Low Inflation Worries the Euro Zone

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/business/international/another-worryingly-low-inflation-rate-for-the-euro-zone.html?_r=0

Prices in the 17 European Union member states that were using the euro in 2013 have risen in December at an annual rate of only 0.8 percent. The European Central Bank seeks to keep price growth steady at about 2 percent. Europe is experiencing disinflation and if the rate of inflation keeps falling, Europe could face outright deflation. Deflation increases the real value of debt and may aggravate recessions and lead to a deflationary spiral (decreases in price lead to lower production, which in turn leads to lower wages and demand, which leads to further decreases in price).  While an increase in the purchasing power of one’s money benefits some, it amplifies the sting of debt for others. After a period of deflation, the payments to service a debt represent a larger amount of purchasing power than they did before deflation.

http://netindian.in/news/2013/12/16/00027130/indias-annual-inflation-rate-rises-752-november-2013

 India's annual inflation rate rises to 7.52% in November 2013

This article talks about inflation rate and how prices change in India. Many good and services prices have gone up, but some goods and services have gone down. People now have to pay more compared to what they had to before inflation. People don't have enough money to purchase what they need/want which hurts the economy. This is the fifth consecutive month that inflation rate increased; it might continue to go up. India’s economy is hurt because India has to pay more for imports. India Rupee’s value isn’t that high comparing to other countries’ currency values. India had to fly tons of gold to Europe to get an emergency loan a few months ago. As we can see, India’s economy is collapsing quite quickly. At this rate, India might even have to revalue the Rupee.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/On-Retirement/2013/11/26/how-inflation-affects-your-financial-future

How inflation affect your financial future

This article talks about inflation and prices in the next 30 years. It sounds pretty scary to me, to be honest. I’d never thought that prices could go up that high in the next 30 years. Assuming that inflation occurs in the next 30 year, many people will suffer. Prices would be so high, but will our incomes keep up with inflation? Retirees would be the ones who suffer the most from inflation, because they have fixed income.  Now, we can import goods from countries at a lower cost because our money’s value greater than some of the countries; for instance, Vietnam speaking in term of currency. Our economy would be hurt if we have to import goods at a much high cost because the value of our money is getting lower. There could be some day that many countries would stop exporting goods to the U.S. because of inflation. While inflation increases 500 or 600 percent at a time, our incomes only increase by a few percent. There’s no guarantee that we can keep up with inflation. On the other hand, we can’t be sure if inflation will occur.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/11/05/its-time-to-start-hoping-for-more-inflation

It's time to start hopping for more inflation

This article talks about how inflation helps boost the economy. Deflation can cause higher unemployment. In theory, I agree with this article, but looking at the economy right now, I don’t think we should hope for more inflation. Prices increased a lot in the past years, but incomes barely increase at all. We’re already making less money and have to pay more to get something that we could get at a lower price before. Things are already too expensive now, why ask for more inflation when there will be people suffering from it? What will people with fixed income going to do when they can’t afford their living? We shouldn't be too greedy.

Senate Democrats back automatic debt limit hikes

It is bad enough when the debt ceiling was lifted. Now, the government wants to have an automatic debt ceiling. They want the ceiling to go up automatically when they are borrowing more money. Unlike before, they will stop when they hit the limit and try to lift the ceiling. Having an automatic debt ceiling is a horrible idea because there is not an actual limit. The limit is supposed to prevent our nation from borrowing too much money. Without an actual limit on debt, our government would not refrain from borrowing money.

http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2013/10/29/senate-democrats-back-automatic-debt-limit-hikes

Growing the Debt: US resumes $1.6B in aid to Pakistan

I just can't believe this! The debt ceiling was just lifted and the amount of debt is going up every day. I think it is not fair for us, because U.S. citizens are working hard and paying taxes to the government, but our government is spending on foreign aids. We are not getting much out of Pakistan, so why are we wasting our money? Pakistanis don't work for us and they don't pay taxes to the government. It is not much different from going to a restaurant and ask the employees to let you eat for free. I understand building relationships with other countries is good, but we also have to think about our citizens.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/21/growing-debt-us-resumes-16b-in-aid-to-pakistan/

Washington is already $300B over US debt limit

This article is similar to the other article, but we get some specific numbers here. The amount of debt per capita has tripled to $148,629 if we only count those who pay taxes. Otherwise, the amount of debt is $53,715 per U.S. citizen. According to the article, there isn't a debt limit yet. So the federal government can borrow as much they want . I don't think it's a good thing and that we should set a debt limit. On the second thought, it would not really make a difference because they can just eliminate the debt limit again!

http://nypost.com/2013/10/18/washington-is-already-300b-over-us-debt-limit/