“[W]e may well at present be seeing the first stirrings of an increase in the inflation rate--something that we would like to happen.”  Stanley Fischer, Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board

The primary task of the central bank is to avert catastrophe, making sure that nothing really bad happens. This risk management approach imparts a natural asymmetry to policymakers’ words and deeds. Sometimes, it calls for bold, aggressive action. Others times, it means cautious plodding. Everyone agrees that 2008 was a clear case of the former. Most Federal Reserve officials argue that the current circumstance exemplifies the latter...