Yes, I think we’re on the cusp of a very interesting deflationary period. I say deflationary, but I think it’ll be a wild mix of inflation and deflation. Things like food, energy, water and housing will experience inflation while manufactured goods and many services will deflate.
We’re not there yet, but you can see the forerunners. IBM’s Watson to replace much of the purpose of doctors, financial advisers and business ‘professionals’. While personal service jobs which can’t be automated such as hospice care become every greater in demand. With the 99% having less and less, the deflationary impacts are nil, 76% have literally nothing, living paycheck to paycheck. 95%, have less than two million and of those many of yearly consumption patterns that will blow through any savings quickly.
I can see a scenario were capital is in a race to the bottom of providing ever cheaper good and services while physical labor is robust with much more stringent people controls. IMHO, the big fights in the future will be about immigration and the continue importing of ‘cheap’ labor.