And that -- together with similar deflationary cycles every few
> decades in the 19th century -- was one of the source of the notion
> that it is inherently evil to be in debt, which is still reverberating
> among some personal money management gurus. The Great Depression was
> the last deflationary cycle because we fundamentally changed the way
> the money supply is controlled. Going back to the gold standard, as
> some people advocate, would bring back the deflationary cycles.
What terrifies me is inflationl, esp what we had in the 1980s. Inflation is basically a tax, a very unfair tax.
It discourages savings and encourages wasteful consumption.
There are many who do like inflation for various selfish reasons because their particular segment of the economy is strengthened; but at the expense of everyone else.