If slight inflation is always a target, will everything have an astronomically high price tag in the future?

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Asking this question from an American perspective. At an average of 2% inflation, an equivalent new car that costs $40,000 today would cost $2,000,000 in 200 years. Assuming matching(ish) wage growth (i.e. a household of two married professionals could still afford a $2M car), what are the government’s options? Let things ride? Print new $1,000 or $10,000 bills? Reissue a *NEW* USD that is worth 0.01% of the old one?

Still on the fence about if humanity will be around long enough to have this problem, but just curious about the options for my great-great-great-great-great-grandkids.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

In a hypothetical where cars would have existed 200 years ago, there’d be someone going *”At an average of 2% inflation, an equivalent new car that costs $800 today would cost $40,000 in 200 years”*.

It’s all relative. Things will look “Astronomical” heights if we base it on today’s standards.

>Assuming matching(ish) wage growth (i.e. a household of two married professionals could still afford a $2M car), what are the government’s options?

If wage growth matches inflation rate then there’s arguably little need to do anything – if indeed the amount of work/ resources you need in order to acquire the cash to afford such a car is the same as you would today.

It’s just an arbitrary number. What matters is its purchasing power at the time.

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