another example to help you understand. america wants to keep control over inflation because a lot of foreign investors have money tied up in american assets (treasury bills, stocks, etc.). if inflation is high, then the real rate of return on these investments could be lower than that offered elsewhere. this would lead to fewer foreign investment in america, which itself is bad, because america has a lot of consumer and corporate debt. another reason that this is bad is that it will make the dollar slide (because of decereased demand for the dollar). ciao..