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Comment by aeschinder | Hacker News Reader

Just so I understand...two stimmy checks are to blame for inflation and product shortages? I know this is a popular talking point, but there needs to be some facts to back this up. Supply chains were wrecked by shipping container shortages due to bottlenecking at ports as well as factory shutdowns. There are proven instances where businesses increased prices just because they could.

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About two years ago the requirement of fractional reserve was removed completely. This allowed banks to create as much money as there was appetite for credit. Completely insane amount of money was created through this mechanism in last two years.

Another thing I don’t understand is why the 10T we printed isn’t included in the discussion.

At the start of the pandemic, between March 29 and July 25 2020, everyone claiming unemployment benefits got an extra $600/week on top of their normal payment. Later between December 27 2020, and September 4 2021, everyone was paid an extra $300/week for 9 months. For reference, the maximum unemployment benefit previously was $450/week.

This is all on top of the checks, of which there were 3.

Assuming you claimed unemployment the entire time, you would've gotten paid ~$24k + normal UI.

FYI unemployment is set at the state level. Some states pay far in excess of $450 per week (MA pays nearly $850). Your main point is still applicable and I agree with it.

I never got unemployment compensation even though I was unemployed, I fell through the cracks, and couldn't focus on it (because of long COVID) enough to get it done.

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