Chris Martenson: Here Comes Inflation and Deflation

08-09-2010 • Businessinsider.com/

In an interview with Tech Ticker, writer and analyst Chris Martenson makes the case for stagdeflation, or basically, inflation and deflation simultaneously, an idea which has suddenly become the en vogue outlook of the moment. Martenson thinks we’re “dangerously close” to entering a stage of ‘stagflation’ that crippled the economy and market in the 1970s. “That really squeezes the workers even harder than any other condition you can experience," he says, because wages are stagnant while the price of goods and services rises. With both fiscal and monetary stimulus winding down, Martenson is convinced a double-dip recession is imminent, if not already under way: "The early data is saying, 'weakness still is here' and we’re going to have to live with this for a while,” he says.