[EBH]

The inflation started when unskilled classes of workers doubled and tripled their wages, but not real production.

That is inflationary. One cannot raise the bottom 30% of worker wages and not have an inflationary reaction.

Cost of a Big Mac theory.

[noiseman]

The inflation started when unskilled classes of workers doubled and tripled their wages, but not real production.

Not many people, even here on FR, understand this. Arbitrarily raising wages, especially in the middle of an existing inflationary spiral, will only make things much worse. It’s no different than the dem proposals for government to provide everyone with a “basic income”, or for that matter what would happen if we just gave everyone a million dollar salary tomorrow. None of that will improve the standard of living of anyone; it will only push more arbitrary dollars out there to chase the same amount of goods, resulting in more and more inflation. And those who weren’t granted these “helicopter dollars”, such as those on fixed incomes, would be absolutely crushed in the process.

But you also mention the one and only exception to what I’ve just said, and that is increased productivity. Wage increases should only happen if they are in response to productivity increases that generate new value in exchange for those dollars. Anything less than that is purely inflationary.

[flamberge]

The inflation started when unskilled classes of workers doubled and tripled their wages, but not real production.

I do not believe that is a correct explanation.

The inflation started when Government drastically increased the money supply through expansion of bonded debts and used the new money to pay for their deficit spending.

The new money went into the pockets of Government supporters and their cronies. Everybody else got shorted as the new money bid up prices for goods and services.

Groups of people in a strong political position can raise their prices and wages to stay even with inflation. And why shouldn't they do so? Everybody else suffers a decline in living standards.

This is a liquidation economy.

Exhorting the losers to "be more productive" is an ineffective means to solve the problem of a decline in living standards. People cannot raise their productivity as fast as the Government can take it away through inflating the currency.