Monday, August 22, 2016

The Fed Raising Its Price Inflation Target Rate, Who Would Have Thunk It?

Paul Krugman comments on a new paper by San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank president John Williams:
 [A] new paper by John Williams at the San Francisco Fed, which is noteworthy because Williams is the highest-placed Fed official yet to suggest that maybe the inflation target should be higher
The possibility of the Fed raising its target price inflation rate comes as no surprise to EPJ Daily Alert readers. In May, I wrote:

 They will play these games of when to make the next rate hike and get away with it while inflation remains relatively subdued, but when the inflation is significantly over the 2% target, they will at first, as Fischer is starting to do, make excuses as to why the climbing inflation can be allowed to run a "little" hot.
The Fed will increase interest rates slowly, but nowhere near enough to battle the price inflation that is coming.

The idea that the Fed is going to go to negative rates anytime soon is absurd.

   -RW

2 comments:

  1. --- [A] new paper by John Williams at the San Francisco Fed, which is noteworthy because Williams is the highest-placed Fed official yet to suggest that maybe the inflation target should be higher ---

    "You know that mandate that says we should maintain price stability? Yeah, that one. Well, forget about it, because neener neener."

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  2. John "5 rate hikes in 2016" Williams? What a joke.

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