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不要忘記點在和訂閱以支持這些簡單和客觀的重要主題影片。

Have you ever wondered why inflation happens?

你是否曾想過通貨膨脹為什麼會發生？

In this video, we'll look into everything you need to know about what might be causing the inflation we're experiencing right now.

在這部影片中，我們即將探討針對我們現在正在經歷的通貨膨脹所需要知道的所有事情。

First, what is inflation?

首先，通貨膨脹是什麼？

Inflation is the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time.

通貨膨脹是指特定貨幣的購買力隨時間推移而下降。

In other words, take the average price of a basket of selected goods and services in the economy, and estimate the rate at which the purchasing power declines.

換句話說，拿一籃經濟體系中選定商品和服務的均價，並估算購買力下降的速率。

You can also look at it as the rise in the general level of prices, often expressed as a percentage.

你也可以把它視為價格的普遍上漲，通常會以百分比呈現。

Let's take a look at a simple example.

讓我們看一個簡單的例子。

Say you go to buy a frozen pizza that used to cost $10, but over time, the cost rose to $12 for the same pizza.

假設你去買一個曾經要價 10 美元的冷凍披薩，但隨著時間推移，同一個披薩的價格漲到 12 美元。

You can calculate the inflation rate by subtracting the starting price from the later price,

你計算通膨率的方式可以是，從後來的價格中減去起價，

and divide it by the starting price, and then multiply the result by 100 to get the inflation rate percentage.

並將其除以起始價格，然後將結果乘以 100 以得到通貨膨脹率百分比。

In this example, you can see that the inflation rate percentage is 20%.

在這個例子中，你可以看到通貨膨脹率的百分比是 20%。

Now that we know what inflation is, generally speaking, many wonder why it's happening and how to prevent it from accelerating at the rate it currently is.

知道了通貨膨脹總的來說是什麼後，許多人會想知道通貨膨脹為什麼會發生，以及如何預防它以目前速度繼續加速發展。

There are certainly many events that are causing inflation to rise, such as the war in Ukraine and new and reoccurring lockdowns in places like China due to COVID-19.

當然有許多事件可以導致通貨膨脹提升，如烏克蘭戰爭和因為新冠肺炎在中國等地新浮現或不斷發生的封鎖政策。

However, there are many other things that could be contributing to the recent 40-year high in the United States and acceleration of inflation around the globe.

然而，還有許多其它因素可能會導致美國近期的 40 年新高點以及全球通膨加速。

As inflation will likely get worse before it gets better, let's take a look at a few theories as to why this is happening and potential ways of how to fix it and slow the rate of inflation.

由於通貨膨脹在好轉之前可能會變得更糟，讓我們看一下幾個理論，了解這種情況為何發生，以及解決它並減緩通貨膨脹率的潛在方法。

Reason number 1, Pandemic Caused Shortages.

原因一，疫情引起的短缺。

It seems there's a general agreement that the effects of the pandemic are to blame for the recent rate of inflation.

大眾似乎普遍同意這場疫情的影響是最近通貨膨脹率的罪魁禍首。

The economy has not been able to function normally due to disruptions in supply and several industries having to slow down or halt production.

由於供應中斷、一些行業不得不放緩或停止生產，使得經濟無法正常運行。

When you consider that the supply chain is global, including commodities, global shortages could certainly be attributed to inflation. 

當你考慮到供應鏈以及商品都是全球性時，全球短缺當然可以歸因於通貨膨脹。

On top of shortages of the goods themselves, some experts say that the vulnerabilities in our infrastructure, such as clogged ports and deficiencies in the trucking industry,

在貨物本身的短缺之上，一些專家表示，我們的基礎設施中如堵塞的港口和卡車運輸業缺陷等弱點，

have made it difficult to transport goods around the market.

都使市場周圍的貨物運輸變得困難。

Reason number 2 is due to the climbing oil prices which translates to climbing gas prices, ultimately causing intense cost pressures that affect a wide range of industries.

原因之二是油價的攀升，意味著汽油價格提升，終導致激烈的成本壓力，進而影響到一系列的產業。

Even before the pandemic, energy and gas prices were on the rise, but experts say the situation with Russia is making things worse.

即便是在疫情之前，能源和天然氣價格也已經在上漲，但專家認為與俄羅斯的情勢使得一切惡化。

Russia is the third-largest oil producer after the US and Saudi Arabia,

俄羅斯是僅次於美國和沙烏地阿拉伯的第三大石油生產國，

but it is the world's largest exporter of oil to global markets and the second largest crude oil exporter behind Saudi Arabia, especially in Europe.

