The end of 2008 was a massive disinflationary period as the inflation rate fell from lofty heights until in January 2009 the inflation rate had fallen in both the U.S. and Japan to about zero. Deflation followed as the rate fell below the zero line through July. But then the two countries started diverging as the massive trillion dollar bailout began kicking in in the U.S. It kicked the U.S. inflation rate up to almost three percent before petering out.
The inflation rate stayed negative (deflationary) in Japan however as prices continued to fall by 1% to 2% per year, which is probably where the U.S. would have been without the trillion dollar stimulus.
Inflation in the U.S. currently stands at 1.14% for August and the last numbers we have for Japan are -0.9% for July. So from the chart we can see the comparison and we can see what we got for our trillion dollars. Was it worth putting our children in debt for the rest of their lives for that?
To calculate the U.S. inflation rate between any two dates use our Inflation Calculator.
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