It was telling when even Marketplace on NPR - a general supporter of the market status quo - is criticizing the Fed essentially saying they don't understand the role of inflation. Why then the whole 2% assumption?
https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/20/economy/fed-might-not-have-inflation-all-figured-out
I don't particularly take it as 'reassuring' like the guest on this segment that they admit a lack of understanding but still consider to act upon it as a part of the Fed's mission of controlling money supply and balancing the economy/employment.
The Fed's mission has not been fundamentally changed based on the considerable lessons from 2008 - they still have the same overall mission - and the beneficiaries of the current low rate system are corporations and wealthy investors. Trump of course appreciates this mission and status quo despite his 2016 bromides about the debt bubble and the Fed's role in it as a member of this class of institutional investors, hedge fund managers, and big business moguls.
The reason inflation is staying below 2% is obvious. The Fed
says that 2% inflation is a
target but
acts like 2% inflation is a
ceiling, which means they're *really* targeting inflation somewhere below 2%, and the market is pricing itself accordingly.
