Does it state somewhere in SR4 the relative value of the 2070 Nuyen to the real life 2005 USD? If not, has someone even done a purchasing power parity calculation (of the McDonald's-type if nothing else) so that we can reasonably discuss what the relative value might be?
Otherwise this discussion seems pretty pointless.
Full Version: What's gold worth?
Well, A soyburger a.k.a ("The Hugh") from McHugh's, complete with processed cheese-flavored food is listed at 2 
The question is, what food item does this compare to in our McDonald's?
Basic cheeseburger? Quarter Pounder, perhaps? The name "The Hugh" would indicate it is a signature item, and from the other menu items provided, we can conclude that it is a single-patty hamburger. I will go with a comparison of a McDonald's signature item that is also a single-patty hamburger: The Quarter Pounder. (With cheese, of course).
"The Hugh" - 2
"Quarter Pounder" (w/cheese) - approx. $2
Also, we shall compare McHugh's Soysundae to the McDonald's Sundae.
Soysundae - 1
Sundae - $1
From this we can reasonably conclude that, in 2053 at least, the nuyen and the American dollar were approximately equal. Sorry, those are the latest figures I can dig up on futuristic fast food statistics.
-------End purchasing power parity calculation (of the McDonald's type)------
Nothing else.
The question is, what food item does this compare to in our McDonald's?
Basic cheeseburger? Quarter Pounder, perhaps? The name "The Hugh" would indicate it is a signature item, and from the other menu items provided, we can conclude that it is a single-patty hamburger. I will go with a comparison of a McDonald's signature item that is also a single-patty hamburger: The Quarter Pounder. (With cheese, of course).
"The Hugh" - 2
"Quarter Pounder" (w/cheese) - approx. $2
Also, we shall compare McHugh's Soysundae to the McDonald's Sundae.
Soysundae - 1
Sundae - $1
From this we can reasonably conclude that, in 2053 at least, the nuyen and the American dollar were approximately equal. Sorry, those are the latest figures I can dig up on futuristic fast food statistics.
-------End purchasing power parity calculation (of the McDonald's type)------
Nothing else.
Actually we can conclude that the 2005 USD and the 2053 NuYen were about equal. Assuming an average inflation of the US (UCAS) Dollar of around 3%, by 2053 1 US Dollar would be worth about $.24 2005USD or a little more than 4 UCAS$ to the Nuyen. As far as the point on gold goes though yeah you could simply substitute NuYen for Dollars on a present day spot quote from the Nymex.
It also has to be pointed out that the Big Mac Index implies values that are commonly +/- 50% off of the noted relative values of the two currencies (here are the June 9th figures from The Economist), both because it is not a very accurate measure of PPP and because currencies can be over-/under-valued. Both factors are very important when using the BMI on 2005 USD vs. 2053 Nuyen -- the former because the prices given in various SR sourcebooks are often quite absurd, the latter because there can be no exchange between the currencies (obviously) so a continuous over-/under-pricing would be possible.
| QUOTE (stevebugge) |
| Assuming an average inflation of the US (UCAS) Dollar of around 3%, by 2053 1 US Dollar would be worth about $.24 2005USD or a little more than 4 UCAS$ to the Nuyen. |
Is there any reason to believe that UCAS and CAS did not simply issue new currency when they were formed? There massive, sudden shifts in the economies of those nationstates -- it would have been an economic nightmare to keep the same amount of money in circulation at the same (if possibly free-floating) relative value.
I've gotten the feeling that even those items whose production costs wouldn't've gone down have had their prices significantly lowered from SR2 and SR3 to SR4, which would mean the 2070s nuyen has far greater purchasing power than that of the 2050s and 2060s. Unless this was just an illusion of mine.
| QUOTE (Austere Emancipator) | ||
It also has to be pointed out that the Big Mac Index implies values that are commonly +/- 50% off of the noted relative values of the two currencies (here are the June 9th figures from The Economist), both because it is not a very accurate measure of PPP and because currencies can be over-/under-valued. Both factors are very important when using the BMI on 2005 USD vs. 2053 Nuyen -- the former because the prices given in various SR sourcebooks are often quite absurd, the latter because there can be no exchange between the currencies (obviously) so a continuous over-/under-pricing would be possible.
Is there any reason to believe that UCAS and CAS did not simply issue new currency when they were formed? There massive, sudden shifts in the economies of those nationstates -- it would have been an economic nightmare to keep the same amount of money in circulation at the same (if possibly free-floating) relative value. I've gotten the feeling that even those items whose production costs wouldn't've gone down have had their prices significantly lowered from SR2 and SR3 to SR4, which would mean the 2070s nuyen has far greater purchasing power than that of the 2050s and 2060s. Unless this was just an illusion of mine. |
You're right there is absolutely no reason what so ever to believe that the UCAS and CAS and even the CalFree didn't print up all new currency. I was trying to illustrate that currency that is not backed by a hard asset (like Gold) or pegged to another currency tends to devalue over time (this is inflation). You're point on currencies being over or undervalued is well taken, it's this dynamic that drives Forex investing which is a huge market. If you want to learn what sort of things drive currency values I'd recommend signing up for Chuck Butler's e-letter the Daily Pfennig. It's geared towards investors but it's in plain enough english everyone can understand it and it's short enough to actually finish reading.
http://www.dailypfennig.com/
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