Perils of inflation: entertainment.

We all have heard how bad inflation is, although some people seem to have trouble comprehending the idea. These are people for whom the term "fiat currency" is alien. They still expect to walk up to the treasury building and trade in a dollar note for that amount of gold. They'd better bring a microscope if that's the case.

There are two equations of economics that everyone ought to know, but seem to be mysterious and inscrutable even to those who supposedly do:  

Greater demand or lower supply = higher prices

Too many dollars chasing too few goods = higher prices

The latter is exactly what's happening now, as the government runs off sheets of delicious money that are each worth less than the dollars printed before them. 

But is inflation really bad? Yes, to those who remember stories of little old ladies on Social Security eating cat food to survive before benefits were pegged to you-know-what. My savings cannot possibly keep up with the rate of inflation as it is now.

 

I thought, since people pay more attention to entertainment and celebrity than reality in our culture, it might help to look at inflation in another way, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' helpful Consumer Price Index inflation calculator (costs as of January 2022). Here we go:

The Six Million Dollar Man -- TV show premiered 1973; man now costs $38,958,152.42

The Millionaire -- TV drama where a man gave random people a million bucks premiered 1955; now would now give $10,529,887.64

50 Cent -- Rap star born 1975; now costs $2.59

"Bet-a-Million" Gates -- American gambler earned nickname in 1900; now would be "Bet $33,470,000" Gates*

Marshall Crenshaw's "A Hundred Dollars" -- Song released 1987; now would be $250.80

Two dollars demanded by psychotic paperboy in Better Off Dead -- Film released 1985; now demands $5.28 

Sweepstakes -- Short-lived TV drama ran 1979; million-dollar prize now costs $3,768,739.95

The Million Dollar Duck -- 1971 live-action Disney comedy; duck now costs $7,028,700.00

Two Cents -- expression re: one's opinions originated 1939; now opinions worth 40 cents

A Fistful of Dollars -- 1964 Spaghetti Western; a fistful of singles (approximately 10) now worth $90.40

Million Dollar Baby -- Another Eastwood film, from 2004; baby now worth $1,480,505.53

 

$1.98 Beauty Pageant -- Prize dispensed in 1978 mock-pageant show now worth $8.37

Shoeless Joe Jackson -- Admitted to being paid $5,000 to cheat in the 1919 World Series; now worth $77,665.19 (current Major League Baseball minimum salary is $570,500.00) 

Total 1944 US Government spending --  $91.3 billion; worth $1.462 trillion today, which is a small bit compared to our actual 2021 budget of $6.818 trillion, and we were fighting a World War on two fronts in 1944* -- US population has not quintupled since then

*For these, I had to go to another site as BLS doesn't go past 1913 or over 10 million bucks.

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Everything looks more valuable with inflation, but that only means that the money is less valuable. Does this illustration help? Probably not. Some people can't see the crocodile that's biting them on the butt.