about inflation? Well, solutions to inflation. Ha! What do we do? Make no mistake, we must do everything in our power to stop inflation, even if it kills us all and everyone we love and also hate. One solution that may seem tempting is price controls.

Price controls means setting caps on the prices of things that are undergoing inflation. The problem with this is that it is extremely difficult to keep track of all the products that you would need to put price caps on. And you'd need a dedicated bureaucracy tracking prices, setting and removing caps, making sure there aren't shortages of the items if they sell out too fast at the given price. There's also the risk of products under a shortage being withheld to be sold on the black market for a higher price. For more information on the black market, check out my six-part series titled You Barely

Only Need One Lung, Making the Black Market Work for You. Okay, so I get that price caps might not work, but aren't there other ways to intervene with inflation? The economy is like a mass psychological game that we collectively determine the rules of, so can't we adjust the rules of the game when it's not working? Well, perhaps I could interest you in some monetary policy. The Federal Reserve can influence how much money

is circulating in the economy by changing interest rates. Here's how it works. Suppose I, Dr. Professor Scott Bug, want to invest some of my profits from Bug You. I hand over some of my piles of cash to the Fed, who gives me a promise called a treasury bond to return my money with interest in 30 years. The Fed just bought 30 years of less money in the economy.

And look at how happy all the little money babies are to see me after 30 years. Heartwarming. Okay, so less money in the economy means less inflation, but less money must also mean people can't do as much stuff with money, right? Correct, Cody, whom I've secretly been able to see this whole time.

When the Fed removes money from the economy, it leads to higher interest rates. You see, when there's less money in play in the economy, banks are less likely to give out loans. They have less money to work with, and so they're pickier about what loans they choose to finance. So they charge higher interest rates because there's more demand for loans and there

is supply. This means everything from business loans to housing mortgages may struggle to get financing, which means people may get laid off or be unable to afford the high interest rates needed for financing for a house. And with fewer people being able to afford to buy a house, more people will need to rent, which will also drive up rental prices. And if there was, say, a housing shortage crisis, this could be troublesome. Higher interest rates of unemployment, higher rent, but we gotta break a few eggs to stop

inflation. With an omelette made of people suffering, and particularly poor people. They make the best human omelet, what without all that money ruining the flavor! Well I've been Professor Scott Bug, and it has been an honor being your guide on this economic adventure. And as we always say at Bug U, tender is the horse Christ, which is- Wait wait wait! Absolutely stop! You can't just end the video here. I can't? No, I'm not satisfied with people just have to suffer, especially poor people.

Look, I get it. Inflation that gets too out of control can cause serious issues. And we should try to prevent inflation from getting out of control. And I get that even though money is made up and the economy is just this mass psychological phenomenon, it has a real impact on people's lives.

But the whole point of having a society and an economy should be to make people's lives better. And if that's not happening, we have to make changes to our society and how our economy functions. Maybe we have to make some sacrifices when trying to offset things like inflation, but don't we get to determine where those sacrifices actually fall? Why is the lower class always expected to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the burden? Shouldn't we change that?

Well, these are some long outro credits. Well, look, I shouldn't be telling you this, but there is something called modern monetary theory, which is highly controversial and possibly satanic. Go on. Very well. But if J Edgar Hoover comes a knocking,ockin', I didn't tell you nothin'! It's very unclear what area you're supposed to be from.

Modern monetary theory stresses the idea that a country that does all their business using their own fiat currency can simply print as much money as they want for government spending. It emphasizes using taxation and government spending to counter inflation. Changes in taxing and government spending is called fiscal policy. This is different from monetary policy, which describes the actions of the Federal Reserve taking money out of circulation. And like we discussed earlier, monetary policy has collateral damage, such as higher interest rates.

So by focusing more on fiscal policy, the idea is we could avoid some of the negative impacts of monetary policy. Well that seems really promising, right? But much like the theory of math, it is highly controversial, which I typically have no problem with, especially when it comes to Professor Scott Boggs' miracle ointment. The burning means it's working, but we can't just play around with the economy. What are we supposed to do? Try out some untested theory? Isn't that the only way to test it? Aren't you a scientist?

I mean, I get we wouldn't wanna do some massive risky experiment on everyone. Yes, yes, right, we wouldn't want to do that. But it seems like you could try some of modern monetary theory's ideas out, maybe in conjunction with some of the conventional methods to reduce inflation, especially the idea of utilizing fiscal policy

more to address inflation, which doesn't seem like a huge risk. Here, look, I found this article by the Economic Policy Institute because the kidnapper forgot to take away my phone. But basically, they're saying that if the Fed takes money out of circulation and raises interest rates, it helps curb inflation, but it also causes people to be laid off. So they propose investing in elder and child care programs. First of all, these are good because, you know, making sure elderly people and children are taken care of

would be a cool thing for a rich country to do anyway. It also keeps the olds and youngs off our backs. And also, according to the EPI, this would mean more people would be free to enter the labor market, like parents who have children or people who have their elderly parents to take care of. And if there are more people in the labor market,

a higher supply of labor would mean labor costs would go down, which would drive down inflation. Now this would also mean wages would be less likely to increase because more available workers means workers have less leverage to demand higher wages. But if childcare and elder care is subsidized, heck, if we throw in something like nationalized healthcare, people would be getting a net gain

in quality of life and savings. And if you still need to take money out of the economy to stop inflation, why not tax higher income brackets and just sit on that money or use it to pay off the deficit that conservatives are so gosh darn concerned about. Ah, but higher income brackets are more likely to save large quantities than spend it or keep all their money in big piles on the floor

that they roll around in during their sexual orgies. And since they're just hoarding their money, keeping it out of circulation in the economy, you would need to tax them at a much higher rate to actually start pulling money from them that they use for luxury spending. Uh, yes, you would have to tax them at a much higher rate. Again, it seems like the assumption is always

that if we need to take money out of the economy to slow inflation, it's fine if workers and poor people bear the brunt of the cost. So I don't know, maybe this is my bleeding head wound speaking, but why not change it so that people who can afford it more take the hit?

