So, the Federal Reserve essentially has two missions—control inflation and control unemployment—missions that are often at odds, forcing the Fed to strike a balance in favor of one or the other. Loosen up on monetary policy to spur the economy and thus employment, and they risk upping inflation. Clamp down on the economy in order to fend off inflation, and they clamp down on job creation.

Nothing to link to here, but I'm thinking we could use a little more inflation.

I mean, if there's ever a time to print a little extra money and pump it into the economy it's now. You know, not Weimar Republic proportions, but enough to really give the economy a boost, even if it risks bumping the inflation rate into, say, the 5 percent range. A hotter economy means more job growth, and higher inflation means a weaker dollar which means more exports which means a hotter economy which means more job growth.

Furthermore, the real debt crisis in the US is personal debt, and it is disproportionately generational. Young people are graduating college with six-figure debt burdens and few job prospects. Young families are upside down on their mortgages. But higher inflation rate would eat away at the value of that debt, making it more manageable, and as incomes rise to match consumer prices, this lower debt to income ratio will also help boost the economy.

Of course, higher inflation hurts people with assets, particularly those on fixed incomes. Well, particularly those on fixed low incomes. But that's part of the balance the Fed always strikes, and for decades it has focused on low inflation at the expense of jobs and to the disadvantage of the young.