Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, maybe we should be more worried about deflation, a vicious circle where prices are dropping, forcing businesses to lay people off, who then can't afford to buy anything, and thus pushing prices still further downward.

Favorite quote from the article:

Quote:
“If you print enough money, you can create inflation,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and now a professor at Harvard.


For some reason, I find this to be less than completely reassuring. You're saying we can always devalue the dollar faster than the value of products can drop.

Pop quiz: in a deflationary/inflationary cycle like this, what's the optimum investment strategy?