Inflation is deception and Fed policy hurts the common man. (2015, borrowing)

[Lowexpectations]

Originally Posted by tallrick

If not for the Fed, living standard would have increased to the levels we were promised in the mid century. We would be living like the Jetsons instead of trending toward the third world.

Well if we are going waaaayyy out there I'd like a unicorn

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by Snowball7

Lower prices for goods are a by-product of technology and industrialism. They are not an enemy to the average man. But the average man is the last thing on the mind of the moneychangers.

This is 'good' deflation, but on balance has not been good for our middle class these past few decades. This worked fine in the 19th century as so many people moved from the farms to jobs in industry. But now so many are moving from jobs in industry and going to no where.

Technologies have eliminated many jobs, while output has only increased, allowing costs to drop some.
Corporate conglomeration and downsizing in the '90's might have also allowed costs to drop, and this along with off shoring of industry and jobs since then has done essentially the same.

But our middle class today languishes due to these very same reasons and the large scale loss of jobs.

The middle class has lost jobs, an endpoint due to the simple progress of capitalism, and a by-product of technology and industrialism.

[searching for prudence]

Deflation is a natural safety mechanism of capitalism that drives necessary reallocation of capital over time. We have been preventing it through misguided economic policy, and seem to be approaching the end of the road on maintaining the economic status quo by preventing deflation for 75 years. Personally I'd rather let capitalism reallocate capital through natural safety mechanisms, such as deflation than have it done through a revolution.

[Opin_Yunated]

Originally Posted by searching for prudence

Deflation is a natural safety mechanism of capitalism that drives necessary reallocation of capital over time. We have been preventing it through misguided economic policy, and seem to be approaching the end of the road on maintaining the economic status quo by preventing deflation for 75 years. Personally I'd rather let capitalism reallocate capital through natural safety mechanisms, such as deflation than have it done through a revolution.

No you would not. Deflation is far more destructive. Governments will do anything to prevent deflation.

[EmeraldCityWanderer]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

as they say if you are going to predict ,then predict often.

On the other end, if someone predicts a thousand times and one happens to come close...it doesn't make one clairvoyant, smarter than everyone else, or automatically true forever moving forward (even if the rest have failed). Schiff is about the nearest I can see to that...even though the only guess that has was already stated by several economists beforehand.

The OP has made three threads so far (including this one) where he has predicted major economic doom. Two claims were made in one thread here (//www.city-data.com/forum/inves...4-get-out.html page 1 & 10) and here (//www.city-data.com/forum/econo...pping-out.html). Which is odd he said in December 2012 he was going 100% precious metals and dropping out of the system, before a price drop, then asks about buying the stock Aeropostale (//www.city-data.com/forum/inves...ropostale.html) and investing in bond funds (//www.city-data.com/forum/inves...l#post34959725) right before making these claims of economic collapse again.

These wildly changing opinions from extreme doomer, then back to speculating in stocks like it never happened, is not a sign of health. Unless more than one person uses the account.

[tallrick]

In the end the fact is that the Fed has done nothing good for productive people. Its inflation has cut the dollar's value by 80% and had allowed government to grow at a rate that has destroyed our freedoms. Nothing the Fed does benefits the economy, all it does is inflate bubbles and destroy the fruits of productive people. The Fed is the reason we are lagging behind. Technology has improved our lives despite the Fed doing its best to impoverish us.

[searching for prudence]

Originally Posted by Opin_Yunated

No you would not. Deflation is far more destructive. Governments will do anything to prevent deflation.

That is Keynesian dogma, the problem is it looks like we have reached the limit on it, and perhaps even more importantly the individuals that make up the economy need to learn the lessons that deflation teaches in order to allocate capital efficiently. Deflation is only the enemy of the status quo and the feudal system our governments have once again devolved into to.

[Lowexpectations]

Originally Posted by searching for prudence

That is Keynesian dogma, the problem is it looks like we have reached the limit on it, and perhaps even more importantly the individuals that make up the economy need to learn the lessons that deflation teaches in order to allocate capital efficiently. Deflation is only the enemy of the status quo and the feudal system our governments have once again devolved into to.

Why would it look like we have reached a limit ? What data are you getting this from ?

[Opin_Yunated]

Originally Posted by searching for prudence

That is Keynesian dogma, the problem is it looks like we have reached the limit on it, and perhaps even more importantly the individuals that make up the economy need to learn the lessons that deflation teaches in order to allocate capital efficiently. Deflation is only the enemy of the status quo and the feudal system our governments have once again devolved into to.

Nope.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Deflation hurts everyone, including you. In deflation your wages will drop, unemployment will skyrocket, demand will fall, and the economy will contract. All of this while all debts owed (like your mortgage) will become harder to pay off. Also, the stock market will fall apart... why would I invest in a stock when holding on to cash is a guarenteed better return?

Deflation is bad. Inflation is good in moderate (2-4%) amounts. Making deflation a goal is assinine. Pure economic suicide. Then again, it is a darn good thing you aren't an economist. You are more concerned with ideological lessons than fundamentals of economics.

[Delahanty]

Originally Posted by tallrick

In the end the fact is that the Fed has done nothing good for productive people. Its inflation has cut the dollar's value by 80% and had allowed government to grow at a rate that has destroyed our freedoms. Nothing the Fed does benefits the economy, all it does is inflate bubbles and destroy the fruits of productive people. The Fed is the reason we are lagging behind. Technology has improved our lives despite the Fed doing its best to impoverish us.

LOL, they're certainly doing their best to impoverish the elderly--just ask them.

Seniors, generally the most conservative with their money, have been hit hard by the Fed's finagling. All they've done is encourage more borrowing while penalizing savers with artificially low interest rates. They like to point to the stock market but, again, it's being manipulated. TINA ("there is no alternative") is in effect, and anyone who thinks that doesn't result in an artificial bubble that will eventually burst, doesn't know squat about economics.

Yessir....the rich and the poor, that's this administration's aim. The poor won't be movin' on up, but the middle class is already movin' on down.

Wake up, sheeple.