The deflation with which you are referring is the reverse of devaluation of
the dollar through poor monetary policy inflected upon us by the concept of
central banking. And I would agree with you with the asterisk that any
change of the money supply by central banking is bad for everyone, although
not as bad for a group of individuals.
Eric
On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 3:28 PM, Joshua Zeidner <
jjzeidner@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Deflation is generally not a bad thing for people who save or people who
> lend (unless the deflation forces a default). It's a bad thing for people
> who borrow.
>
> -jmz
>
>
> On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 3:23 PM, Eric Cope <eric.cope@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> As the Austrians point out, deflation in real terms (not inflicted by the
>> Federal Reserve) is actually a result of the innovation of the free market
>> and the creation of wealth (as individuals create wealth, things become more
>> affordable... think of the cost of a brand new technology, like DDR3, as
>> time progresses, it comes down).
>> So, you are right, we should experience a general deflation as innovation
>> creates wealth, making things more affordable for all. (this includes things
>> like healthcare).
>>
>> Eric
>>
>>
>> On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 3:13 PM, Technomage <technomage.hawke@gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> On 5/17/10 4:13 PM, Joshua Zeidner wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> you might see some kind of short term deflation, but any substantial
>>>> deflation would break us. Any time you have debt, then deflation makes that
>>>> debt harder to pay. Not only would it be tragic for Americans on a personal
>>>> level, but on a state and federal level it would be equally disastrous. eg.
>>>> What would happen if everyone's salary were halved next week? Massive
>>>> default on mortgages, housing inventory increases, values go down, etc. I
>>>> would think that deflation might be beneficial, I just don't think its an
>>>> option (either financially or politically). Most likely they will just
>>>> print their way out of this, and destroy the dollar in the process.
>>>>
>>>> -jmz
>>>>
>>>> I have been reading through this and as someone who has an accounting
>>> background (thank you GCC),
>>> you all have not mentioned one important fact: the rate at which
>>> deflation could (or would) occur.
>>>
>>> A low rate (say under 2% would have minimal effects on the economy in the
>>> very short term, it would
>>> start making life a litte more difficult with time, but not substantially
>>> so. IF, however, the rate if deflation went up
>>> or varied wildly over the long term, yeah,, I could see the above
>>> scenarios coming to pass.
>>>
>>> The biggest problem with have in this country is a lack of personal
>>> responsibility for ones own actions
>>> (including incurring debt). we need to be a lot more responsible and we
>>> need to force the states into
>>> doing so at their level. 5 years ago, Arizona had 2 billion in excess
>>> cash set aside (call it a rainy day fund).
>>> the politicians couldn't leave well enough alone and now here we are,
>>> suffering a 2.1 billion dollar shortfall
>>> for this year alone. California was living on borrowed time ever since
>>> gray davis started as governor.
>>>
>>> Personally, I have gotten rid of all my credit cards (can't have them
>>> anyone living on a disability income),
>>> I am paying down any debts I have left (just over $3,000 at this point)
>>> and will be debt free in 3 years.
>>>
>>> I view credit as nothing more than a company selling you the money you
>>> borrow (debt) and then charging you
>>> monthly to be able to use that money. it isn't yours. its a legal scam
>>> IMHO
>>>
>>> anyway, my point is this: deflation might actually be a good thing for
>>> this country, if and only if, it can
>>> be held to a minimum level for as long as possible.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
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