As a percentage of total assets, absolutely not.
> Those living of fixed incomes are rarely the poorest, either. Pensions in many countries are tied to inflation.
No, this is incorrect. There is a ton of middle class retirement based on fixed payment annuities. Additionally, the “cost of living adjustments” for things like social security are often completely incorrect due to the spending patterns of elderly being impacted by some categories far more than others.
> The poor generally have less cash in the bank than the rich.
The OP said the only assets some poorer people will have will be some cash [in the bank]. Is this not correct? I’ve been near broke before. The only assets I had besides a dying car was money in between Venmo, PayPal, bank account, and actual cash.
Honestly, all the fretting about the debasing of value of a poor person's small pile of cash seems like outright misdirection to me. You have to look at the whole picture, and that whole picture is that the poor person might be trading say a <$10 loss to inflation on a small savings account for a $1000 stimulus check. That's a good bargain.
More broadly, the hard money/bitcoin people seems to want exchange the elimination of their hypothetical fear of (hyper)inflation for a very real likelihood of lingering recessions due to austerity policies. That doesn't seem like a good bargain to me.
The current stimulus checks are certainly great because it hasn’t shaken confidence in the USD so borrowing rates are cheap. But if inflation takes off because of oversupply of money or a cash shortage (due to hawkish positions) then debasement is a real fuck you to everyone paid in USD.
Similarly, your second paragraph to me is fear-mongering. Not based in actual reality.
The unemployment stimulus and expansion to include gig and freelance workers has been amazing. In a state like my New Jersey, you were able to get a minimum $831 a week with the April-July 13 week $600 stimulus. And currently $531 and $631 a week if Biden’s stimulus includes $400 extra a week.
A family member shut down their business at the beginning of the pandemic. All the minimum wage no benefit receiving former employees were able to make more through July 2020 from unemployment.
Adding on to what you said - the hard money/Bitcoin people like many other people, will blame a recession beginning in 2021 or 2022 on the other side regardless of the reasons.
Wouldn't call it extremely regressive.
> The poorer someone is, the more of their assets are likely to just be some cash in the bank.
The poor generally have less cash in the bank than the rich.
> - it is a permanent loss of quality of life for people on fixed incomes.
Those living of fixed incomes are rarely the poorest, either. Pensions in many countries are tied to inflation.
> This is the justification for nearly every government action.
Yes, and in many many cases, that justification is entirely justified. Where it isn't, the problem typically is bad government, not government.