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Trump’s former pick to join the Federal Reserve has proposed a radical solution to solve inflation

Updated: 01-11-2024, 09.58 AM

Millions of Americans are frustrated that their dollars aren’t going as far as they once did at the supermarket, on rent or on car insurance.

Judy Shelton, a controversial economist who has been floated as a potential pick by former President Donald Trump to lead the Federal Reserve if he wins the November presidential election, has proposed a radical solution: The Fed should aim for no inflation at all.

Currently, the Fed targets a stable inflation rate, where prices rise at a slow-but-steady pace of just 2%. It’s supposed to happen so gradually that people barely notice it.

A zero percent inflation target might be popular, but it would represent a sharp departure – one that mainstream economists warn would backfire.

“Stable inflation is an oxymoron because it means it’s not stable,” Shelton told CNN in a recent interview.

Shelton, whom Trump unsuccessfully nominated to the Federal Reserve Board in 2020, has long argued that a zero-inflation target would help everyday Americans who are hurt when their paychecks fail to keep up with prices.

“Why not just go all the way and make it zero and make life much less complicated for all of us who have to use the dollar and constantly express things in terms of inflation adjusted?” said Shelton, who has authored a new book about money titled “Good as Gold.”

However, mainstream economists and Fed watchers caution that a zero-inflation target at the Fed would be dangerous.

“I think it’s a bad idea. It’s misguided,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNN.

The biggest concern voiced by Zandi and others is that zero inflation is uncomfortably close to deflation, the falling-price environment that freaks out economists and central bankers alike.

“Deflation was a defining feature of the Great Depression,” said Zandi, noting that falling prices made it nearly impossible for businesses and consumers to pay down debt. “If history is any guide, you don’t want to go down that path. It’s never worked out well.”

Although deflation might sound amazing to consumers (who doesn’t like discounts?), in practice falling prices cause people to delay buying stuff.

After all, why spend $300 on a grill today if you think it’ll be cheaper in a few weeks? And those delays can force prices to fall further, causing even more delays. Rinse and repeat.

“Deflation can become a spiral with no end – because there is no way for monetary policy to counter it,” said Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan economist who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

In fact, one reason the Fed set its inflation target at 2% is because it’s safely away from that deflation-danger zone.

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