Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, famously quipped, "In theory at least, helicopter money could prove a valuable tool," in reference to the fact if the Federal Reserve was to simply print money and then dump it from helicopters down to the ground to consumers, that doing so, would stave off debilitating deflation, and bring back a healthy dosage of inflation to the pricing of goods. In recent years, the Federal has printed money like a madman through its various quantitative easing programs, but all this, hasn't really produced the desired effect of inflation, for the most basic of reasons, which is, if the money so generated does not pretty much go directly into the hands of consumers, it rather than being spent or being utilized for productive things such as factory improvement and capital investments, will actually gravitate towards equities, in which because the cost of money is so low, investors can make money by literally doing and risking little or nothing, by simply performing passive investing, which resolves little or nothing.
In point of fact, when economies stagnate, the most natural of states is deflation, because workers that do not earn more money, and businesses that do not make more money from the items that they sell, are stuck in the same boat, which is deflation, because producers of goods do not have the pricing power to raise prices, and consumers do not have the extra money to pay for the higher prices of goods, so the basket of goods that they do purchase, is of a lesser quality or a different mix of goods in order to stay afloat.
The reason that governments fear deflation so much, is that anytime a country degenerates into deflation, there is the distinct possibility that it can also disintegrate into a depression, because if consumers know that prices are in a freefall, they will spend less now, in order to acquire more later, and if businesses recognize that sales are slowing at their current pricing structure, they will cut prices sooner or provide more bells and whistles for the same price now, so as to recover ready money in order to invest in products that will sell to the general public. In addition, businesses that are being squeezed for profit, often look to reduce labor by laying off personnel, and people that are unemployed or are fearful of being unemployed prudently reduce spending so as to be able to maintain as long as possible their current assets in life. However, once money gets tight, they will be forced to sell off hard assets in order to survive, and these assets will be sold at distressed pricing, inflaming further the cycle of deflation and depression.
So too, in this era of easy credit, people and businesses have debt that can only properly be served with appropriate income and profits, and if they are not able to achieve such things, then those in debt, must somehow deleverage themselves from the debt that they are in, which, in a time of deflation, creates an incredibly vicious spiral, which can lead to a very bad and devastating depression. Debts always are easier to pay with money that has devalued itself over time through inflation, but not too much inflation so that the money itself becomes questioned as a reasonable storage of value, but just enough to keep the belief going that all is basically well. This government wants you to believe that they have everything under control, but, the reality of it is that it is a monetary house of cards, which cannot stand in its current form, forever.