It's important to note that the main reason the graphs do not show inflation is b/c of the massive housing crash. We have a situation where we have significant

It's important to note that the main reason the graphs do not show inflation is b/c of the massive housing crash. We have a situation where we have significant inflation in some sectors of the economy, but we also have enough deflation to offset it. I'm not talking about bad deflation, I'm talking about new advances in microchips, etc., that make computers cheaper and more powerful every year. Inflation and deflation are natural aspects of a dynamic economy. The thing to watch for is when they signal structural problems. If microchips increased in performance so quickly that vendors refused to order inventory and store shelves were empty, then it would be a structural concern. Policymakers find it useful to wave the very imprecise notion "deflation" in front of the public without bothering to mention that it's all due to technological advancement, automation, outsourcing, etc. Similarly, inflation isn't always bad -- developer salaries are "inflating" now, which sends a signal for more people to learn to write code. This will be self-correcting. The thing to be concerned about is when government action causes inflation sufficient to undermine peoples' willingness to accept the currency. Policymakers try to get away with doing as much micro-tweaking as they can with the economy. Tax breaks for one select group of people, subsidies for another, etc. These sorts of policies can, over time, create inflation that is not self-correcting, since the policies are rarely ended once they have been created. Consider the massive over-investment in real-estate fueled by tax breaks. This led to an unstable real-estate market that crashed hard a few years ago.