Memories fade quickly.
Only a short time ago we were told double-digit inflation was here to stay for the rest of this decade. At one point in 1980, inflation was zooming at an annual rate of 18 percent. I'll always remember traveling this country and seeing how many people were frightened that our way of life was slipping away from us. And indeed, between 1978 and 1980 the buying power of the average weekly paycheck declined almost 9 percent. I remember visiting one store in Lima, Ohio, in October 1980.