This resulted in a collapse of the bond market and the eventual failure of the entire savings and loan industry in the United States in the 1980s. The United States and most of the developed world have benefited tremendously over the past 30 years from a steady drop in long-term bond rates. With inflation averaging between 1.4% and 3.2% in 2011 and 2012, long-term Treasury bonds should not be trading anywhere near their current levels.