The battle may be more intense than usual this year, with high gas prices and a general economic slowdown pointing to a deceleration from the rate of spending growth in 2005.

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The fact is, given the size of this our current monetary largesse, any substantive deceleration in the rate of monetary inflation from here ushers in the real possibility of another financial and economic bust, and a monumental one at that.

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Even with the widely expected deceleration of growth in the current quarter few expect much more than 2% at an annual rate the world's largest economy is still a long way from contracting.

ECONOMIST: Still on amber