http://mises.org/books/deflationandliberty.pdf In short, the true crux of deflation is that it does not hide the redistribution going hand in hand with changes in the quantity of money. It entails visible misery for many people, to the benefit of equally visible winners. This starkly contrasts with inflation, which creates anonymous winners at the expense of anonymous losers. Both deflation and inflation are, from the point of view we have so far espoused, zero-sum games. But inflation is a secret rip-off and thus the perfect vehicle for the exploitation of a population through its (false) elites, whereas deflation means open redistribution through bankruptcy according to the law.... Bernanke would rather impose inflation.....
In a deflation, those who borrowed will be unable to repay, and be bankrupted. As a result, those who had lent to them will have lost their capital, and will learn to lend only to those who are likely able to repay. Remember these words well... I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)
Years ago the first words out of the banker's mouth when you applied for a loan were, "what do you have for collateral?". Recently it's been "which minority are you?"
Much as I agree with Jefferson's warning, deflation can and did occur well before Congress foolishly established the Fed. Outside of the Depression, the two other major periods of deflation in the U.S.. The first was the recession of 1836, right after Jackson dismantled the Second Bank of the U.S. The worst was the 20 years after the Civil War, when there was no central bank in the U.S. It was also a period of worldwide deflation.
It will take 100 years of recession or depression to pay off the debt these fools have run up. Jackson had guts. They endured the depression and paid off the entire national debt. We can't even stop borrowing an extra $2 or $3 billion per day, let alone pay off any debt. What did they buy us for the $10 trillion they spent? Another Lousiana purchase? Another Alaska? No. Nothing at all. Every frigging penny was wasted, and we have absolutely noting to show for it.
How about all our cities in tact? Did you forget the cold war? If we hadnt outspent U.S.S.R forcing their economy to collapse, we might have had all our major cities nuked by now. Do you really think that if USSR had not collapsed in the early 90s that they would not be kicking our ass after 9/11 right now? You think they would be on our side with the war on terror? No, they would be using our weakened state to their advantage.
None of this matters. What matters is how many chips you have stacked. How many fire arms you have. And what state you live in. (rules on Land, arms and state tax) 90% of the states in the US are Bankrupt. You can't exercise the 2nd amendement in all of them. What industry you work in. There are only a handfull of "industries" that will not feel pain, that the 90% will. That is all that matters.
Explain that to your great grandchildren why the US became a second world nation like Argentina or Iceland on a grand scale.
I think that's already an impossibility due to the escalating burden of present and future entitlements. Not even close. First off, it wasn't a depression, it was a recession and the mildest of the three severe recessions in the U.S. Second, that recession occurred because of Jackson's determination to pay down the debt and his dismantling of the Second Bank of the U.S. There's plenty to show for it. The point you're missing is that the $10T isn't the problem. It's the unfunded entitlements, add them in and that $10T mushrooms to over $55T. Personally, I think Washington has purposely put the entire globe on a course towards declaring a worldwide chapter 7 because our current system became unsustainable after Jackson's democratic legacy brought about the New Deal. If you think about it, there's a certain brilliance to being the largest debtor AND consumer.