Effects of Inflation Essay -- Economy Economics Money Essays

Effects of Inflation Inflation is the most commonly used stinting term in the popular media. A Nexis search in 1996 found 872,000 news stories over the past twenty years that used the word pompousness. Unemployment ran a distant second. Public concern about inflation generally heats up in step with inflation itself. Though economists do not always see to itabout when inflation starts to interfere with market signals, the public tends to express serious alarm once the inflation rate rises above 5 or 6 percent. Public opinion polls show minimal concern about rising prices during the early 1960s, as inflation was low. Concern rose with inflation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. When inflation twice surged to double-digit levels in the mid and late 1970s, Ameri do-nothings named it public enemy number one. Since the late 1980s, public anxiety has abated along with inflation itself. Yet even when inflation is low, Americans tend to perceive a chasteity tale in its effects. A recent survey by Yale economist Robert Shiller found that many Americans view differences in prices over time as a reflection of fundamental changes in the values of our society, rather than of purely sparing forces. Economists think of inflation more plainly as a sustained rise in the general level of prices. Their concerns focus on questions such as whether inflation distorts economic decisions. Very high inflation adversely impacts economic performance, as evidence from cross-country studies shows. Likewise, moderate levels of inflation can distort enthronization and consumption decisions. Recent U.S. experience with low, stable levels of inflation, in the range of 2 to 3 percent, has spurred policy makers to consider the possibility of achieving zero percent inflation. Reducing inflation however has costs in lost output and unemployment during the adjustment. Thus, an important question is wheth... ... would not allow massive inflation. Americans feeling of pride in national institutions depends in part on low inflation or sound money as a signal of healthy fiscal and monetary institutions. Finally, inflation can discourage saving and encourage consumption. It thus is perceived as an attack on certain moral virtues -- a strong work ethic, deferred gratification -- that acquit a healthy economy. John Maynard Keynes made his famous attack on the Victorian virtue of saving -- always kettle of fish tomorrow and never jam today -- for economic reasons. Consumption in a depressi on or a recession could strengthen the economy, in his view. But British society took Keyness takeoff as an assault on the core of Victorian morality. Many Americans likewise feel that inflation assaults the legacy here of the Protestant work ethic that places a moral premium on saving over consumption. Fighting inflation thus is seen by many as a moral as untold as an economic duty. Americans want their public officials to fight inflation to increase long-term output and employment but perhaps also to strengthen societys moral foundation.