Inflation

[kwee34]

Is anyone else feeling the heat of inflation? I am! I'm not even talking about restaurants or such, I'm talking about everyday living like transport and hawker food. Things are definitely noticeably more ex!

[lion]

Yah it has been tense for this few weeks, gov mention that Singapore not affect too much as most food items imported. Think most of the suppliers need to increase now if not when to get good profit. Poor consumer.

[Bill]

Things could be worse... you could live in S.Korea, poking at your cell phone with an expensive frozen sausage and hoping the north doesn't shell you.
http://www.geekologie.com/2010/02/12...ge-fingers.jpg

[kwee34]

Why are they poking their phones with a sausage???

[lion]

Why are they poking their phones with a sausage???

hahahahah.... simply chim

[Shelbyville23]

I know this is a pretty old discussion, but it seems timely right now with the Corona Virus panic happening. I'm feeling pretty nervous, especially with the market hitting two "circuit breakers" trying to put a brake on plunging losses. One thing I wish I had some of, and which I may look into getting even now, are TIPS. They protect against inflation. Precious metals also seem like a pretty good idea, and another thing I've been wanting to get some of for a while now.

[elisecoen]

Inflation is a rate of change of prices, loosely driven by the rate of increase of money in circulation. It fluctuates, it does not always increase.

If the questioner meant to say ?when will prices stop increasing??, then that is almost impossible (at least for sustained periods). The government indirectly controls the quantity of money in circulation. When it increases they get benefit from taking value invisibly away from every financial asset and all savings in their currency, like a tax on this massive resource. This tax mainly effects the poorest in society and retirees, and governments cannot (politically) tax that group in a visible and honest way.

To its benefit, as compared to other taxes, inflation has almost no cost of collection. Most taxes are expensive (for the collector) to assess and collect, and also fostering a huge industry of advisers (expensive for the payers) to help reduce personal and business tax bills. That industry is needed by taxpayers, but has no productive function for society as a whole.

So, as a policy, inflation will never stop.

[Megan]

And as a matter of fact, most central banks around the world have an inflation target for the fiscals. Inflation is good when it grows in a controlled manner.