Inflation is deception and Fed policy hurts the common man. (2013, complaint)

[Snowball7]

these are the lies they tell you and you believe them. inflation is always the enemy of the lower, middle, and non-banker upper class. the Fed actions and policies since 2000 have ruined this country. Just understand one fact. Inflation does not increase actual economic participation.
It kills economic participation of the lower and middle class. Peter Schiff is right. There is nothing wrong with deflation. It makes things less expensive and increases activity and growth.
The lie that inflation spurs growth is deception at its finest. This is because all the "data" that they release show greater numbers (due to inflation, where the number of dollars get bigger), and they say - look ! your house is worth "more". the stocks and bonds are worth "more". the GDP is "more". etc etc. but they are not worth more at all. its an illusion, because everyone else's is also worth "more" and the cost of living is also "more". so you don't win in real terms. meanwhile, in a data point such as lower-middle class wage growth, which they cannot inflate, stagnates. debt increases. saving decreases. this is bad for people.
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.

[mathjak107]

only fools do not look at things in terms of real return. not sure of your complaint. nothing wrong with deflation except when your job evaporates and or your pay is cut and not proportionatley either.

[pvande55]

The Fed has been trying for five years to get inflation up without much success. Deflation is a far worse situation. I remember when inflation made your home value increase while the mortgage payment became an ever-smaller part of your budget. And your stocks, if you owned any, increased usually more than inflation.

[Lowexpectations]

You talk of inflation yet recommend bond funds as investments.... Hmm

[mathjak107]

the great depression saw deflation as the cpi fell 18%. to bad jobs fell by way more and assets fell by 90%. yeah ,nothing wrong with deflation! are you kidding?

[cdelena]

The whole issue of inflation in confused by terminology and changes in measurement. Here are some interesting comments and charts...

What Inflation Means to You: Inside the Consumer Price Index

[sholomar]

deflation is great for the rich, it makes their cash worth that much more and allows them to buy up assets on the cheap to concentrate their wealth.

In truth inflation helps the typical person, since the typical person with a 30 year mortgage making the minimum payments with these low interest rates can use inflation to their benefit to pay for their home with cheaper money over the long run.

Prudent individuals can also stay invested in high quality stocks which will keep up with the rate of inflation, that or metals, so not much buying power is really lost.

In fact, hyperinflation would be a negative for the ultra wealthy and big banks... suddenly everyone with a mortgage could pay off their homes overnight, wealth that is concentrated in the hands of the few would suddenly be distributed far and wide.. the government debt would be wiped clean... of course a lot of wealthy people who have their money in assets like real estate and metals would fare alright.. only people holding cash in banks or under their bed would really suffer.

The problem we have today is inflation of basic materials outpacing growth in wages... however that's more due to automation and the elimination and outsourcing of jobs itself, something that will continue to be a problem as more people chase fewer 'living wage' jobs... computer technology in particular has resulted in machines that can produce 2-10x as much product than just 10 years ago.. it eliminates the need for labor... this is one of the reasons adults are beginning to displace high school students at fast food jobs, and people are starting to demand higher wages in these fields.

[EmeraldCityWanderer]

Yes, we should believe your pointed predictions and analysis after your last successful prediction of the market having a major drop last week...

//www.city-data.com/forum/inves...4-get-out.html

Oh wait, the market actually ended higher than it started last week. Ooooops.

Plus Peter Schiff again? His last prediction about the economic collapse happening in the end of 2013 was complete horseflop. So far he has one hit, where he was one of the last to the party long after better economists already publicly stated there was instability in housing in 2008-9, and never has a hit since. Sorry, he ain't a sharpshooter if he hits the target once (after stealing everyone else's tips) and then misses it completely for many many years afterwords every single time.

//www.city-data.com/forum/econo...apse-soon.html

So why should people just accept your opinion without evidence or anything more than a paragraph of spew?

[mathjak107]

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

[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.