That can't be right
As I was taking a seat on the commuter rail this morning, I saw a sheet for the proposed 2007 fare rates. At first I was shocked because it looked like the rate for a monthly pass between Boston and Zone 8 where I live was going down by about $50 a month. This is so contrary to all known experience that I realized that I must be misreading the rate sheet. Sure enough, the rate is actually going up by about $50 per month, not down.
It's really strange to think that there was once a time when people worried as much about deflation as about inflation. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that dropping the gold standard for money was the key action that pretty much guaranteed that inflation would be almost continuous. On the other hand, I don't see how you have an economy the size of the modern world's that was backed by gold. There probably isn't enough gold in the entire crust, mantle, and core of this planet to back up more than a small fraction of the money in circulation now.
It's really strange to think that there was once a time when people worried as much about deflation as about inflation. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that dropping the gold standard for money was the key action that pretty much guaranteed that inflation would be almost continuous. On the other hand, I don't see how you have an economy the size of the modern world's that was backed by gold. There probably isn't enough gold in the entire crust, mantle, and core of this planet to back up more than a small fraction of the money in circulation now.