Apologize if this has been mentioned before, but I remain a bit confused and find this thread fascinating.
It seems like those talking about deflation are referring to asset price deflation wheras the inflationistas are referring to consumer prices. In my mind, there is a good chance of both of these occurring simultaneously-the recession causes asset price deflation while the commodities boom, emerging economy demand, and dollar devaluation cause consumer inflation.
End result is stagflation, deflation (asset), and inflation (consumer prices) simultaneously. End effect is boomers don’t have enough to retire (this is already true, but it gets worse), but those of us in the younger set are better positioned on investments since prices are reasonable, but lose a few notches on standard of living as wages don’t keep up with the prices of the stuff we buy.
