I'm old enough to remember when it was Japan that was destined to challenge the US for economic dominance. Last couple decades, not so much:

The Bank of Japan announced on Tuesday its most determined effort yet to end years of economic stagnation, saying it would switch to an open-ended commitment to buying assets next year and doubling its inflation target to 2 percent.

Hear that? Not enough inflation can be bad!

Despite all our allegedly inflationary deficit spending, the US inflation rate for 2012 was only 1.7 percent. If I were benevolent dictator, I'd print some money and spend it rebuilding crumbling infrastructure and educating our children. And if that bumped up the inflation rate a point or so, no biggie.