I don't suspect much at all will change for the average Joe. Given how low unemployment rates are, doubling them won't effect that many more. Things will get a lot more expensive, but anyone who can't afford it will just live on credit for a while. The govt will then pass another ridiculous law that bails them out just like the idiots who couldn't afford their ARM payments when their rates went up 1 or 2 points. The end result will be that foreigners will end up owning a bigger piece of the american pie as our debt to other nations increases. In the end, no one can afford for the US economy to tank so bad that it collapses, so although we may end up with heavy inflation for an extended period, it will only be to match what most other nations in the world are already at.

Looks like it is getting time to think about buying a bicycle again.