Late to the overall conversation, but here goes...
The GTN and the "economy" is fine as it is right now. Yep, I said it and yes I'll be flamed out, but here's why. There is not a single item on the GTN that ANYONE in the game needs. Not a single item.
So this discussion should really separate out Need from Want.
If you need something, every single one of us has the ability to gather the resources and craft the item that we actually need: stims, med packs, adrenals, augments... etc.
If you want something, the GTN is only there to facilitate exchanges of items that players are selling to other players that do not wish to make or earn items themselves. Can't afford it, tough. Go earn credits if you want to buy something. Still can't afford it, tough. Maybe spend $50 on some Cartel Coins and then buy it straight from BioWare. Can't afford that, tough.
As such, the "economy" and inflation that everyone is worried about is in a closed system (the GTN) and therefore false. Last time I looked, people could buy items from vendors for the same price as they did last year. My costs for purchasing Veda Cloth hasn't skyrocketed. The Revan vendors haven't jacked their prices up. Still buying OEM and RPM's with tech frags and making my own augments....
The economy is fine. People just don't want to earn and spend the billion or so credits to buy an armor set or a new crystal for a billion or so credits - tough.