In its simplest terms, deflation is defined as a decline in the money supply, but, because of central bank meddling such as QE and ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy), money supply isn't really an issue, but, where the money is going turns out to be the bogey.
For all the pumping the Fed and other central banks have done since the Lehman crash in 2008, inflation and growth have failed to materialize because the money is stuck in transmission lines between the central banks and the TBTF banks, who don't want to take the risk of loaning money to real people, preferring instead to speculate in stocks and reward their cronies with fat bounties, otherwise known as bonuses.
The
three trillion dollars by which the Fed has expanded its balance sheet since 2008 hasn't found its way into the real economy. Meanwhile, governments, from municipalities on up to the federal level, have done their best to over-regulate and over-tax working people, causing further strain on the bulk of consumers. So, if money, on one hand, is stuck in transmission, and taxes and fees are going up on the other hand, with incomes stagnant or falling, people have less to spend, and make their spending choices with just a little bit more prudence.
Depending on your age and circumstances, you may or may not be experiencing a bout of deflation this winter.
It really depends on what you spend your money on, where you live, where you shop, and what you do for a living.
Obviously, despite the best efforts of oil price manipulators to keep prices above $50 per barrel, the price of a gallon of gas has fallen precipitously over the past six months. That's a plus, as is the low price of natural gas. Consumers in the Northeast, experiencing one of the coldest winters in history, haven't had it too bad, because the cost of heating a home has dropped like a rock. It would be even better if Al Gore had actually been right about Global Warming. (Well, he did invent the internet, so you can't expect him to be perfect.)
Food prices have moderated, and, because fewer and fewer consumers are dining out, restaurants have been offering more specials. Food is one of those things that you really can't manipulate much, as it does have limited fresh shelf life. A decent summer growing season has kept a lid on food prices.
However, if you've got kids at all, and especially kids in college, you're likely feeling the pinch of higher tuitions and cost for college text books. Health care costs haven't moderated as much as the government would like you to think, either, so, if you have health insurance (Doesn't everybody? It's the LAW!), you're paying more.
Housing prices have moderated a bit, and bargains ca be found, especially in the Northeast and in rural areas. Farmland prices are coming down dramatically.
Behind all of this is the strong dollar, helped by the rest of the world, which is cutting interest rates and debasing currencies at a furious pace.
Thanks to Zero Hegde for the complete list of 21 central bank rate cuts so far in 2015:
1. Jan. 1
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan's central bank cuts refi rate to 9% from 10%.
2. Jan. 7/Feb. 4
ROMANIA
Romania's central bank cuts its key interest rate by a total of 50 basis points, taking it to a new record low of 2.25%.
3. Jan. 15
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss National Bank stuns markets by discarding the franc's exchange rate cap to the euro. The tightening, however, is in part offset by a cut in the interest rate on certain deposit account balances by 0.5 percentage points to
-0.75 percent.
4. Jan. 15
EGYPT
Egypt's central bank makes a surprise 50 basis point cut in its main interest rates, reducing the overnight deposit and lending rates to 8.75 and 9.75 percent, respectively.
5. Jan. 16
PERU
Peru's central bank surprises the market with a cut in its benchmark interest rate to 3.25 percent from 3.5 percent after the country posts its worst monthly economic
expansion since 2009.
6. Jan. 20
TURKEY
Turkey's central bank lowers its main interest rate, but draws heavy criticism from government ministers who say the 50 basis point cut, five months before a parliamentary election, is not enough to support growth.
7. Jan. 21
CANADA
The Bank of Canada shocks markets by cutting interest rates to 0.75 percent from 1 percent, where it had been since September 2010, ending the longest period of unchanged rates in Canada since 1950.
8. Jan. 22
EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
The ECB launches a government bond-buying programme which will pump over a trillion euros into a sagging economy starting in March and running through to September, 2016, and perhaps beyond.
9. Jan. 24
PAKISTAN
Pakistan's central bank cuts its key discount rate to 8.5 percent from 9.5 percent, citing lower inflationary pressure due to falling global oil prices.
10. Jan. 28
SINGAPORE
The Monetary Authority of Singapore unexpectedly eases policy because the inflation outlook has "shifted significantly" since its last review in October 2014.
11. Jan. 28
ALBANIA
Albania's central bank cuts its benchmark interest rate to a record low 2%. This follows three rate cuts last year, the most recent in November.
12. Jan. 30
RUSSIA
Russia's central bank cuts its one-week minimum auction repo rate by two percentage points to 15 percent, a little over a month after raising it by 6.5 points to 17 percent, as fears of recession mount.
13. Feb. 3
AUSTRALIA
The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts its cash rate to an all-time low of 2.25%, seeking to spur a
sluggish economy while keeping downward pressure on the local dollar.
14. Feb. 4/28
CHINA
China's central bank makes a system-wide cut to bank reserve requirements -- its first in more than two years -- to unleash a flood of liquidity to fight off
economic slowdown and
looming deflation. On Feb. 28, the People's Bank of China cut its interest rate by 25 bps, when it lowered its one-year lending rate to 5.35% from 5.6% and its one-year deposit rate to 2.5% from 2.75%. It also said it would raise the maximum interest rate on bank deposits to 130% of the benchmark rate from 120%.
15. Jan. 19/22/29/Feb. 5
DENMARK
Incredibly, the Danish central bank cuts interest rates four times in less than three weeks, and intervenes regularly in the currency market to keep the crown within the narrow range of its peg to the euro. (The won't last. See Switzerland.)
16. Feb. 13
SWEDEN
Sweden's central bank cut its key repo rate to -0.1 percent from zero where it had been since October, and said it would buy 10 billion Swedish crowns worth of bonds.
17. February 17,
INDONESIA
Indonesia’s central bank unexpectedly cut its main interest rate for the first time in three years.
18. February 18,
BOTSWANA
The Bank of Botswana reduced its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than a year to help support the economy as
inflation pressures ease. The rate was cut by 1 percentage point to 6.5%, the first change since Oct. 2013.
19. February 23,
ISRAEL
The Bank of Israel reduced its interest rate by 0.15%, to 0.10% in order
to stimulate a return of the inflation rate to within the price stability target of 1–3% a year over the next twelve months, and to support growth while maintaining financial stability.
20. Jan. 15, March 3,
INDIA
The Reserve Bank of India surprises markets with a 25 basis point cut in rates to 7.75% and signals it could lower them further (they did, yesterday, to 7.50%), amid signs of
cooling inflation and growth struggling to recover from its weakest levels since the 1980s.
21. Mar. 4,
POLAND
The Monetary Policy Council lowered its benchmark seven-day reference rate by 50 basis points to 1.5%.
There will be more rate cuts and currency debasement, especially once the ECB gets its own QE program going. Note that all of these countries want to reflate, inflate or otherwise spur demand. The problem, as discussed above, is that people just aren't buying it, and they aren't buying. People have been paying down debt and saving, because, in an era of unprecedented central bank intervention and government regulation, the average Joe and Jane is uncertain about the future. It's a social phenomenon the economists can't compute.
Perhaps, in a free market without central bank meddling and government intervention into every aspect of one's life, capitalist economies might just have a chance.
Who knew?
Bottom line, central banks hate
deflation, because it causes debt-driven economies to seize up and die, which is exactly why consumers should appreciate it.
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