₦airaland Forum

PNomsule:
I am really just curious as to "why can't we just print more money and solve the poverty problem in the country?"

Terms like "inflation" and the "devaluing of the naira" are the usual buzz answers to that question. Also, people give the example that if we were to print more money and just give everyone N5,000,000 for example, then everyone would go out and buy things, thus making "THINGS" more scarce and in short supply and hence driving up the prices of things (simple demand/supply economics). But herein lies the catch for me... With TRUE unemployment rate somewhere around 33% in the country, if DEMAND for "THINGS" rose, then I would think that companies would WANT to hire more people and build more processing plants to keep up with demand and raise their profits. So, the influx of cash (printed money) would seem to solve the unemployment problem.

Again, we have agencies that regulates pricing in the economy: PPPRA, Price Control Board (Ministry of Commerce) etc, with those, can't the likely over pricing of commodities (THINGS) be controlled and gazetted to avoid the story of "too much money chasing fewer goods"?

In the final analysis, a robust and health competitive economy would have been created and underemployment issues largely solved.

Economists and Analysts lets discuss?

Bro, you're getting it all wrong..
If you studied economics, printing more money is not the solution, infact its the problem...
The issue is, THERE IS TOO MUCH MONEY IN CIRCULATION...
And the bridge between poor n rich is very big... so much money circulating but among few people...

If you share 5m to every one, the value of naira would hit $1-N800,000 and trust me you wouldnt want to live in a country where you push your money in wheel barrows just to go to the market to buy things for soup....

The solution is taxing the rich higher percentage and non tax for the poor, the middle class would have a % according to income generated and you'll see the adjusting miracle happen...
New business would flourish, people would be employed, poor ones would have money to sustain them... naira would add value and we b back to our glory....

But

This evil leaders dont want that.... they want to keep the bridge wide, taxing the poor and getting away without paying tax.... and they would tell you they need to print more money and tax the poor more.. it only benefits them cause they keep changing to dollars and storing abroad in an economy that is stable thereby destroying the value of naira via foreign exchange...

Here is how it works
If they give the foreign banks naira to convert and keep dollars for them, soon the banks around the world would have naira in surplus making it too easy to get and soon they would try to discard the over surplus into the international market flooding it with naira and the currency becomes useless cause everyone wants to sell it...

jumper524:
Bros in a financial analyst and I've always maintained this perspective.
Many financial policy are not real, they are all artificial and several factors make them happen.
Printing more money knowingly leads to artificial inflation but secretly still maintains the economic situation.

Modified: a simple question to all those relegated minds calling me fools. Those who don't have the balls to question status quo.

1, Why do countries borrow when they have money in their external reserves.

2, if countries like USA, CHINA, UK e. t. c are the top debtors in the world, which countries come dey borrow them the money?

Ever asked yourself why can't cbn print more naira and sell our crude oil in Naira so Europeans can source for our local currency.

Dude, brother, your analysis is very wrong I must say...
They borrow simply because you can not handicap yourself to finish a project...
Just 4 instance you're a business man starting a business..
You have 1.1 million total in your account..
Your new business needs 1m to actualize, would you rather borrow and work on the business n pay gradually from your savings till the business kicks off as it takes months or even years..
Or use your reserve and start business be left with 100k that overhead charges and maintenance would consume and not to say your survival.. which at the end crumbles your business if an unexpected unforseen expense arise and leave you broke, penny less and dusted, begging for money to try sustain the business and to feed?

In a lay terms, that's why countries borrow ...
There are more reason, since they borrow in international exchanges, it helps in balancing circulation, outsourcing other currencies...
I hope you understand now...

A305:
Not technically the best option to solve inflation and it would cause more inflation because there would be too much money in circulation chasing fewer goods. This tends to weaken the value of the currency till one loaf of bread could be sold for one million, a text book example of what happened in Zimbabwe some years back.

Zimbabwe kept printing more money to cushion inflation and kept introducing new currency face value until they had one million note face value. It ended in chaos, poverty and protest for a regime change.

So, what you should understand is money management is key factor to stimulating and running the country's economy, when you ruin that by printing more money, you tend to ruin the country itself.

What CBN does to tackle inflation is raise interest rates to discourage banks from lending out the money that creates new money in the system. As every loan in the system creates new money.

