Re:Global real interest rates and the ‘suprasecular’ decline...
by karpierz on Thursday January 28, 2021 @09:19PM
(#25952828)
How many iPhones can a dollar buy 20 years ago?
Re:Global real interest rates and the ‘suprasecular’ decline...
by jbay808 on Thursday January 28, 2021 @09:23PM
(#25952869)
How many Dodo birds can a dollar buy today?
A better question might be, how much would you have volunteered to pay twenty years ago for the functionality an iPhone gets you today? In 2001, if today's iPhone were being sold, what price would have made it a successful product among average consumers? (Not, say, the military or super-wealthy).
I think... Less than $10,000 for certain, less than $5,000 most likely. In that sense the price has certainly come down, but semiconductors and electronics has obviously gone through rapid technological scaling and deflation is expected in that sector.
How much house can a dollar buy versus twenty years ago? If the dollar was indeed rising in value over time, a dollar would buy more house today than in 2000. Before we left the gold standard, a dollar indeed held its purchasing power over decades. The price of gold is effectively an inverse measure of the value of a dollar given that the amount of gold is basically fixed.