The Demographic Cliff

Book excerpt: Bestselling author and financial guru Harry Dent shows why we’re facing a “great deflation” and what to do about it now Throughout his long career as an economic forecaster, Harry Dent has relied on a not-sosecret weapon: demographics. He can explain why our economy has risen and fallen with the peak spending of generations, and why we now face a growing demographic cliff with the accelerating retirement of the Baby Boomers around the world. Inflation rises when a larger than usual block of younger people enter the workforce, and it wanes when large numbers of older people retire, downsize their homes, and cut their spending. The mass retirement of the Boomers won’t just hold back inflation; it and massive debt deleveraging will actually cause deflation. Dent explores the implications of his controversial predictions and offers advice on retirement planning, health care, real estate, education, investing, and business strategies.