Lily Bjorlin, Chapter 10, Question 5

I have never fully understood inflation. How can something that has a set value suddenly just not be worth that same amount? When Wheelan explained how the dollar is actually worth nothing and it's just the value we give it and the "purchasing power" we put into a piece of paper (well it's mostly cotton but whatever). Inflation means we start believing that piece of paper has less value than before, despite the paper not changing at all. This made the whole concept so much clearer to me.