> Prices on goods used to stay relatively static for months or years at a time, and sometimes even trended downwards. Prices have basically only gone up on almost everything for the past 5 years
No, consumer prices trending downward is called deflation and the economy has been actively managed to try to prevent that for a very long time. Mild inflation has been the target and rule for a very long time, with the deviations being high inflation outside of a few major economic collapses. This is not a new trend of the last 5 years.
Prices on some things trend downward without inflation as the products become cheaper to manufacture and distribute due to process improvements and economy of scale.
Take, for instance, flat screen tvs. The first 42" flat screen TV, released in 1997, cost $18,750, or the equivalent of $37,201 in today's money.
Obviously this is not an apples to apple comparison, its a clarification that on some goods prices decrease regardless of inflation due to forces outside of the relative value of a dollar.
No, consumer prices trending downward is called deflation and the economy has been actively managed to try to prevent that for a very long time. Mild inflation has been the target and rule for a very long time, with the deviations being high inflation outside of a few major economic collapses. This is not a new trend of the last 5 years.