Why can’t governments print an unlimited amount of money? - Jonathan Smith?

Governments can’t just print as much money as they want because too much money makes everything cost more.

Imagine you have a piggy bank full of candies. If you take out 10 candies and eat them, that’s fine. But if you take out all the candies at once, then your friends won’t get any when it's their turn, everyone will be sad, and the candy shop might raise prices because they know people are eating too many candies.

That’s like what happens with money. If a government prints too much money, it’s like taking out all the candies from the piggy bank at once. Soon, everything costs more, your ice cream, your toys, even your allowance! That's called inflation.

If prices keep going up and up, people can’t buy as much with their money anymore. It’s like having a bigger piggy bank but smaller candies, you still have to work harder to get what you want.

So even though printing money sounds fun (like getting more candy), doing it too much makes everything else cost more, just like eating all the candy at once!