Inflation

The inflation rate in the year of 2008 was the highest that it has been in years. Because the economy has been taking a major hit the past couple of years, inflation rates have sky rocketed. Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. Inflation occurs when people spend more and the dollar starts to be worth less and less. The problem with inflation is that it is not helping the economy. The price of gas in the year 2008 reached about $4 a gallon. When the price of something goes up, the value of the dollar lessens. It isn't that the dollar is not worth a dollar anymore, it is that the dollar can't buy you what it used to. With inflation, people tend to invest money and lend money, to make more. This way they can charge interest and the money will end up more valuable when inflation goes down. Inflation keeps getting higher and higher and it is one reason why the economy is doing poorly. For the economy to start to get better, it is necessary for inflation to go down and deflation to rise so that the dollar can start to regain it's value.
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/