Your right, but wrong in raising interest rate..
It would destroy the upcoming business, and damage the job creation structure...
Actually on the contrary you have to encourage lending as long as it's on productivity section..
Discourage importation and where goods are neccessary, mitigate the amount of inflow although privatizing the section but cutting the number of permits in each section to a certain permitted companies while limiting their purchasing power with a policy, also discourage outsourcing foreign contract, where you pay foreigners for a local job... and rather invest in education, skill acquisitions and agriculture... this in return boost export and locally sourced skill workers ..

PNomsule:
It appears the responders I'm getting on this issue are plain textbook analysis and not even addressing the issues from the points I posited, especially that the fears you raised, my post envisaged it already?

Can prices be controlled, if not what then is the usefulness of the Pricing Regulatory & Control bodies we have in the country?

What happens to the urgency of Capitalists to get more people employed as to meet rising demands associated naturally from too much money chasing fewer goods?

I believe I answered you

PNomsule:
I think you're easy to relate with, you argue with sound perspective and broad knowledge base, I must acknowledge that.

Back to our discuss and importantly, a situation where Govt have to print more money and share is an aspect of a mixed economic system that combines aspects of both capitalism and socialism. What a mixed economic system does is it protects private property and allows a level of economic freedom in the use of capital, but also allows for governments to interfere in economic activities in order to achieve social aims. Hence I maintain that prices could be controlled.

(you will agree with me that in contrived circumstances, gravity can be felt less e.g Astronauts space travel.)

Again, if more people are employed, it means supply will increase relative to demand and the aspect of "too much money chasing fewer goods" diminished. Don't you think bruv?

There is what is called purchasing power of an individual...
Your last paragraph, if more are to b employed they will also all acquire purchasing power due to having access to income..
Say if b4, one unemployed man eats 1 loaf a day...
When he gets a job he goes in for 2 loaves .. he wants a car, now he wants a better life...

So you cant term more employment to higher supply, it just doesn't work that way.

Timekeeper452:
Lol. Let me explain it this way. Money is just a piece of paper, it is literally just a piece of paper. What makes money important is actually what that money can buy itself and not the money at hand. Now imagine if a bag of beans is Valued at 50,000 naira. And you just keep on printing money and handing it over to everyone, what happens when the money in circulation outweighs the beans in circulation? It just becomes useless or the price of that beans will skyrocket up and your money looses its value. If you keep printing more, the beans will either eventually run out or the price of that beans will sky rocket till your money becomes useless in value. So the solution isn’t printing more money because it will just mean something everyone can have, and if everyone can have that, then consumption will outweigh production, and something must fund that production. That being said, don’t be fooled, governments print money steady, that’s how they steal and embezzle and become rich. If you just don’t print, the population of those in existence will outweigh the money in circulation and your country will just collapse. What Nigeria is facing is that we don’t fund the right things in this country to generate production, we rely so much on importation and we have corrupt leaders stealing these money meant to be in circulation.

I like what you said...
We dont fund the right thing...
China runs Nigeria

naijapips04:
So what was Peter Obis suggestion?

To heighten production strength..
Which is a very smart move

Spells:
This question has always troubled many.
Let me explain in a very simple way.

First things first. It is the Reserve Bank of Nigeria know as the country's central bank, that decides how much notes have to be printed. This decision is a part of CBN monetary policy - the policy that determines the amount of money in the economy.

Now, the very pertinent question - since the country is free to print any number of notes it wants, why doesn't it produce billions of Naira and distribute it among people and end all the poverty in one go?

Let us assume there are only 3 people in a country: Obina, Funke and Musa having a wealth of Naira. 300, 200 and 100 respectively. Also, there is just one commodity in the country that all three of them would buy using up all their wealth.
Therefore, total wealth in the country = #600 (300+200+100)
Total commodity in the country: 60 kgs of rice.
Since they use their entire wealth to buy this commodity only, the price of rice would be = #10 per kg (600/60).
At this rate, Obinna can buy 30kg of rice, Funke buys 20kg and Musa buys 10kg of rice.

One day they get hold of a currency-printing machine. They decided to double their money by simply printing more notes.
Now they have Naira 600, 400 and 200 respectively.
Total wealth now = Naira 1200
But total commodity in the country is still 60kgs of rice.
The new price of rice = 1200/60 = #20 per kg
They go to buy the rice. With 600 bucks, Obinna would still be able to buy the same 30kgs only, Funke 20kg and Musa 10kg! Damn! They realised how futile it was to print those notes.
Merely printing of notes doesn't do good to anyone. If the total money supply is increased disproportionately to the increase of goods (and services) in the country, it only leads to devaluation of the currency. Although their wealth doubled, the value of their currency got halved.
Therefore, to really become rich, they need to increase production of goods (and services as well), in addition to the money supply. Had the supply of rice also doubled along with the doubling of their money, the price of rice would have remain unchanged. With their new increased wealth they would have been able to buy double the amount of rice than they could before. That's what would have made them "wealthier" in the real sense.

