Task 2. Reading
Inflation
A period of increased sending that causes rapid rises in price is
referred to as inflation. This is not necessarily a part of the business cycle. Rather, it
is a kind of weakness in an economic system. When your money buys fewer goods so
that you get less for the same amount of money as before, inflation is the problem.
There is a general rise in the price of goods and services. Your money buys less.
Sometimes people describe inflation as a time when "a dollar is not worth a dollar
anymore."
One major cause of inflation is a rising demand for goods and' services. As
people spend more money, their rate of spending may increase faster than the goods
and services available. More and more people are willing and able to pay more for
the fewer things that are available. As a consequence, the prices keep going up.
A second cause of inflation is a rise in the cost of the factors of production.
Prices are pushed up by costs. For instance, if the labor cost of producing a good or
service goes up, so will the price of the good or service.
A third cause of inflation is a lack of competition. If sellers have little or no
competition, they are free to set prices as they want. If there is little competition,
buyers must buy from businesses that are selling, and they must pay the price asked.
Inflation is a problem for all consumers. People who live on a fixed income
are hurt the most. Retired people, for instance, cannot count on an increase in income
as prices rise. Elderly people who no longer can work face serious problems in
stretching their incomes to meet their needs in times of inflation. Retirement income
or any fixed income usually does not rise as fast as prices.
Even for working people whose incomes are going up, inflation can be a
problem. The cost of living goes up, too. People who work must have even more
money just to keep up their standard of living.
