Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 June 13

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June 13

Strange word in “Jo’s Boys” by Louisa May Alcott

In Chapter Ten (“Demi Settles”) of the novel “Jo’s Boys” by Louisa May Alcott, the character Josie says of a paper that she “found it in the big ‘Dic’”. What does “Dic” mean in this context? I’ve tried to find out by searching online, but I have not been successful. Here is a link to the text on Project Gutenberg:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3499

Assuming it's a correct transcription, "dictionary" is the most obvious. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:01, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

"You monkey, how dare you meddle with my papers?" cried the irate poet, making futile grabs at the saucy girl, who skipped to and fro, waving a bit of paper tantalizingly before him.

"Didn't; found it in the big 'Dic'. Serves you right if you leave your rubbish about. Don't you like my song? It's very pretty."

“I'll teach you one that you won't like if you don't give me my property.”

“Come and get it if you can”; and Josie vanished... [1]

Yes, "dictionary" seems to be it. Alansplodge (talk) 22:24, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

Yes, dic means dictionary, and it's in the OED. Earliest citation (as Dick) 1832, latest 2010. DuncanHill (talk) 20:57, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Why the state need to continue doing monetary inflation (to cause price inflation) after the first few months/years doing it? Shouldnt people spending their money to avoid the price inflation cause price inflation by itself?

I have a question about state monetary inflation/price inflation:

The state say doing monetary inflation (enought to cause price inflation) is good because, because with price inflation, people will spend money to not lose their money because of price inflation that will happen at the future, and so people doing that (spending and investing their money) will help the economy.

The thing is, spending money cause price inflation.

So, the state do enough monetary inflation and cause price inflation, and at the next month, do the same and at the next month do the same and this goes on and on.....

Assuming their monetary/price inflation thing would would make people spend money (and spending money cause price inflation), why the state need to continue to do monetary inflation to be able to cause the price inflation, after the first few months, shouldnt the act of people spending their money because of the price inflation caused by the state make sure the price inflation thing continue to happen and so there is no need to the state print money money?2804:7F2:59B:D224:19F2:BD6B:366A:B714 (talk) 23:57, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

Assuming you've read monetary inflation, and agree that counteracting deflation is a highly desirable goal in and of itself, have a look at stimulus (economics). When demand is insufficient to ensure full employment, a responsible monetary authority -- which in the major economies is generally not the same as the state, will try other means to reduce unemployment. DOR (HK) (talk) 00:15, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Have you looked at Keynesian economics and related articles? In any case, in the 2010s, the U.S. Federal Reserve had difficulty in reaching a certain desired inflation target (see Inflation targeting). Since the 1990s, Japan has often had low, zero, and in some cases even negative interest rates, and has still struggled with deflation... AnonMoos (talk) 06:38, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

The thing is, spending money cause price inflation. Are you sure abut that? Iapetus (talk) 09:20, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

It's one cause: Demand-pull inflation is the most common cause of rising prices. It occurs when consumer demand for goods and services increases so much that it outstrips supply. Producers can't make enough to meet demand. They may not have time to build the manufacturing needed to boost supply. They may not have enough skilled workers to make it. Or the raw materials might be scarce. If sellers don't raise the price, they will sell out. They soon realize they now have the luxury of hiking up prices. If enough do this, they create inflation. [2] Alansplodge (talk) 11:00, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

It should be worth noting that supply problems are the current price drivers in the USA. DOR (HK) (talk) 19:48, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Together with "pent-up demand". People haven't been spending much during lockdowns, but will probably go on a spending spree once the brakes are off. See Pent-up demand, shortages fuel U.S. inflation. Giving a big fat cheque to everyone will probably speed things along too, see Will Biden's COVID relief plan cause inflation?. Alansplodge (talk) 22:20, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Spending died last year, and has only barely returned to trend. This is a supply problem, folks. (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCEC96) DOR (HK) (talk) 13:00, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

The scenario you describe would make sense if the economy were a steady state, but most countries also make every effort to grow their economies long-term. If the central bank stops inflating the money supply at all, but the economy continues to grow, this economic growth will eventually surpass any lingering inflation, and you go back into deflation: every unit of currency becomes worth more because there's more "stuff" backing it. --47.155.96.47 (talk) 02:41, 16 June 2021 (UTC)