Jim Bradley

Inflation or Deflation? How to Tell

Tony - you don't consider the drop in housing costs by near 50% a significant factor? Basically the CPI didn't measure the housing cost inflation on the way up, nor did it reflect the drop on the way down. While it's hard to separate the price changes from relative pricing adjustments from monetary effects, there still is a strong argument to be made that the run up and down wasn't properly reflected.


On Sep 09 02:26 PM Tony Daltorio wrote:

> Japan - a very small, closed society is NOT a valid example to compare
> to the US. The actions the Japanese took is nothing like the actions
> the Fed has already taken and WILL take in the future.
>
> Also please tell me where the much-vaunted deflation is except in
> the price of assets (housing, US stocks) that had reached bubble-like
> valuation levels?? It's not in the cost of living - utilities, energy,
> fuel, healthcare or elsewhere like wages,etc.
>
> Deflation is nothing more than a fairy tale invented by Wall Street
> and Washington to get more government spending and to get dumb investors
> to buy Treasuries at near zero percent.
>
> Even back in 2002, Ben Bernanke was spinning myths about the dangers
> of non-existent deflation.