• FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Printing more money doesn’t make more value- it actually reduces the individual value of a dollar.

      That value needs to come from somewhere.

      When a currency is backed by some commodity (we backed by silver and gold, historically.) that value comes from whatever is backing it (ie you could go to a bank and get that stuff.)

      Today, the dollar is backed by the confidence of the people using it. Specifically, the confidence in the US government. The value is also affected by supply and demand for that currency.

      If the US suddenly decided to print the trillions dollar coin, the market reaction wouldn’t be all that hot. There is some wiggle room but generally not a lot.

      If you want to know what happens when you push it too far, check out the Weimar Republic (Germany), Hungary after ww2 and Zimbabwe in the late 2000’s

      It’s very much not-good.

    • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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      2 days ago

      The currency stabilised in early 1922, but then hyperinflation took off: the exchange value of the mark fell from 320 marks per dollar in mid 1922 to 7,400 marks per US dollar by December 1922. This hyperinflation continued into 1923, and by November 1923, one US dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 marks.