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Ansuz07 t1_j2e0nbq wrote

Reply to comment by ss89898 in ELI5: If money today is all digital, why can't all the countries governments just go on the computer and add like five more zero's to their account and fix everything? Same principal is 100 years ago too I guess, why not just print more cash? by ss89898

> Coffee would become $50 a cup

Exactly this. Prices would simply increase dramatically, rendering the additional money people received moot.

>Has any country every secretly tried this?

Yes, many have, and inflation is always the result. Governments have historically printed excess cash to pay of their own debts, which inevitably leads to massive amounts of inflation. Look up what happened in Zimbabwe.

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ss89898 OP t1_j2e0wrj wrote

I remember Venezuela had something like this too. But I'm not sure if it was to do with the country printing money.

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