You may extend the same concept to the entire country. If the CBN prints billions of Naira and doubles everyone's wealth, the cost of everything in the country would double.
This can also be understood from the simple law of demand and supply. If everybody has got more money out of nowhere, the demand of every goods and service would also increase almost commensurately (since everybody becomes rich, everybody now wants to own a Mercedes, fly in a business class, buy more fruits and chocolates). This would lead to an increase in the price of all the goods and services in the country (inflation).
Therefore to become rich, the country (its people) has to increase its production. That's the reason why countries are crazy about GDP (a measure of production).

Stand up....Caps off...
Standing ovation
You nailed it

lilfresh96:
In summary what I understood is that

CBN printing more money for FG to spend is like they are taking money right away from our pockets ,

My Question goes thus ? (1) So if I want to do long time saving what will the people do to prevent Government from stealing thier money ?

Dont save..
Invest it in foreign bonds, countries with stable economy n growth..

PNomsule:
So my question remains valid, can we print more money and engage same in "viable agricultural crop & meat production" as to employ more able bodied men & women as to fight unemployment and by extension, poverty?

No we can't

Krismas:
Ordinary Agege Bread need IMPORTATION of flour to achieve We import everything. So, ask the govt. to print more dollars instead. The total number of naira in circulation must not exceed the total amount of dollars u have. Else u are spending more than u earning and wot more can bring u to penury?

Nigeria cant print dollars..
You can only print your countries currency else it be illegal.
For the govt to acquire dollars, She have to sell goods like crude oil, cash crops etc

...

Justhere:
I totally agree with op
Theoretically economic is not for underdeveloped nation but developed one.

You cant just go around printing more money..
Even in a developed country such actions would cripple and destabilize the economy.

Timekeeper452:
so you believe if more money is printed, our government will use it to acquire plant and machines that boost productivity? Our Nigerian leaders? Lol. With the one in circulation even, education is crumbling towards its death.

Even if it was not used to acquire plant and machines, as is it now, majority of the printed money will end up in a very limited private pockets, which still in turn won't cause hyperinflation but better the economy a bit (under some conditions). However what may complicate things is if, those that ended in private pockets are being changed to dollars at the same time, this will cause many naira pursuing few dollars. Doing so would put more demand on dollar and could affect common goods (as we are still majorly import dependant). Printing more Naira can still be helpful but we have to be really strategic about it.

jumper524:
the dollar is the highest currency in circulation and its still valuable. There's cash shortage in Nigeria, go to market and see shops overstocked with little or no buyer, inflation can only happen if shops are not overstocked.

Lol... what grade are you?

Cmeo:
Even if it was not used to acquire plant and machines, as is it now, majority of the printed money will end up in a very limited private pockets, which still in turn won't cause hyperinflation but better the economy a bit (under some conditions). However what may complicate things is if, those that ended in private pockets are being changed to dollars at the same time, this will cause many naira pursuing few dollars. Doing so would put more demand on dollar and could affect common goods (as we are still majorly import dependant). Printing more Naira can still be helpful but we have to be really strategic about it.

you just explained what is currently happening exactly. You think more Naira aren’t printed? You think that money isn’t being stolen and changed to dollars? This is currently what is happening to Nigeria as we speak.

Tobijays:
you see when a country is in crisis, you don't follow theory. Look at Russia I bet the west used theories to harm them but still their economy is fine. Nigeria needs desperate measures to combat the economic shortfall. Print more money, pay 5m graduates with no job 5m to sort their travels and they should pay back with interest

That's the worst idea..
First who is qualified and why..
Next it would end up with rich mens kids, widening the economic gap between rich n poor..
These youths would only divert the money to sustaenance, why? Cause of growing tax to business startup, lack of infrastructure, high cost of living as related to purchasing power from a non employed to a millionaire, needs vs wants and where do you expect them to get interest to pay? You financed a non productive individual instead of a business and they alleviate their conditions to temporarily sustain them, it's not productive, how would they realise extra funds to pay back talk more of paying interest .
Infact, there is a lot of wrong in this ideology..

