Highly-rated strategist Francois Trahan says that “deflation” is not a dirty word, and that the Federal Reserve could help the economy by allowing deflation to stem commodity price inflation that is “eroding people’s pockets”. Trahan says Fed members and other policymakers and economists are relying on economic principles that aren’t relevant right now. Three main things are making the economy fundamentally different today than it was years ago, he says: consumers are deleveraging; governments are cutting payrolls; and the Federal Reserve has become ineffective. His outlook for the economy is “atrocious”, he says, and he advocates a cautious, safety-first investment approach right now.