I’m a simple guy and economics discussed here by much smarter people is sometimes hard to follow.
Here is my simple explanation of inflation as it relates to printing money.
Since we are talking about monopoly money, lets talk abouthe the game of Monopoly. The game starts with a set amount of money, prices of real estate, hotels, utilities, fines, etc. is established based on the amount of money in the game. Real estate like Boardwalk and Park Place for much more expensive than Baltic Ave. The reason for that is supply and demand, the people who amass the most money can afford the higher prices of high-end real estate, just like real life.
Now lets say that the banker decided to print another full setup of cash, thereby doubling the cash in the game. He then lends it out to people that are running short or want to buy better properties. By adding 100% more cash in circulation, you would either reduce the purchasing power of the cash by 50% or you would need to double the cost of everything on the board in order to have a viable game conclusion, otherwise the game goes on indefinately. Cash printed over and over, property values increasing each time.
This is in essence what happens in our economy. The game goes on and on. This is why you could buy a candy bar for $.05 when I grew up, now it’s $1.00. If I would have saved that $.05, 50 years ago, it wouldn’t buy squat today.
