Current:Home > MyHow 2% became the target for inflation -NextGenWealth
How 2% became the target for inflation
View
Date:2025-04-18 07:15:33
If the Fed had a mantra to go along with its mandate, it might well be "two percent." That number, the Fed's longtime inflation target, has been adopted by many other central banks around the world. Jerome Powell said it 17 times in a press conference last week. It's become almost synonymous with smooth, healthy economic growth.
But how did two percent become the Fed's target? For an organization staffed with mathematicians and economists, the answer is surprisingly unsophisticated. Join us to hear about the history behind the number, and why some economists are calling for a change.
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- 3 bystanders were injured as police fatally shot a man who pointed his gun at a Texas bar
- 'Ladies of the '80s' reunites scandalous 'Dallas' lovers Linda Gray and Christopher Atkins
- Former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord announces he is transferring to Syracuse
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Locked out of local government: Residents decry increased secrecy among towns, counties, schools
- 2024 NFL draft first-round order: Carolina Panthers' win tightens race for top pick
- Ukraine’s military chief says one of his offices was bugged and other devices were detected
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Several feared dead or injured as a massive fuel depot explosion rocks Guinea’s capital
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Así cuida Bogotá a las personas que ayudan a otros
- Study bolsters evidence that severe obesity increasing in young US kids
- Several feared dead or injured as a massive fuel depot explosion rocks Guinea’s capital
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Jeff Roe, main strategist for DeSantis super PAC, resigns
- NFL Week 16 schedule: What to know about betting odds, early lines
- More than 300 rescued from floodwaters in northeast Australia
Recommendation
Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
Así cuida Bogotá a las personas que ayudan a otros
Southwest Airlines reaches $140 million settlement for December 2022 flight-canceling meltdown
Jamie Foxx's Daughter Corinne Foxx Is Engaged to Joe Hooten
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
February 2023 in photos: USA TODAY's most memorable images
Russia adds popular author Akunin to register of ‘extremists and terrorists,’ opens criminal case
Farmers protest against a German government plan to cut tax breaks for diesel