I've never understood why inflation is considered "helpful" and deflation "harmful." Inflation rewards leverage (going into debt since you repay it with less valuable dollars), and punishes savers who live within their means.<p>But most economists say "deflation = bad, inflation = good (as long as it's not high)".<p>Suppose I have a dollar and I have a choice of buying a hot dog either today or 10 years from now. The hot dog today is already <i>intrinsically</i> more valuable to me, since in ten years I could be dead, or not like hot dogs anymore, or be unable to eat them due to an intervening change in my health, or be unable to find them since they went out of style and no one makes them...I don't need the "encouragement" of inflation to force me to spend my money; I'm <i>already</i> punished for saving by forgoing consumption.