When paper money was redeemable for gold, yes there was mild deflation each year, and that condition lasted for decades on end. But people still bought things.

When paper money was redeemable for gold, yes there was mild deflation each year, and that condition lasted for decades on end. But people still bought things. The nice thing was, savings had its own reward: you could count on your money buying slightly more next year than the year before. But people still invested money when they could achieve better returns than deflation. Interest rates could be lower too. A nice steady mild deflation is nothing to worry about. That kind of deflation was mostly caused by productivity gains, which benefited everyone. With inflation, the beneficial effects of productivity gains are stolen, and given to the privileged early recipients of the inferior irredeemable money coming out of the spigot.