How can I explain to my ignorant econ-teacher that US currency has been heavily inflated over some time?

I don’t even know how to respond to someone denying inflation….

That’s serious. If you’re in high school, write a letter to the school board describing the situation and your discomfort.

Wow. All I can say is wow. I thought my econ teacher was bad. . .

you cant tell teachers anything, they think they get paid to know it all. even when they dont

dang Union I say. Tenured teachers are almost as bad as priests.

If the coke bottle thing didn’t work, I’d say nothing is going to work.

Here’s one of the best sites around for calculating the value of the dollar for any year. When your father says, “I used to pay 25 cents for that. Why are you paying $2.00? You can say “Because you bought it in 1965.” (And he probably did.)
http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm
Here’s the description directly from the site:
A dollar just ain’t what is used to be.
Our inflation calculator will tell you the relative buying power of a dollar in the United States between any two years from 1914–2009.
It will also calculate the rate of inflation during the time period you choose.
We determine the value of a dollar using the Consumer Price Index from December of the previous year.
You can also get these numbers off the Social Security site. She can check her yearly statement.
Good luck.

@Magnus That is horrible. This web site was designed to help teachers explain inflation. Perhaps since it is an educator’s resource, your teacher is more likely to pay attention.

use the inflation monster
click on watch movie in the right hand corner
thats what my economics teacher showed my class

It’s a disgrace, in all honesty.

I’m an exchange student from Norway, currently in a Gwinett county high school in georgia.
Teaching and setting the teachers here correct is nothing new to me, especially my Web-design and physics teacher. It doesn’t bother me too much, because I consider it discussion.

But when she’s not even trying to rationally discuss with me. Weirdest of all, she’s not even republican! She hates Bush and loves Obama.

Now it might have been a different story if the other kids in the class would try to think instead of just laughing at the discussion getting heated.

I think an official looking article from a major newspaper that I can print and give to her tomorrow would work better to convince her.

Maybe you could talk to her about Hyper-inflation, such that happened in Germany after World War One. Also, I think you should maybe approach her differently. Maybe gather your evidence and write out a coherent argument for her to read—instead of confronting her in front of her class.

When I sit in a class and some student is arguing with the teacher I don’t care who is “right”, all I know is the student is being annoying.

Monetary Inflation is the Problem
The Inflation Tax

@btko
Why is the student being annoying? Teacher’s aren’t perfect and someone “teaching” kids something that may be wrong is a bigger problem than someone being annoying.

Do real research based on the writing of real economists. Guess what-you won’t find it here.

You might start with Constantino Bresciani-Turroni and back issues of The Economist.

galileogirl, Economics teacher

Anger is not good, especially at school?
Your eco teacher may have got it wrong but that it is not ignorant?
maybe she has a different point of view? question this in the nicest possible manner and seek out some other facts and opinions to build your thinking on this matter so you can better discuss it.

@mij Generally in this kind of situation, both parties are not on the same page. In my experience the average hs student catches about half the words spoken by teachers and miss something vital. Quite often they will defend their error to the death when the simplest thing to do is politely restate what the teacher said and ask for clarification or a resource.

@mij Don’t get me wrong, I have great respect for her, there are no hard feelings. I’m calling her ignorant because she openly said that you shouldn’t question the monetary system. A dollar is a dollar and that’s what value is measured in. And that “the system only works if everyone has confidence in it”.

I call that ignorant.

@Magnus Recent events should show you the importance confidence plays in our economic system. A lack of understanding in the processes has caused unwarrented panic many times. It has also caused many bubbles that have led to real problems.

Rumors cause the stock market to rise and fall overdramatically and consumer confidence to crash. A rumor about 18 mos ago caused a run on rice. Misinformation is leading some homeowners to walk away from “upside down” mortgages which will not only ruin their credit but in the long run cost them the same amount for a rental as a mortgage payment and they lose a tax deduction.

So at least your teacher is on the right track there.

Maybe you could try using a kinder word than ignorant, it just doesn’t fit with what the teacher is putting across to you.
Is there some sort of misunderstanding here between you and your teacher? Try and find some common ground I’m sure it will all be good in the end.
It’s good that your questioning things, just give a little take a little.
Don’t be too rigid, prepare to bend with breeze…
good luck

I don’t think that ‘ignorant’ is a cruel word. It simply means uneducated; lacking certain knowledge.

Just for some hope – Economics seems to make more sense the more you study it. I didn’t think it made any sense when I first started studying it. I still don’t agree with everything we learned however.

The usual definition of inflation is an increase is prices as shown by the Consumer Price Index. You can find the data at http://stats.bls.gov/
The less common definition is an increase in money supply which is monitored by the Federal Reserve. The most recent data is at http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/h6.htm
There is also a link to historical data which I have not checked out.
Historically the theory was that money supply determined price levels however recent experience has shown a decoupling of the two. But “inflation” continues to be used ambiguously for either one.