History Main / InflationNegation

* Old joke: "Five pounds! Why, when I was a lad you could take a girl to a nice restaurant, have a slap-up meal with all the trimmings, take her to the cinema, buy her an ice cream, take her boating in the moonlight and... and... and [[AllWomenArePrudes she still wouldn't.]]"

[[folder:Board Games]]
* Classic TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}} still uses the same dollar values as it did when it was made in 1935. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that it makes the math a lot easier than it would be if they adjusted everything for inflation. Not that they were particularly realistic at the time either, no thanks to the Great Depression.
* Averted in ''Conquest of the Empire'' (originally ''VI Caesars''). Prices for units increase as the game progresses, simulating the inflation that plagued the Roman Empire during the [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Crisis of the Third Century]].
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[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/JohnnyAndTheBomb'', when old Mrs. Tachyon finds an old coin, she remembers when you could buy a good portion of fish and chips with it, and goes back in time to do just that.

* In the lead-up to the climactic fight in ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' when Apollo Creed is throwing out quarters to the crowd while he smugly rides a PatrioticFervor-themed float toward the ring, one of the ringside commentators remarks how the quarters would've gone further in his day.

* ''Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos'' offers cash prizes of $10,000 for the winner, $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third. These have been unchanged since the show started airing in 1989.

Of course, they will mention how something that costs 5 dollars today used to cost 50 cents in their youth, but will conveniently forget (or ignore) that doing a job that pays 15 dollars an hour today would have paid a dollar for fifty hours back then.

* In the climactic fight in ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' when Apollo Creed is throwing out quarters to the crowd while he smugly rides a PatrioticFervor-themed float toward the ring, one of the ringside commentators remarks how the quarters would've gone further in his day.

* In the climactic fight in ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' when Adonis Creed is throwing out quarters to the crowd while he smugly rides a PatrioticFervor-themed float toward the ring, one of the ringside commentators remarks how the quarters would've gone further in his day.

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Inflation is an economic phenomenon that any good economy will understand and at least try to control, certainly not [[ThisAintRocketSurgery rocket surgery]]. However, some people would rather clutch onto their old values. The GrumpyOldMan will [[RamblingOldManMonologue rant endlessly]] about how [[WhenIWasYourAge when he was your age]], you could take a dollar and buy a loaf of bread, see a film, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick spend the night with]] [[AsianHookerStereotype a nice Thai lady]], and still have change left over. An old lady may flat out forget/deny the value of a dollar, and pay you 30 cents for mowing her lawn. Old people in particular are portrayed as susceptible to this trope.

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* Slightly more recent joke: "So hard to get groceries nowadays! When I was a kid you could be down to your last dollar and walk out of the store with a loaf of bread, two sticks of butter, and a quart of milk. Can't do it nowadays. [[BaitAndSwitch Damn security cameras]]..."

* Early on in ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', Ford Prefect buys six pints of beer and tells the barman to keep the change... from a five pound note, immediately turning the scene into an UnintentionalPeriodPiece. In 2018 you'll struggle to get any change from a fiver when buying ''one'' pint.

Of course, they will mention how something that costs 5 dollars today used to cost 50 cents in their youth, but will conveniently ignore that doing a job that pays 15 dollars an hour today would have paid a dollar fifty back then.

* Classic TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}} still uses the same dollar values as it did when it was made in 1935. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that it makes the math a lot easier than it would be if they adjusted everything for inflation. Not that they were particularly realistic at the time either...

** ''[[Film/AustinPowersGoldmember Goldmember]]'' [[RuleOfThree rounds out the joke with its third usage]], in which Dr. Evil demands "1 billion, [[EleventyZillion gagillion, fafillion, shabolubalu million illion yillion]] ...yen." The UN's reaction shows that they consider this a normal amount of money for a mad genius to demand.

* ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' has Dr. Evil demand a [[ComicallySmallDemand one million dollar ransom]], not realizing that in 1997, it's not worth nearly what it used to be.
** Inverted in ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe''. This time, it's 1969 and Dr. Evil demands one hundred billion dollars only to be told his ransom amount doesn't even exist yet.

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* The "Old Economy Steve" meme.

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