You can't just play around with money like that. You're going to make the money angry. Look, okay, I know I talk about how money is imaginary, but I get it. It has power and that power is very real. And inflation, even though it's a by-product of all our weird money rules, is also real in that it impacts people.

But we can deal with it and we get to decide how to deal with it in a way that causes the least amount of harm to people or maybe, maybe even helps people. It's like if you have a bunch of it in a way that causes the least amount of harm to people, or maybe, maybe even helps people. It's like if you have a bunch of people in a stadium, and the stadium gets overcrowded, an initial spark of panic could be due to some imaginary source.

Like someone thinks they see Pete Davidson, and there's a mass rush of people trying to fuck him. But as that panic flows through the crowd, the physics of the group behavior becomes very real and dangerous. That doesn't mean we have to give up and just let all the crowd, the physics of the group behavior becomes very real and dangerous. That doesn't mean we have to give up and just let all the people in the stadium and the cheap seats get crushed by everyone horny

for Pete Davidson, while the rich people in the luxury boxes look on in safety and engorged. We can design the stadium with safety features that makes sure that there's enough space for everyone to evacuate. Even if it means the rich people don't get to keep their little luxury seats with the nacho cheese fountains

and fuck, I just did an analogy, didn't I? I told you, once you get balls deep into a nice warm analogy, it is hard to stop thrusting. Right, gross, I guess so. You're dirtier than I remember. But before we get caught up in more analogies about stadiums or fish or like a big green person, we have to talk about the real world.

Because inflation is admittedly pretty complicated and confusing, even for economists, politicians, Emerald Mine Trust Fund kids, and youth pastor Twitch streamers who will use it as a general boogeyman preying on people who don't understand how inflation works. Conservatives will pearl clutch about inflation while also bragging about low unemployment.

Like Ted Cruz here, who complains about inflation, while of course making fun of himself for abandoning his state during a crisis to go to Cancun, ha ha ha ha, but who also brags about low unemployment in Texas. To be clear, low unemployment isn't necessarily bad, but it does contribute to inflation. And yet Ted Cruz only blames government spending

for inflation, saying it's caused by reckless Democrat spending and spending $1.9 trillion on a so-called COVID relief bill. He then warns about Democrats increasing taxes, even though increasing taxes would likely have a slowing effect on inflation. He also complains about gas price inflation, which to remind you was caused primarily

by gas supply shocks due to war, but argues against spending on any kind of green energy infrastructure, which would reduce our dependence on oil and prevent oil inflation. But Ted Cruz isn't stupid. Well, maybe he is. He probably is, but that's not important.

It doesn't matter. The point is, inflation is just the excuse he uses to push his agenda, and he ignores actual economics, which is the same thing that Joe Manchin is doing when he opposes the Build Back Better bill, which would set up green energy infrastructure because he's concerned about inflation. But how will we ever escape oil inflation crises if we never end our dependence on oil? And also, more infrastructure, like building more housing and public transportation, can

also drive down inflation by reducing dependence on cars, meaning less demand, and increasing supply of housing, driving down rent. And sure, things like improved green infrastructure may not solve this current inflation crisis since it's so far off, but there are other things we can do, even with the oil shortage. We could, say, lift sanctions on Venezuela and Iran,

which would free up oil supply and ease inflation. Because even though we hate negotiating with the enemy and love keeping semi-permanent sanctions, despite the fact that they don't seem to be doing anything but hurting innocent civilians, maybe lifting sanctions would both be a good thing diplomatically and ease economic suffering,

both in the US and in Venezuela and Iran. There are other solutions that may be somewhat controversial, like reducing the Trump-imposed tariffs on China, which would ease inflation by increasing the flow of supplies. The point is we have a lot of different options when it comes to slowing inflation,

but these other solutions often get conveniently left out of the narrative, especially if someone can use inflation as an excuse to kill policies they don't like. And listen, I may be losing a lot of blood right now, but if someone is trying to tell you that the only method of easing inflation is through austerity, while not seeming to grasp basic economic principles,

maybe they're lying or bad at economics? Listen, Cody, I am a guy in a VHS tape from some vague past era. I do not know who any of these people or situations are. Perhaps this is all but a dream. In the mere seconds, you will wake up surrounded by your loved ones. Oh shit!

Oh my jeez! Did he die? I don't know, man. I am not going back to jail for this. Cody! Cody, are you in here? Your door was unlocked and... Oh my God!

Oh my God! Oh fuck! Shit man! She just came at me, bro! It wasn't supposed to go down like this! What do we do? What do we do? I'm freaking out! Okay, okay, okay, okay, just be cool! And, and, and... No! Oh, uh, hi Mr. Cody.

You must have had a very long nap because you were sleeping when Warmbo got here from the farmer's market. Warmbo, did you bludgeon me with an economy book and tie me up? And steal your pants? Of course not, silly goat. My pants are indeed gone, and so is Wormbo. Okay, well, I guess that's our inflation episode. Thanks for watching. Make sure to like and subscribe. Leave a nice comment or a mean one. It's okay. Just express your feelings, you know? Feelings are okay. Feelings are great. Science? That's all. Whatever. Feelings? That's the best. more news you can also listen to our podcast even more news and this show as a podcast if you want there are a lot of visuals in this episode so maybe you know watch it again on youtube so

thanks and you know what bye