The current economic buzz word among TV talking heads is deflation. I think most people are more familiar with deflation's opposite, inflation, where a currency loses value and it takes more and more money to purchase the same product. With deflation, the opposite occurs, products are devalued as opposed to currency, so you can purchase more for less, but the worry is that an economy can get stuck in a downward spiral as industry cuts production which causes job losses which reduces consumer spending which decreases production, which causes job losses, rinse, wash, repeat. The last time the US was in a major deflationary cycle was the Great Depression. I wasn't too concerned with deflation, because we saw prices increase so recently when gas prices shot up in 2008. At that point, prices on many goods increased. This was done in two ways, while you saw your milk was still sold in a gallon size the price increased, while other products saw their shelf prices stay the same and the product size decrease. My milk price has decreased back to pre-2008 levels, but i wonder if all those products that were quietly downsized have been restored to their original size. Anyway, I chalked this fear of deflation up to industries attempt to maintain prices inflated due to the spike in oil prices in 2008. I cynically figured this fear of dropping prices was just a red herring, until August 3.
So, I'm sitting in a Whataburger a little after 5 on a Tuesday, the line snakes halfway through the seating area, every seat is taken, and everyone is wearing orange. A woman with a W painted on her face asked me to sign a release, so my image can be used in potential advertisements. I declined, but watch people sign it, without really reading it. They step up and have their pictures taken. There are orange balloons and streamers. It's bright, and slightly surreal; I feel like I'm in a dream or a figure in a Chagall painting. Orange in every shade is everywhere, on me, on everyone else, on the walls. We all came for the same reason, free food. Whataburger was offering a free hamburger from 5-9pm yesterday if you came wearing orange. They also were accepting burnt orange, coral, salmon, and i'm pretty sure i saw i guy with a pink shirt in line. Ostensibly, it was to celebrate Whataburgers birthday. Hmmmm, ok. I don't really care. I came for the free food. It's not often that all you have to do is wear a certain color, loosely enforced, and get free stuff. Here is where I start to wonder if this is anecdotal evidence of deflation. Taco Cabana was giving out a free taco fajita between 5-9 yesterday as well. They didn't bother with the pretense of birthdays or silly color requirements, no, all you had to do was go ask them for a chicken fajita taco, and they would give you one. That seems like a devaluation of goods to me, first in burgers, then tacos. I started to get an uneasy feeling as the free hamburger, the free taco, and the reasonably priced fried lemon pie settled into my gut. I recalled the people lined up for their free hamburger, and the images from the great depression of people in soup lines. Hopefully the free burger and taco promotions are not economic indicators of a deflationary spiral, but if you see a place giving out free pizzas, then grab your bindle stick, cause it's hobo time.
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