Poverty is a serious problem in many countries around the world.

貧困是世界上許多國家面臨的一個嚴重問題。

Many people have low incomes, few opportunities, and struggle to survive.

許多人收入低，機會少，生存艱難。

It seems like so many problems come from not having enough money.

似乎很多問題都源於沒有足夠的錢。

So, you might wonder, why don't we just print more money?

那麼，你可能會問，為什麼我們不印更多的錢呢？

Everybody gets rich, everybody's happy, right?

每個人都發財，每個人都快樂，對嗎？

Well, this seemingly simple solution isn't as straightforward as it sounds.

不過，這個看似簡單的解決方案並不像聽起來那麼直接。

In this video, we'll understand, why don't the government just print more money?

在本視頻中，我們將瞭解政府為什麼不印更多的錢？

First, let's understand what happens when we print more money.

首先，讓我們瞭解一下印更多鈔票會發生什麼。

If you ask your parents or teachers, they will answer it will lead to inflation.

如果你問你的父母或老師，他們會回答這會導致通貨膨脹。

But what is inflation?

但什麼是通貨膨脹呢？

Inflation is when prices go up because there's more money, but the same amount of stuff to buy.

通貨膨脹是指物價上漲，因為錢多了，但要買的東西數量不變。

Our economy is based on the law of supply and demand.

我們的經濟建立在供求規律的基礎上。

When the supply is high and demand is low, then the price will go down.

當供應量大而需求量小時，價格就會下降。

But if the supply is low and demand is high, then the price will go up.

但如果供應少而需求大，價格就會上漲。

And that's called inflation.

這就是所謂的通貨膨脹。

And when inflation gets really extreme, it's called hyperinflation.

當通貨膨脹變得非常嚴重時，就被稱為惡性通貨膨脹。

To understand more, let's use a simple example with bread.

為了瞭解更多資訊，讓我們用麵包舉一個簡單的例子。

Imagine a loaf of bread costs five dollars.

想象一下，一條麵包要 5 美元。

Bob, John, Alex, Jack, and Tony each have five dollars, and there are only five loaves of bread available.

鮑勃、約翰、亞歷克斯、傑克和託尼每人有五美元，而麵包只有五條。

So, each person can buy one loaf of bread.

是以，每人可以買一條麵包。

The government prints more money and gives an additional five dollars to everyone.

政府印更多的鈔票，給每個人多發 5 美元。

Now, Bob, John, Alex, Jack, and Tony each have ten dollars, but there are still only five loaves of bread.

現在，鮑勃、約翰、亞歷克斯、傑克和託尼每人都有 10 美元，但還是隻有 5 塊麵包。

With everyone each having ten dollars, they want to buy two loaves of bread instead of one.

每個人都有十美元，他們想買兩條麵包，而不是一條。

However, there are still only five loaves of bread, and the bakery can't produce more bread instantly.

然而，麵包仍然只有五條，麵包店無法立即生產出更多的麵包。

The bakery sees that people are competing to buy the bread and think, people can afford to pay more, so let's raise the price to make more profit.

麵包店看到人們爭相購買麵包，就想，人們付得起更多的錢，那就提高價格，賺取更多的利潤。

So, they just raise the price from five dollars to ten dollars per loaf of bread.

於是，他們就把每條麵包的價格從 5 美元提高到 10 美元。

And it's just normal human nature to get more profit.

獲取更多利潤是人之常情。

In the end, Bob, John, Alex, Jack, and Tony still only get one loaf of bread each, but now they pay ten dollars for it.

最後，鮑勃、約翰、亞歷克斯、傑克和託尼還是每人只能得到一條麵包，但他們現在要為此支付 10 美元。

Why?

為什麼？

Because they have more money, but there are still only five loaves of bread.

因為他們有更多的錢，但還是隻有五條麵包。

Because everyone has more money, they are willing to pay more for the same amount of bread.

因為每個人都有更多的錢，他們願意為同樣數量的麵包支付更多的錢。

So, does printing more money make them richer?

那麼，印更多的錢會讓他們更富有嗎？

No, it doesn't.

不，沒有。

Because there's still only five loaves of bread.

因為還是隻有五條麵包。

Unless the bakery can make ten loaves of bread, the price will stabilize.