Cmeo:
Even if it was not used to acquire plant and machines, as is it now, majority of the printed money will end up in a very limited private pockets, which still in turn won't cause hyperinflation but better the economy a bit (under some conditions). However what may complicate things is if, those that ended in private pockets are being changed to dollars at the same time, this will cause many naira pursuing few dollars. Doing so would put more demand on dollar and could affect common goods (as we are still majorly import dependant). Printing more Naira can still be helpful but we have to be really strategic about it.

Limited private pocket?
What are you saying, from which channel would the money be tunneled to limited private pocket?...
Once money is printed in excess and released it causes inflation automatically "majority of the printed money will end up in a very limited private pockets, which still in turn won't cause hyperinflation but better the economy a bit" this is all shades of wrong ... Doing so would put more demand on dollar and could affect common goods its affect common goods cause of over circulation of naira and over availability in foreign banks caused by releasing more money into the economy....

Jesus!
How can you suggest the solution of a problem to be the primary cause of that problem?

Just like saying Apc would rescue us from apc...
Printing much more money and releasing it cant save us from devaluation caused by much money in circulation.

ImperialKingJosh:
To heighten production strength..
Which is a very smart move

How?

VlamesIffect:
I beg to differ. This is whay everyone says. But why is #100 note not the same value as $100 note.

Going by money is just a piece of paper....these two notes in raw form have different values.... I'm not pegging them to what you can buy or not buy.

If you and everyone poop gold coins, and you have your poop all over the place, would it be of value?

If one small diamond falls from the sky once every 5 years and only 1 in 5million people have it...

Would you tag the same value on the diamond to your gold coin poop that even your neighbors flush down their toilets?

Same with N100 and $100...
Naira is over printed and everywhere...
$ is hard to get hold of..

Let your brain do the rest of the thinking..

naijapips04:
Production by importation? What has he ever produced?

Do you know the meaning of production?
Even imported goods can be raw materials to a production company...
At the end they export for profits...

A country can either be producing or consuming...
That is keeping natural resources aside..

Or do you think your solution is to print more money?
Now tell me, which is better?

Frezhkid10:
But the USA and other western nations printed cash to sustain their economy but we can’t because they told us it will cause inflation...
I don’t support tinubu ooo..but you see that printing cash idea he brought was the best thing for Nigeria at that time..

Jesus!! "They told us" really?
It's common sense...
Value is tied to scarcity...
Too much money equals to devaluation...
I dont know how else to say this In a lay man's term...

You need to study economics... it doesn't even apply to money, it applies to goods...
...

Please scroll up and read my previous posts, it might help enlighten you...

Printing more money is the WORST idea anyone can think of...

jamace:
Nigeria financial problem is caused by looters at all levels. I prefer retrieving and jailing of financial looters than printing more money. Nigeria has enough money in circulation BUT in the hands of looters. Looting remains the foundational problem of Nigeria.

Reasons:
1. Jailing looters will allow for honest living.
2. Jailing looters will allow money to circulate to all.
3. Jailing looters will engender hardwork and integrity.
4. Jailing looters will enhance productivity.
5. Jailing looters will end going abroad for birthday parties.
6. Jailing looters will halt medical tourism.
7. Jailing looters will stop unnecessary importation .
8. jailing looters will encourage local production.
9. Jailing looters will stop hoarding of dollars to hide in abroad banks.
10. Jailing looters will reduce greed and selfishness.
11. Jailing looters will reduce number of students going abroad for education.
12. Jailing looters will reduce demand for foreign currency.
13. Jailing looters will eliminate use of foreign currency for local transactions.
14. Jailing looters will allow our industries to function properly.
15. Jailing looters will stop crude oil theft.
16. Jailing looters will eliminate fuel subsidy scam.
17. Jailing looters will allow government funds for development get to intended users.
18. Just jail any citizen whose source of living can not be verified.
19. Jailing looters will attract foreign investments.
20. Jailing looters will make Naira to have strong value within and without.
21.Jailing looters will make talented citizens have value for their ingenuity.
22. Jailing looters will make government property to be used for government intended purpose and Nigeria will grow..
21. Jailing looters will give assured value for life in Nigeria.

Infact, jailing looters should be the first priority of incoming President of Nigeria 2023. PeterObi/DattiYusuf should take serious note.

Imagine some persons in position of authority will tell us that:
- monkey stole money
-snake swallowed money
-ant ate financial documents
-no revenue from NNPC because of oil theft
- and such other nonsensical talks, and these people are not in jail. What a country!

I de vex because I love Nigeria. I have no other country than Nigeria.

