Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Is inflation a good or bad thing? Why do governments want some inflation?
If there's no inflation (or alternately there's deflation) people would tend to sit on money and wait for the prices to drop. This in pretty bad for pricier stuff like real estate/housing industry where a few percent can make a big difference.  For a growing economy a small inflation is good as people would go out and buy new stuff when they want it knowing they will not get a better deal if they wait a year or so.