The way in which most of the world economies are run is full of economic tricks. Targeted perpetual inflation being one of them.Of course most people limit their knowledge of finances to frighteningly small doses. Few realize the very structure of any economy with inflation is a rigged game. It means, of course it is better to borrow and pay back with currency that is less valuable. That is supposed to lead to growth. Some of that growth comes only because the numbers being used appear larger.
The screen capture 'sort of hit home' as that's about how long we've lived in Canada. One doesn't really get a feel for how we are being duped until one lives long enough to witness the change in prices over time. I was thinking that most things, especially food has just about doubled since we got here. Seeing how that is nearly two decades, it's probably about right. We falsely believe we are better off because we think we have more money in our collective pockets.
Personal paychecks, though, may not really keep up with the increasingly diminished value of our money. Folks who try to stay out of debt are penalized. This is because savers are seldom compensated at rates that put them ahead of the game. Meanwhile large institutions and governments can borrow with a long enough horizon to make the required repayments at a fraction of the original costs.
We do love being fooled.