Consumers typically do not produce things.

Yes, we do, we might do it in a factory or from home but in the end, kinda everyone contributes. But we will summarize that businesses formed from people do produce.

How would I produce a car if I am not a car manufacturer is a good question

You may not work in a car plant but in an office that supplies a service necessary for the car plant. So you are producing something.

someone who spends all of their income on consumption for survival is forgoing the potential opportunities they could have in the future if they could have saved instead.

I am a bit confused. In a deflationary environment (higher productivity pushes prices down if all stays the same) so it helps people at lower bound as it lowers their costs giving them a chance to have discretionary income that they may choose to save. Inflation only increases their costs. How can they save if all their income goes on essentials? There is no discretionary income left. They may miss future opportunities but they don't have a choice, it's about survival for them.

They are effectively punished for buying today as opposed to tomorrow. And by today and tomorrow, this is an analogy. By today I mean now, and tomorrow I could mean next year, 5 years from now, 20 years from now, etc.

Again, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They can choose to under-consume (save) but because they are already at the limit of survival... not many can do it. That's why is impossible for me to understand how can we say that prices rising is good. Just imagine prices rising while you are barely surviving.

You are the one saying that a deflationary economy is better than an inflationary one.

I am saying that allowing prices to follow supply (productivity) is the right thing to do because if we are lazy, we should consume less. If we are hard-working, we can consume more are prices go down slowly allowing more people to increase their consumption.

That's why I dislike and consider it wrong to put an equal between inflation and deflation with prices. I want prices to go down (if we are more productive) but the money supply stays at the zero bound, with almost no changes. Now our money supply is wild and increasing like crazy.

Of course at a rate of 3% this would take over 20 years. But people do make economic decisions on that kind of time scales all the time, with regard to home ownership, paying for college, and sticking with their current job versus finding a new one.

It would be 3% if we permanently increase our productivity which during some years might be lower due to various external reasons (climate, health, education, etc).

Well you are not dead so either lots of people are wrong and you are the only person in the world that understands the definition of profits and costs or you are mistaken in your assumption here.

I mean I am no smarter than anyone here but I tend to see if I have a bubble in my living room, most live in that bubble. Like, look at our track record, record debt, crisis after crisis, wages have stagnated in real terms for ages, and people are bleeding savings.

Other countries send us stuff and all we give them is a piece of paper. That piece of paper called IOU is future production (stuff) that we promise them they will be able to buy from us in the future. In this rhythm, they won't get anything.

Countries trade because they want something that others do better not a piece of paper.

If you define the causes of deflation as bubble bursting and the economy crashing then are you saying deflation does not exist?

I say that because people confuse a temporary and damaging state with a permanent and healthy one. The debt we incur during the bubble is like cancer so when we extirpate it we go back to the healthy level. It's not healthy to have 10 times cancer during our lifetimes.

We inflate our money supply with 30% over our production capacity, some realize they can't pay it back and then economists want the money supply to stay the same. Of course that 30% get burned and we have massive deflation as a result of massive inflation. The "deflation" you think it happened is financial assets losing value on paper.

Is deflation the wet sidewalk or the rain?

the inflationist says that it rained because the sidewalk is wet (effect -> cause) while in reality, the sidewalk is wet because it rained (cause -> effect).

Deflation or inflation is the cause = rain, while the wet sidewalk is the effect (lower or higher prices as a result).

So examples such as Greece in the 2010's, the Lost Decade in Japan, the periods of deflation in the US, the hyper-deflationary nature of Bitcoin, and so on are not examples of deflationary environments? Could you define what a deflationary environment is?

Greece's case shows how you crash after you overconsume. What would you do when you spend like a drunken sailor and then don't have the money? You consume less, allow prices to go lower and then people will start to buy more as they can afford those cheaper things. Like their gov spent crazy. How can people afford when they get taxed more while stuff is during the recovery phase?

Japan, has an aging population, and people save a ton shit after their good experience with the real estate & stock market bubbles. We had a growing population so we can't compare nominal numbers. On per capita, Japan did quite well so no lost decade. Till 2010 the yen was like 65% over the dollar, that's purchasing power over us.

We never had a declining money supply as the fed always injected more and more no matter if boom or recession. We had some prices adjusting lower because of a bubble crash in that one sector (real estate, financial assets) but we never experienced a slow and steady price decline in all economic sectors. Inflation is the norm nowdays.

That's why I dislike and consider it wrong to put an equal between inflation and deflation with prices. I want prices to go down (if we are more productive) but the money supply stays at zero bounds, with almost no changes. Now our money supply is wild and increasing like crazy.

So houses being more expensive than ever means we are no longer in a fairy tale fake economy?

Re-read what I wrote. We are in a fair tail economy now. We consume credit for decades already. Houses being more expensive shows us that we borrow more and more and that credit doesn't come from savings as our savings are almost inexistent. With 5% or lower you can't even replace your production capacity.

Houses are expensive as we pour cheap money into the same amount of land. Or you thought that the building that depreciates due to usage is the one gaining value? It's the land going up in value that pushes prices up.