除非麵包店能做出十個麵包，否則價格就會穩定下來。

And does this make the bakery richer?

這是否會讓麵包店變得更富有？

Also no.

也沒有。

Yes, at first they get more profit, but remember that all people have more money and competing to buy bread from all bakeries.

是的，起初他們獲得了更多的利潤，但請記住，所有的人都有更多的錢，並競相從所有面包店購買麵包。

So, all bakeries also have more money and want to buy more wheat to make more bread.

是以，所有面包店也都有了更多的錢，想要購買更多的小麥來製作更多的麵包。

But the problem is, wheat must be grown on fields, and as we know, fields are limited.

但問題是，小麥必須在田地裡種植，而我們都知道，田地是有限的。

So, in the end, the wheat farmers can't keep up with the demand from the bakeries.

是以，小麥種植者最終無法滿足麵包店的需求。

This will result in bakeries are competing to buy wheat and increasing the price of wheat.

這將導致麵包店競相購買小麥，提高小麥價格。

As the cost of wheat increases, bakeries have to raise the price of bread even more to maintain their profit margins.

隨著小麥成本的增加，麵包店不得不進一步提高麵包價格，以維持利潤率。

In conclusion, printing more money without increasing the supply of goods and services leads to inflation, where prices rise and the value of money falls.

總之，在不增加商品和服務供應的情況下印製更多鈔票會導致通貨膨脹，即物價上漲和貨幣價值下降。

This is why simply printing more money doesn't solve economic problems.

這就是為什麼印更多的鈔票並不能解決經濟問題。

Now that you realize printing more money sounds like a stupid idea, and you're probably sure no country would ever do that.

現在你意識到印更多的鈔票聽起來是個愚蠢的主意，而且你可能確信沒有哪個國家會這麼做。

Well, some countries actually have, and it ended in disaster.

事實上，有些國家已經這樣做了，但卻以災難收場。

Let's examine a few notable examples.

讓我們來看看幾個著名的例子。

Number 1.

1 號

Weimar Republic 1920s So, after the German Empire lost World War I, the German Empire was abolished in a revolution, and the Weimar Republic was established as the new Germany.

魏瑪共和國 1920 年代 第一次世界大戰失敗後，德意志帝國在一場革命中被廢除，魏瑪共和國成立，成為新的德國。

The Weimar Germany was severely devastated by the war, with infrastructure in ruins and chaos all over country.

魏瑪德國在戰爭中遭到嚴重破壞，基礎設施成為廢墟，全國上下一片混亂。

To worsen matters, the Allied forces imposed hefty war reparations based on the Treaty of Versailles, which also angered this Austrian painter.

更糟糕的是，盟軍根據《凡爾賽條約》強加了鉅額戰爭賠款，這也激怒了這位奧地利畫家。

The economy was in ruins, unemployment was rampant, and the government had no money.

經濟一蹶不振，失業率居高不下，政府沒有錢。

In a desperate attempt to pay off reparations and cover debts, the government resorted to reckless money printing.

為了償還賠款和債務，政府不顧一切地印製鈔票。

This led to prices skyrocketing at an alarming rate.

這導致價格以驚人的速度飛漲。

By November 1923, prices were doubling every few hours.

到 1923 年 11 月，價格每隔幾小時就翻一番。

People needed wheelbarrows full of cash just to buy basic necessities like bread.

人們需要裝滿手推車的現金才能買到麵包等基本必需品。

For instance, a loaf of bread that cost 250 marks in January 1923 skyrocketed to 200 billion marks by November 1923.

例如，1923 年 1 月價格為 250 馬克的一條麵包到 1923 年 11 月暴漲至 2 000 億馬克。

This hyperinflation destroyed savings and destabilized the economy, contributing to social unrest and led to the rise of this Aryan dude who would reshape history.

這種惡性通貨膨脹摧毀了儲蓄，破壞了經濟穩定，引發了社會動盪，導致了這位將重塑歷史的雅利安人紈絝子弟的崛起。

Number 2.

2 號

Zimbabwe, 2007 Zimbabwe, previously known as Rhodesia, was an apartheid country similar to South Africa.

