While we suffer big taxing and spending challenges, at least we are not faced now with big inflation problems.
Inflation robs us when prices rise above the value of the things we need to buy. Fortunately, the rate of inflation now is less than 1 percent.
Some prices are not rising, and some are even going down. Part of that is the natural working of free markets. As sales drop, some prices drop in response, to try to overcome the effects of a slack economy. Many people are looking for “value,” and some are simply postponing nonessential buying.
What we really want is a bustling market, generated by the offering of good values, requiring full employment to meet demand, resulting in good pay that in turn enables more buying.
When the economy works well, it’s a happy circle of benefits for everyone. Troubles arise when the mutually beneficial circle is hindered or broken.