1. Land "lies fallow" in order to replenish nutrients in the soil. If you keep planting the same field over and over again, you will wreck its productivity.
2. The poor quality soil (often the result of overprinting) cannot be used to grow biofuels unless you plan on dumping tons of fertilizers on it. Those fertilizers are often made from petroleum in the first place.

So what, exactly, are we gaining here?

Both, I believe

Everyone in northern Massachusetts does their shopping in New Hampshire. There’s no toll and a ten minute drive can save you hundreds of dollars when you’re buying computers, iPhones, TVs, etc

Are we sure this isn’t just Massachusetts residents buying tax free liquor?

It’s entirely feasible. There are medicines that eliminate the risk of transmission. The challenge is getting at risk populations to take them

More like, food prices started rising by double digit %/year and the poor found themselves unable to afford their old standard of living without going into debt.

Personal savings are done by different people than those who take out credit card debt.

If the rich are saving half their income and the poor rely on credit cards, you could see both rising credit card debt and a very high savings rate.

They don’t call it the Dark Ages for nothing