辛巴維，2007 年 辛巴維以前被稱為羅得西亞，是一個類似南非的種族隔離國家。

In the 1980s, after the end of apartheid, Rhodesia was dissolved and Zimbabwe was established.

20 世紀 80 年代，種族隔離結束後，羅得西亞解體，辛巴維成立。

The new president, Robert Mugabe, was a strong anti-colonialist and decided to evict white landowners, redistributing the land to black farmers.

新總統羅伯特-穆加貝是一位堅定的反殖民主義者，他決定驅逐白人地主，將土地重新分配給黑人農民。

However, many of these new farmers lacked experience and training in agriculture, leading to a sharp drop in food production, rising unemployment, economic mismanagement, and international sanctions which plunged the and try to fix the economy.

然而，這些新農民中的許多人缺乏農業經驗和培訓，導致糧食產量急劇下降、失業率上升、經濟管理不善以及國際制裁，這些都使美國陷入困境，並試圖修復經濟。

This reckless printing led to hyperinflation, where prices soared at an alarming rate.

這種不計後果的印刷導致了惡性通貨膨脹，物價以驚人的速度飆升。

By 2008, Zimbabwe's hyperinflation rate peaked at an unimaginable 89.7 sextillion percent per year.

到 2008 年，辛巴維的惡性通貨膨脹率達到了難以想象的頂峰，每年高達 89.7%。

That's 89.7 followed by 20 zeros.

即 89.7，後面是 20 個零。

The Zimbabwean dollar became practically worthless, and people had to carry huge items like eggs.

辛巴維元幾乎變得一文不值，人們不得不攜帶雞蛋等大件物品。

Prices could double within a day or even within hours.

價格可能在一天甚至幾小時內翻番。

Number 3.

3 號

Venezuela, 2016 Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, even more than Saudi Arabia.

委內瑞拉，2016 年 委內瑞拉擁有世界上最大的石油儲量，甚至超過了沙特阿拉伯。

As a wealthy oil country, Venezuela became heavily dependent on oil.

作為一個富裕的石油國家，委內瑞拉嚴重依賴石油。

Before 2008, when oil prices were high, Venezuela was a rich country, selling lots of oil and money.

2008 年之前，石油價格高企，委內瑞拉是一個富裕的國家，出售大量石油和貨幣。

However, instead of using this money to develop their industries and economy, Venezuela provided a lot of subsidies to the people.

然而，委內瑞拉並沒有將這筆錢用於發展工業和經濟，而是向人民提供了大量補貼。

At that time, Venezuela's socialist government that took over all industries, controlled the economy, and didn't allow private companies to grow.

當時，委內瑞拉的社會主義政府接管了所有產業，控制了經濟，不允許私營企業發展。

All the money was given out as subsidies, prices were fixed at very cheap rates, and making people happy.

所有的錢都作為補貼發放出去，價格被固定在非常便宜的水準上，讓人們感到幸福。

Everything seemed fine until the massive drop in oil prices after 2008.

一切似乎都很順利，直到 2008 年後油價大幅下跌。

Venezuela, being overly dependent on oil, faced a severe drop in income and economic stability.

由於過度依賴石油，委內瑞拉的收入和經濟穩定性嚴重下降。

This was worsened by rampant corruption, low tax income due to the lack of private businesses, and economic mismanagement.

腐敗猖獗、缺乏私營企業導致稅收收入低以及經濟管理不善使情況更加惡化。

As a socialist government, they couldn't just stop or decrease the subsidies, as it would anger the people.

作為社會主義政府，他們不能停止或減少補貼，因為這會激怒人民。

So, they continued the subsidies by printing more money.

於是，他們繼續通過印製更多的鈔票來提供補貼。

This excessive printing of money led to hyperinflation, where prices rose incredibly fast.

過度印鈔導致惡性通貨膨脹，物價上漲速度驚人。

The Venezuelan currency became worthless, with people even throwing it on the streets because it couldn't buy anything.

委內瑞拉貨幣變得一文不值，人們甚至把它扔到街上，因為它買不到任何東西。

This example shows how printing too much money can have disastrous consequences, even for a country with valuable resources like oil.

這個例子說明，即使對於一個擁有石油等寶貴資源的國家來說，印鈔太多也會帶來災難性後果。

Actually, it's not just these three countries that tried to solve their problems by printing more money and ended up with hyperinflation.