但它是世界上向全球市場出口石油的最大國家，也是世界上第二大原油出口國，僅次於沙烏地阿拉伯，在歐洲更是如此。

Russia's war on Ukraine and the resulting sanctions are also pushing up prices elsewhere on commodities, such as wheat.

俄羅斯對烏克蘭發起的戰爭以及由此產生的制裁也在推高如小麥等其它商品的價格。

Reason number 3, experts argue, is due to the three stimulus packages that were pumped into the economy.

專家辯稱第三個原因是針對經濟體系獻出的振興方案。

They believe the issue is that the government put too much money into circulation, which has decreased the power of the dollar and driven prices up.

他們相信問題在於政府讓過多現金在市場上流轉，導致美金變弱並使得價格上漲。

They say nothing on the scale of trillions was needed.

他們表示萬億的規模是不需要的。

It's also debated whether it was the rounds of stimulus checks that gave people more money in their bank accounts to spend,

另一個爭論點在於，是要怪罪這些振興券讓民眾帳戶中有更多錢可以花，

or whether the money handed to corporations accelerating job growth is to blame.

或者是説，交給企業的錢加速了就業增長才該受到指責。

Reason number 4 has some people blaming corporations for consolidation and price setting.

第四個原因是，有些人指責企業的整合和定價。

They say that companies are using their power to set prices at whatever they like because of the lack of competition.

他們說，這些公司利用了他們的權力，以他們喜歡的方式定價，因為缺乏競爭。

They also say that companies are boosting inflation higher by using the problem as an excuse to increase prices so that they can make more profits.

他們也表示，這些公司把這個問題當作藉口來提供價格以獲利，因而推高通貨膨脹率。

A study found that two-thirds of corporate profits are due to the inflation increases, and at the end of the day, corporations do have the power to change prices and create inflation.

一項研究發現，企業利潤的三分之二是由於通貨膨脹的增加，而最終，企業的確有改變定價並創造通膨的能力。

Lastly, some economists are blaming the cycle of rising wages and rising prices as a self perpetuating cycle.

最後，一些經濟學家則怪罪工資上漲和價格上漲這個自我延續的週期。

So, now, what's the fix?

現在該怎麼解決呢？

Well, there doesn't seem to be an easy, straightforward answer.

似乎沒有一個簡單、明瞭的答案。

On a domestic level, the Federal Reserve has started to raise interest rates.

在國內層面，美聯儲已經開始提高利率。

The idea is that when the Fed raises rates, it makes it more expensive to borrow money, which means less spending and less demand.

其想法是，當美聯儲提高利率，會使得借錢的成本增加，這意味著支出和需求都減少。

However, there's a concern that doing so could push the US economy toward a recession.

然而，人們擔心這樣做會把美國經濟推向衰退。

Keep in mind things like rent prices, which, with rising interest rates, could make building housing more expensive and raise rent prices, making the inflation problem worse.

牢記租金等價格會隨著利率上升，可能會使建造住房更加昂貴、提高租金價格，使通貨膨脹問題更加嚴重。

Others believe that the government can do more to help with inflation.

其他人則相信政府可以有更多作為以幫助解決通貨膨脹。

The White House and President Joe Biden have taken some measures to try to address inflation,

白宮和拜登總統已經採取了一些措施試圖解決通貨膨脹問題，

such as rolling out a supply chain task force to address issues such as infrastructure at ports and shortages in essential products like semiconductors.

如推出供應鏈工作團隊，以解決如港口的基礎設施和半導體等基本產品短缺之類的問題。

As inflation increases, the federal government could look into raising taxes, cutting spending, better antitrust enforcement, taxes on corporate profits, and price controls.

隨著通貨膨脹的增加，聯邦政府可能研究增加稅收、削減開支、更好地執行反壟斷法、對公司利潤徵稅和價格控制。

But this would require White House and bipartisan cooperation in Congress. 

但這將需要白宮和國會兩黨的合作。

Ultimately, these fixes for inflation are just going to take some time.

歸根結底，這些解決通貨膨脹的辦法只是需要一些時間。

Did you find this video about causes and fixes of inflation to be helpful?

你覺得這個關於通貨膨脹起因和解法的影片有幫助嗎？

If so, hit that like button and be sure to subscribe to Illustrate to Educate.

如果是這樣，請幫忙點讚並記得訂閱 Illustrate to Educate。

If you liked this video, be sure to check out my channel and the videos to the right.

如果你喜歡這部影片，請務必看看我的頻道和右邊的影片。