, Columnist
Overcoming Our Inordinate Fear of Inflation
Recessions cause much more harm than rising prices, yet many people see them as equally bad.
Some things are worth putting behind us.
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Here’s a question: Why do we care so much about preventing inflation?
When I put this query to baby boomers, they tell me that if I had lived through the inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s, I would understand. But this was also a time of slow growth, deep recessions and terrible asset returns. Inflation was hardly the only problem the U.S. economy was facing. So why does it stand out so strongly in our collective memory?