其實，不僅僅是這三個國家試圖通過印更多的鈔票來解決問題，最終導致惡性通貨膨脹。

Other countries like Hungary and Yugoslavia have also faced similar issues.

匈牙利和南斯拉夫等其他國家也面臨類似問題。

From these stories, we can learn that printing more money might seem like an easy fix for poverty and economic problems, but it actually causes more harm than good.

從這些故事中，我們可以瞭解到，印更多的鈔票看似可以輕鬆解決貧困和經濟問題，但實際上弊大於利。

The key takeaway is that simply creating more money without increasing production just makes prices more expensive.

關鍵的啟示是，僅僅創造更多的資金而不增加產量，只會使價格更加昂貴。

So, why do people want money?

那麼，人們為什麼想要錢呢？

Because they want to use it to buy things they need and want.

因為他們想用這筆錢買自己需要和想要的東西。

But what's the point of having billions of dollars if there's only one loaf of bread, or worse, no bread at all?

但是，如果只有一條麵包，或者更糟糕的是根本沒有面包，那麼擁有數十億美元又有什麼意義呢？

In the end, you can't eat money, so the money becomes useless.

到頭來，你吃不了錢，錢也就成了廢紙。

Then, you might ask, why doesn't the government print money just to pay foreign debt, not for its people?

那麼，你可能會問，為什麼政府印鈔票不只是為了償還外債，而不是為了人民呢？

When a country prints more money, it becomes noticeable to other countries through economic reports, currency markets, and inflation indicators.

當一個國家印更多的鈔票時，其他國家就會通過經濟報告、貨幣市場和通貨膨脹指標註意到這一點。

Even if the new money is only used for foreign debt, it still increases the total money supply.

即使新貨幣只用於償還外債，它仍然會增加貨幣供應總量。

This makes the currency less valuable and trustworthy in the eyes of foreign creditors.

這就降低了貨幣在外國債權人眼中的價值和可信度。

Foreign creditors won't accept devalued money because it reduces the value of the debt repayments they receive.

外國債權人不會接受貶值的貨幣，因為這會降低他們收到的債務償還的價值。

They might see this money as toy money and lose trust in the currency, harming the country's economic reputation and stability.

他們可能會將這種貨幣視為玩具貨幣，從而失去對貨幣的信任，損害國家的經濟聲譽和穩定。

So, what's the correct solution?

那麼，正確的解決方案是什麼呢？

Well, governments should focus on creating value.

那麼，政府應該把重點放在創造價值上。

This means investing in education, building infrastructure, supporting technology, helping businesses grow, and managing resources and the economy efficiently.

這意味著投資教育、建設基礎設施、支持技術、幫助企業發展，以及有效管理資源和經濟。

If there's a high supply with high demand, then prices will stabilize.

如果供不應求，價格就會趨於穩定。

When the government supports businesses to produce more, businesses will hire more people, creating jobs, and products will become more common.

當政府支持企業生產更多產品時，企業就會僱用更多的人，創造更多的就業機會，產品也會變得更加普遍。

People who get these jobs can afford to buy products, and because they work hard to earn their money, they value it and are more mindful of their spending.

獲得這些工作的人有能力購買產品，因為他們努力工作掙錢，所以他們會珍惜錢財，更加註意自己的消費。

This helps to prevent wasteful spending and keeps demand in check.

這有助於防止開支浪費，並控制需求。

And the sellers, even with high demand, can't just raise prices because the products are so common that there are lots of competitors.

而且，即使需求量很大，賣家也不能隨便提價，因為產品太普通了，有很多競爭對手。

People will be happy, and the country will be prosperous.

人民會幸福，國家會繁榮。

This is what some successful countries like Japan and South Korea did.

日本和韓國等一些成功的國家就是這樣做的。

If you're interested in inflation, I'll explain more about it in another video.

如果您對通貨膨脹感興趣，我將在另一個視頻中為您詳細介紹。

If you want me to make other videos explaining these topics, please like and subscribe.

如果您希望我製作其他視頻來解釋這些主題，請點贊和訂閱。

Thanks for watching.

感謝觀看。