Kind of but not really. The real problem with deflation is that it discourages spending and investment. When the money you have is going to appreciate in value more than the things you might purchase with it, it's a lot more appealing to just sit on it instead. This lack of demand then drives prices down further, perpetuating the cycle until businesses start failing and then you're stuck with an unemployment crisis, and now even if the deflation stabilizes, it's left a whole mess that returning to inflation will make worse before it gets better.
You can print a bunch more money, but unless that money is actually circulating, it doesn't really do anything. And if everyone's just holding onto their money watching the value go up, they'll certainly want the new dollars, but they won't want to spend them. And if they're not being spent, they might as well not exist for inflation/deflation purposes.
Yes, but that needs to be done BEFORE we enter the deflation spiral. Once we're in it, poor people are going to be subject to the same economic pressures to save and stretch their money. Stimulus funds are definitely more effective going there than going to the rich, but the effect is still going to be blunted.
It's kind of like the gag in movies sometimes where a car will crash and then the airbags deploy after everything's already settled and they don't really serve their purpose anymore.
84
u/dart_shitplagueis 9h ago
Can't they just start printing more money nonstop to inflate? (Kind of - ~15% - serious question)