It’s a good thing we have the Fed on our side, promising future “easy money” policies and thereby making sure that market prices don’t do something nasty, like decrease.
Otherwise, you might have retailers and producers resorting to absolutely insane schemes, such as dropping prices on commodities and food and various necessary items. Obviously, in a credit-soaked economy like ours, price declines must be resisted at every opportunity. The last thing you want is for your present-day dollars to actually go farther (and past debts to grow more cumbersome).
Heresy, for sure.
Thankfully, the fine folks at Green Mountain Coffee have gotten the memo:
Green Mountain Coffee: We’re Raising Our Prices
I’m a big K-Cup and Keurig fan, so this eight percent increase (from $11.95 per box to $12.95) isn’t likely to dissuade me much.
So go ahead, Federal Reserve governors. Threaten to flood the system with more money. And smile, why don’t you.
Brian wrote:
I too would like to see the prices drop, but I’m sure that you are aware deflation can be & obviously is a serious economic threat to our fine country we live in. When consumers feel that prices will decline in the near future they delay purchases. As you can probably surmise, that isn’t good for firms like your local Sears or Home Depot or Ford Dealership, which in turn doesn’t do much to help their suppliers who supply jobs. It’s generally favorable to have stable to slightly increasing prices to keep people buying now….rather later. It’s more than just worrying about our purchasing power or stretching our paycheck….think good, solid economic growth. Although, I’m not big fan of his liberal view point, Krugman gives a good explanation here of deflation.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/why-is-deflation-bad/
Michael wrote:
Yes, I understand why deflation is “bad.”
I also undertand that you can’t inflate (or borrow) your way to prosperity. But damned if we don’t keep trying. This country relies on asset-price bubbles to give the impression of “wealth,” because at this point, we have nothing else.
The idea of having one’s wealth be based on true savings went out the door eons ago … all in the name of that precious “economic growth.”