{"id":118982,"date":"2023-12-08T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T18:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=118982"},"modified":"2023-12-12T14:18:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T18:18:07","slug":"deflation-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Is deflation in America a good or bad thing? How does it impact American households and the broader economy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In mid-November, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and investor Cathie Wood flagged the potential of a deflationary period in the US, citing shifting consumer behavior and falling prices. Deflation, while promising lower prices for consumers, can signal a slowing economy and lead to wage cuts, job losses, and potentially a recession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a look at what deflation would mean for US citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-deflation-in-the-us\">Deflation in the US<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we discuss deflation in America, what exactly is deflation? <strong>Deflation is a <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/what-is-deflation-its-not-a-one-time-price-discount-and-its-not-something-to-cheer-economists-say-f4367811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>continuing drop in prices across all economic sectors<\/strong><\/a> stemming primarily from either a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/in\/investing\/what-is-deflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decline in demand or an increase in supply<\/a>. A decrease in overall demand can result from factors including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/in\/investing\/what-is-deflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Monetary policy changes<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong> When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, people may choose to save rather than spend their money and refrain from taking out loans.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/in\/investing\/what-is-deflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Loss of consumer confidence<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong> Negative economic events, such as a worldwide pandemic or fears about the economy or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/career-security\/\">job security<\/a>, can prompt people to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/spend-less-and-save-more\/\">spend less and save more<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-deflation-impacts\"><strong>Deflation Impacts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Millions of Americans, weary from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2023\/11\/16\/deflation-holiday-walmart-ceo.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relentless inflation<\/a> and soaring costs for grocery and fuel, might initially embrace deflation, lured by its promise of lower prices. However, economists caution that<strong> deflation often signals <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/what-is-deflation-its-not-a-one-time-price-discount-and-its-not-something-to-cheer-economists-say-f4367811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>a slowing economy<\/strong><\/a> where businesses are forced to slash prices to offload inventory, which is<strong> sometimes a <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/in\/investing\/what-is-deflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>prelude to a recession<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, deflation creates a tricky situation for American households: On the one hand, their money can go further on essentials like milk and eggs. On the other, deflation can also shrink their incomes and lead to layoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, <strong>the interconnected elements of deflation can <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/in\/investing\/what-is-deflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>trigger a downward cycle<\/strong><\/a>: As prices drop, production decreases. This can lead companies to lower wages, causing a fall in demand and further decline in prices, starting the cycle anew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-potential-deflation-warning-signs\"><strong>Potential Deflation Warning Signs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In mid-November, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/willskipworth\/2023\/11\/16\/walmart-ceo-predicts-food-deflation-may-come-soon\/?sh=644ecce32046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Walmart CEO Doug McMillon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/finance\/cathie-wood-urges-investors-to-heed-the-risks-of-a-deflationary-world-465e3d2c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ark Investment Management founder Cathie Wood<\/a> raised the alarm about a potential deflationary period ahead for the US economy. They pointed to changes in the market and consumers\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/purchasing-habits\/\">purchasing habits<\/a> and the response of several sectors to current economywide patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Inflation in the US has started to decline<\/strong>, now at just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/willskipworth\/2023\/11\/16\/walmart-ceo-predicts-food-deflation-may-come-soon\/?sh=644ecce32046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3.2% annually<\/a>, down from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/dereksaul\/2023\/11\/14\/core-inflation-falls-to-lowest-level-since-october-2021\/?sh=3261f4524975\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">7.7% in 2022<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>Customer behavior is shifting in retail<\/strong>, suggesting declining demand. <\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/11\/18\/economy\/deflation-falling-prices-explained\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Retail prices are dropping<\/strong><\/a>. Prices on many goods and services in the US have fallen in the past year, including those for gas, airfares, and smartphones. <\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/willskipworth\/2023\/11\/16\/walmart-ceo-predicts-food-deflation-may-come-soon\/?sh=644ecce32046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Grocery prices mirror the deflationary trend<\/strong><\/a>. After a post-pandemic rise of up to 24%, prices have since increased by just 2% since January.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>However, not all experts view this potential deflationary period with alarm<\/strong>. Some argue <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2023-11-20\/cathie-wood-and-walmart-aren-t-speaking-the-same-deflation-language?sref=mIZ1p2Gzhttps:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2023-11-20\/cathie-wood-and-walmart-aren-t-speaking-the-same-deflation-language?sref=mIZ1p2Gz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>deflation is a common pattern in retail<\/strong><\/a> and it doesn&#8217;t necessarily signal a broader economic downturn. They separate this deflation from the type that hampers macroeconomic activity and argue that a moderate drop in goods prices could stabilize prices in the economy overall. This may even set the stage for lower interest rates in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-addressing-deflation\"><strong>Addressing Deflation&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The US government has several strategies to combat deflation:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Federal Reserve can:&nbsp;<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/d\/deflation.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Increase the money supply<\/strong><\/a> to encourage spending, typically done by purchasing securities.&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/d\/deflation.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Halt interest rate hikes<\/strong><\/a> to prevent a shock to the economy and reduce interest rates to stimulate spending and economic activity.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Lawmakers can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/d\/deflation.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>stimulate economic growth<\/strong><\/a><strong> by reducing taxes<\/strong> or increasing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-should-the-government-spend-money-on\/\">government spending<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-looking-ahead\"><strong>Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While a period of declining prices is far from certain at this point, the early warning signs of deflation may now be significant enough that the possibility can no longer be ignored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is deflation in America a good or bad thing? How does it impact American households and the broader economy? In mid-November, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and investor Cathie Wood flagged the potential of a deflationary period in the US, citing shifting consumer behavior and falling prices. Deflation, while promising lower prices for consumers, can signal a slowing economy and lead to wage cuts, job losses, and potentially a recession. Here&#8217;s a look at what deflation would mean for US citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":118993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A period of deflation may be on the horizon in America. While that sounds great after a period of inflation, it might not be good news.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A period of deflation may be on the horizon in America. While that sounds great after a period of inflation, it might not be good news.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-08T18:16:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-12T18:18:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-08T18:16:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-12T18:18:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\"},\"wordCount\":615,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Economics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\",\"name\":\"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-08T18:16:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-12T18:18:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"A period of deflation may be on the horizon in America. While that sounds great after a period of inflation, it might not be good news.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\",\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Aster\"},\"description\":\"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"SEO Team Lead\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern? - Shortform Books","description":"A period of deflation may be on the horizon in America. While that sounds great after a period of inflation, it might not be good news.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?","og_description":"A period of deflation may be on the horizon in America. While that sounds great after a period of inflation, it might not be good news.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-12-08T18:16:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-12T18:18:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Aster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Aster","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Aster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f"},"headline":"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?","datePublished":"2023-12-08T18:16:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-12T18:18:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/"},"wordCount":615,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg","articleSection":["Economics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/","name":"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern? - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-08T18:16:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-12T18:18:07+00:00","description":"A period of deflation may be on the horizon in America. While that sounds great after a period of inflation, it might not be good news.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg","width":1024,"height":576},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deflation-in-america\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Deflation in America: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f","name":"Hannah Aster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Aster"},"description":"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.","knowsAbout":["Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing"],"jobTitle":"SEO Team Lead","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/inflation-and-deflation.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118982"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119004,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118982\/revisions\/119004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}