r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 9h ago

Meme needing explanation Petah?

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u/StuartMcNight 9h ago

Low inflation might be the first step towards deflation. Many economists would argue that deflation is a worse situation for the economy because it leads to a sharp drop of consumption and therefore a huge recession follows?

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u/[deleted] 9h ago edited 8h ago

[deleted]

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u/dart_shitplagueis 9h ago

Can't they just start printing more money nonstop to inflate? (Kind of - ~15% - serious question)

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u/LordJac 7h ago

Deflation is a symptom, rather than the core issue. The issue is people are reducing spending, and this reduced spending means businesses sell less, build fewer houses, dont invest to increase capacity etc. This leads to job losses and people end up spending even less, creating a vicious circle. This decline in economic activity shows up as low inflation or deflation in macro data. You can print money to counter it, but it doesnt address the root problem.