Inflation is cooling, yet many Americans are still living paycheck to paycheck - eviltoast
  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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    18 days ago

    You really don’t want deflation. The correct thing now is for wages to go up to match the new costs and this has been happening.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      That’s not really true though. The only way to maintain infinite inflation is with infinite growth. But we only have finite resources. We also have modern examples of countries that experience deflation and they aren’t the horror shows that the finance industry wants about. For example, Japan.

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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        17 days ago

        The only way to maintain infinite inflation is with infinite growth

        No - monetary policy also effects inflation. See also “stagflation”.

        We also have modern examples of countries that experience deflation and they aren’t the horror shows that the finance industry wants about. For example, Japan.

        It doesn’t have to be a “horror show” for it to be “bad”. Japan’s “lost decades” are hardly desirable.

        Deflation would mean money is worth more. Great! But then prices drop. And then salaries drop. And now the ability for somebody to pay back a 30-yr. fixed mortgage gets harder over time rather than easier as it does in an inflationary environment.

        So yeah - I’d rather a pay rise to match (or hopefully exceed) inflation that makes it easier for me to repay loans.

        Edit: Oh - and frankly the thing that tends to lead to “disaster” is a rapid change in any direction. The entire goal of the “2%” inflation is “price stability”. The US economy going into deflation would be catastrophic from our current trend.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          17 days ago

          You mean all those people who thought housing was an investment would get caught with a bad investment?

          Oh shucks. Well, I better get back in line for the organ grinding machine then.

          Both cycles have their downsides. Nobody is saying they don’t. But having one without the other is unsustainable. You’re afraid salaries will go down. Guess what? They went down anyways. They show a higher number, but every year they don’t beat inflation is a year they went down. If wages drop during inflation and deflation, in real and gross terms, then I would venture to guess that inflation or deflation isn’t the core problem there, but letting corporations rig the game so they always win over the workers. Also if 2% inflation is stabilization, why isn’t 2% deflation? There’s no magic thing about crossing the line that makes the economy crash.

          • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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            17 days ago

            You mean all those people who thought housing was an investment would get caught with a bad investment?

            WTAF are you talking about? No - I’m talking about home ownership, purchasing a vehicle, starting a business, expanding a business, doing home repair / expansion, etc.

            Do you just think “hey - one thing went wrong once so everything to do with that is broken”?

            I won’t continue this conversation - it’s not worth it.