if inflation occurs, is it all bad? aren't there some winners?

likewise with deflation? if prices go down, doesn't anyone benefit from that?

obviously if one's lost one's job, and have no income at all, then no matter how low the prices are, you still starve.

what am i missing? is ideal steady state economy one that is free from both? does it ever happen?

i intuit that the more up'n'down prices go, the more opportunity for cashing in on speculation, but whether that's true or not, my understanding runs out of map right around this.

anyone got a 'for dummies' answer to my questions?

TIA

~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~