Is inflation important? This post above gives the unpleasant reality. Everyone gets poorer. Standards of living CHANGES. Give me a check for $600 for free. But the resulting inflation will cost me much more.And ... even though wage inflation will create an ever-growing gap ... wages will never actually keep up with inflation - therefore, everyone also gets poorer.
When inflation gets out of hand, SS check will still come. It is just that they will not buy very much. I think we might say that today. Many cannot live on that, but many depend on what that money can actually buy.
I was amazed to find this year that 7/16 OSB cost $19.99 a sheet. That is a perfect example of what inflation looks like.