I don't think so. That's just justification for permanent inflation, which would not be so prevelent if our currency wasn't issued by fiat.
You're half right on this point. It is true that we have had "permanent inflation" because we're on a fiat currency. IIRC the average annual inflation rate since dropping the gold standard is around 3%.
You're missing the other half of the equation. Namely, when the USD was on or linked to a hard currency, or if it was otherwise fixed, the economy would yo-yo between periods of inflation and deflation.
For example, during a deflation consumers slowly realize that the cost of goods will fall in 6-12 months, and they often put off major purchases. Companies react by reducing production and/or inventory, which means they fire people, which means people can't buy as much, which exerts more downward pricing pressure, and so forth. This is known as a "deflationary spiral." Not every deflation winds up causing a spiral. However, that was a key driver of unemployment during the Great Depression.
You may have a few unusual situations like what we see now, where savings rates are below inflation rates, which slightly erodes the value of those liquid holdings. However, this in turn exerts pressure on citizens to purchase goods, which causes a virtuous spiral, opposite of the deflationary one. This is also a temporary situation, as indicated by how savings are at "historic lows."
I.e as long as purchasing power keeps up with inflation, then low rates of inflation are not a problem.
And moving to a fixed currency is not going to result in stable pricing. Quite the opposite, in fact. Which is one of many reasons why we use a fiat currency.
As for your claim that real prices have been going down for years? What fantasy world does that come from? In order for consumer prices to "really be going down" we must focus on those products people would consider "needs"....
I did not say that prices are
exclusively falling, I said that some prices rise and others fall.
And yes, this is visible to those who actually track prices.