"What if everyone suddenly became rich?" is a popular philosophical question (read: source of discussion on the internet). Although it's very difficult to conclusively prove what would actually happen in a scenario like this, because come on, the consensus seems to be that everyone becoming rich would suck festering monkey turds. There are two schools of thought about this. Some ask: "If everyone suddenly became rich, who would do all the work?" To which others, who have thought things slightly further, answer: "Us, because we'd all still be poor, thanks to the massive hyperinflation that slapping everyone with, say, a billion dollars would inevitably cause.
I'm no economist, but it makes sense. When everyone suddenly has piles of money, the prices dramatically hike up, and before long, we'll go the way of the Weimar Republic circa World War II. You'll find yourself buying $5 billion stamps with a fucking cartload of money that's worth less than the paper it's printed on. Hooray! Your Scrooge McDuckian mounds of money will now buy you half a Twinkie. Hope you like bartering!
Wikipedia
What, did you think I was kidding about the stamps?
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