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The Classroom / Path 1 · Inflation

Why does everything cost more?

Same burger, bigger number. This path walks one question all the way through: the idea, the evidence, the other side, and a quick check that you can explain it to someone else.

Under construction: 4 of 6 steps ready
  1. 1The question
  2. 2The idea
  3. 3The evidence
  4. 4The other side
  5. 5Check yourself
  6. 6Keep going

The question

Same burger. Twice the work.

2000$2.2426 minutes of workat the $5.15 federal minimum wage
2026$6.2251 minutes of workat the $7.25 federal minimum wage

Nothing about the burger got better. So what changed: the burger, or the dollar?

Big Mac: The Economist, U.S. reference price, April 2000 and July 2026. Minimum wage: U.S. Department of Labor. Minutes = price ÷ (hourly wage ÷ 60).

The idea

Inflation, in plain English

Mara writes this

Three or four sentences in my own words. The core idea: prices rising across the board usually means each dollar buys less, and one cause shows up again and again: more money chasing the same stuff.

Words for this step: Inflation Purchasing power CPI Nominal

The evidence · don't trust, verify

Look at the numbers yourself

Money with Mara data explainer: what one 1913 dollar buys in every year from 1800 to 2026. Since 1913 the dollar has lost 97% of its buying power.
For 113 years, a dollar held its own. Since 1913, it has lost 97%. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, CPI since 1800.
Money with Mara data explainer: the U.S. money supply (M2) since 2000.
The money supply since 2000. Federal Reserve via FRED, M2 (M2SL).
Waiting on approval

“Money grew 33×. Prices grew 8×.” (explainer experiment C, iteration 72) could go here once you approve it.

The other side · challenge the idea

Is it always the money printer?

Mara writes this

The strongest case against my answer, and what I think of it. Candidates: supply shocks (1973 oil, 2021 shipping), wages and demand, and the Fed's own view. Then say plainly what would change my mind.

Check yourself

Could you explain it to a friend?

In 2000, a Big Mac cost 26 minutes of minimum-wage work. How many minutes in 2026?
Since 1913, about how much buying power has the dollar lost?
Add later

A third question about the other side, once step 4 is written.

Keep going · follow the money

Where to next

Chapter 2: Inflation Is More Than PricesThe full chapter, episode by episode. Run your own numbersSee what inflation takes back from your savings. $40 trillion in debt. Who pays?One answer: savers, through inflation.

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