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Disagree, I've refrained from buying several products in recent years because I know if I can keep the old one going for one or two more product generations the

by julianz 11y ago

Disagree, I've refrained from buying several products in recent years because I know if I can keep the old one going for one or two more product generations then the new one will be much, much better. It also influences my choice of product, I'm more likely to get something high end and keep it for longer.

PKop 11y ago
OK, but in a general sense, the number of computing devices being purchased continues to grow. Apple keeps setting iPhone sales records. Your examples, I would argue, are a good thing. People buy only when they absolutely need these goods, not because they are afraid they need to buy in excess now because their savings is going to lose value relative to the cost of these goods. They get full use out of the goods they purchase. Less wasteful spending, and wasteful use of resources needed to produce them. Moore's law illustrates that the cost of computing power has continually fallen. The industry has certainly not suffered because of this, would you agree? So without putting to fine a point on it: The tech industry is as healthy as any in the entire economy. And yet, prices fall faster than just about any other. Consumers unambiguously benefit from these falling prices. Keep this in mind when economists or politicians sing the praises of "mild" inflation. This would certainly benefit governments who want to run a deficit and spend money they have to borrow. But I'd argue this does not benefit the consumer. Thought experiment: will you plan on spending more on discretionary items (entertainment, vacation, home remodeling, investments, whatever...) if you anticipate / observe rising prices on staples such as food, healthcare, rent/mortgage, gas, utilities, etc? Or, will you spend more on discretionary items if you anticipate / observe falling prices on those same items? Your available budget will be greater and of course your spending will increase in these areas if you have more money to spend. So the utility, or benefit you receive as a result is clearly higher. Debtors benefit from rising prices because they can pay off debt with cheaper currency. So, as previously mentioned government, the biggest debtor, promotes inflationary policy.

by julianz 11y ago

PKop 11y ago

OK, but in a general sense, the number of computing devices being purchased continues to grow. Apple keeps setting iPhone sales records. Your examples, I would argue, are a good thing. People buy only when they absolutely need these goods, not because they are afraid they need to buy in excess now because their savings is going to lose value relative to the cost of these goods. They get full use out of the goods they purchase. Less wasteful spending, and wasteful use of resources needed to produce them. Moore's law illustrates that the cost of computing power has continually fallen. The industry has certainly not suffered because of this, would you agree? So without putting to fine a point on it: The tech industry is as healthy as any in the entire economy. And yet, prices fall faster than just about any other. Consumers unambiguously benefit from these falling prices. Keep this in mind when economists or politicians sing the praises of "mild" inflation. This would certainly benefit governments who want to run a deficit and spend money they have to borrow. But I'd argue this does not benefit the consumer. Thought experiment: will you plan on spending more on discretionary items (entertainment, vacation, home remodeling, investments, whatever...) if you anticipate / observe rising prices on staples such as food, healthcare, rent/mortgage, gas, utilities, etc? Or, will you spend more on discretionary items if you anticipate / observe falling prices on those same items? Your available budget will be greater and of course your spending will increase in these areas if you have more money to spend. So the utility, or benefit you receive as a result is clearly higher. Debtors benefit from rising prices because they can pay off debt with cheaper currency. So, as previously mentioned government, the biggest debtor, promotes inflationary policy.