I feel your pain...
And you're totally right...
I support your ideology

Allisgud:
Come to think of it,money is just a paper beatufy in an expensive chemical paint,because of this same money we work for 30 days,what this op posted is reasonable if only u can think deeply,let's pretend dollar does not exist,one of the reason we have food shortage that lead to hike in little ones remaining was because of insecurity,what if more money is printed to pay more manpower produce more locally weapon,with this terrorist will be erase more farmers will be employed that means more produce food will be surplus for export with this we will have more forex our naira will have value

It doesn't work like that...
Scroll up n read, have addressed it a thousand times in this page alone

PNomsule:
I wonder why people are not seeing it this way?

Cause it's not sustainable in every economical way

CondemnBattery:
I would have answered everyone that quoted me, but from the replies above, alot of contributors have made justice to the questions the OP asked, and I won't be drawn to baseless arguments.
However, if you think I'm empty, then congratulations to you .
That said, so I won't sound repetitive mentioning Venezuela, Cuba and co.
Do you really think if printing more money was the solution, countries like the United States, Russia, England and even China will be owing?
If you'd taken your studies serious, you would have known more printed money in any economy is catastrophic and detrimental to every society.
Hence I stand by my initial stance, that your question/suggestions of printing more money is not just dumb, but stupid. Happy Sunday

I feel your frustration...
It's a simply analysis we analyze daily in our lives on things around us, fu@k we even studied it in high school... to think some people think printing more money is the solution baffles me to the core..

steveodo:
It will interest you to know that the amount paid for production of 1000 note is more than 1000. For instance it may take a country 1100 to print a thousand note of her currency. It's called seigniorage

Bro please...
You're totally wrong in this assessment...
It takes money to print money but not in that perspective..
What it means is... it can take 1billion to print 1 billion..
And maybe 1.2 billion to print 2 billion...seigniorage that's where profits comes in , when production cost is covered

Example ..
I want to make cream, so to buy and set up the factory I need N1m but after setting up I can choose to only produce 100 bottles worth 100k...
I can go ahead to make 1000 and 100,000 bottles to worth cost of startup...
Continued Production cost wouldnt be same as start up cost..
So it took me N1m to make 100k bottles of cream worth N1m...

Now if I need to make another 100k bottles all I need is just labor and material plus some overhead cost like electricity...
But it wouldnt be up to N1m..
Maybe now I spend N100k and make 100k bottles worth N1m..
If Nigeria govt tell you they spent 5 billion to print 2 billion you believe?
Just like they spent 1billion to create airplane logo that till now isn't functional...

The reason they dont accept to be printing more money even when they currently are to finance fed govt on his wastage is cause of the damage it would cause not cause its expensive...
Else logically countries would be printing money on a less destructive material and not paper...

How can you be doing something that the cost is more expensive than the goal?
How is that even logical or reasonable?
It's very unsustainable and absurd.

PNomsule:


Pardon my laughter but I couldn't just help it. See the meaning of seigniorage again my friend and modify your post please.

And by the way, it has never cost more money to print more Naira notes. In 2020, it cost Nigeria N18 to print N100

People just say what they can't backup.. as long as they know nobody is fact checking them and others cant verify ...

ImperialKingJosh:
Do you know the meaning of production?
Even imported goods can be raw materials to a production company...
At the end they export for profits...

A country can either be producing or consuming...
That is keeping natural resources aside..

Or do you think your solution is to print more money?
Now tell me, which is better?

Somebody importing ovaltine is coaching us on production. What a joke.

Komu1048:
If you want to debate tinubu regime n Peter Obi as govt. the state of their state when they were governor and what they left behind as at now. I will flaw you mercilessly, don’t compare a dog with a lion. I have stayed in the two state I can tell you how it was n how they left it. Abeg shift

When someone tells you a fact, comparing the subjects achievements with another doesn't change the earlier fact..
That I built a duplex in one year and my friend build a small shop does not make me right if I say one becomes rich and stays a millionaire by giving 95% of his net worth to charity monthly...

What is fact stays a fact regardless of achievements

naijapips04:
Somebody importing ovaltine is coaching us on production. What a joke.

Even if I import pencil...
If I have knowledge and its needed, I educate those that dont have it..
My knowledge isn't limited to my line of business..

Now, That's free knowledge for you...

ImperialKingJosh:
Even if I import pencil...
If I have knowledge and its needed, I educate those that dont have it..
My knowledge isn't limited to my line of business..

Now, That's free knowledge for you...

You are a hypocrite then if you are not practicing what you are preaching. Telling us to produce while you are the own killing our local economy. What a joke.