Deflation

Deflation is a seldom discussed issue.
Deflation is when the price of things go down.
It is the opposite of inflation, when prices go up.
Runaway inflation is what happened in Weimar Germany where it took a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread.

This is large part helped create the austerity that led to the rise of Nazi Germany.
Hence the fear of "hyper-inflation" as it is called.
In recent times an even more severe crisis ensued in Zimbabwe.

The picture on the bill is either their dictator Mugabe or the rocks they have in their head for letting it happen.

Banks, Wall Street, big corporations and especially resource-raper corporations fear deflation.
They would receive less money.
Buyers on the other hand might welcome lower prices. Like a $6 Epi-pen?
To make this unpalatable to the consumer, the propagandists first bring up inflation and hyper-inflation
and then conflate hyper-inflation with deflation.
Not hyper-inflation with hyper-deflation, just hyper-inflation with deflation. Induce a little unwarranted hysteria,
Just the notion that decreases in prices are a slippery slope and soon everything you own will be worthless.
Of course, with hyper-deflation, that dollar in your pocket could buy all of Walmart and that makes them nervous.
What you already have will NOT be worthless.
That screwdiver will still turn screws.
If wages don't go deflationary, you can still pay off your mortgage.
(And they will try to justify slashing wages mind you. Except their costs are going down too.)
The irony is that corporations profit from deflation on an everyday basis.
When prices of goods and raw materials go down, they make more profit.
They just don't want to share that with you.
Increased productivity makes prices go down. Does anyone ever claim that is the deflation bugaboo?
No corporation translates increased productivity into increased wages.
Hence wages stay stagnant while the rich get richer.
Actual wages, adjusted for inflation, go down. This is known as servitude.
It's not slavery- quite yet.
At least under slavery, they would feed you, clothe you, put a roof over your head and give you a little dab of medicine.
Now you're on your own. Possibly the worst thing under slavery was the rending apart of families.
They can't do that now. No, wait. they can if you're Mexican.
What wonderful times.

But "they" are scared to death of deflation.
When there is deflation, items will be cheaper tomorrow.
Consumption slows down. People buy tires when they need them.
They put off discretionary purchases until they hit that sweet spot between price and desire.
The consumer economy crumbles.
But wait. We still need doctors, teachers, ambulance drivers, roofers, carpenters, plumbers.
We just likely won't need hedge-fund operators or quite so many Hallmark Centers.
People will go see movies because they won't get cheaper and they want to see them.
People will still shop for entertainment.
The new craze will be watching prices go down and getting what you want before someone else jumps on it- for a reduced price.
This scares the bejeezus out of those who built empires on mindless consumption coupled with ever-increasing prices.
Gee, there's a light at the end of that tunnel and it's not pretty for the rich.
Of course in revenge, they would slash wages.
But that would be really stupid on their part because it means you won't repay your mortgage or buy anything.
Of course, stupider things have been done by the rich- like the current idiots in DC bought by them.

Japan has been weathering mild deflation for the last several decades.
The Bank of Japan has been fighting it with every tool at their disposal to no avail.
Maybe people are willing to trade go-go boom times for a bit of stagnation with decreased prices.
Japan seems to be doing okay. Not missing meals or payments and the second-largest cash hoard in the world. Hmmm.
All that this mindless consumerism has delivered is a trash vortex in the Pacific Ocean and boxes of useless junk in the garage.
And coupled with lots of debt and less-than-fulfilling minimum wage jobs in the retail sector. Hmmm to that also.
So stop buying goofy crap you don't need and watch prices go down. If you still want it, you can buy it later.
What about the displacement in the retail sector? It's dying anyway thanks to Amazon.
We're at full employment and I hear they need nurses. Hmmm.
From the most important perspective consumption and consumerism is bad for the planet and will be a burden for our children.

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