[kldavis4]

> The idea that 2% inflation is good for the economy, and deflation is bad smacks of the government selling the idea because increasing government spending via inflation is a way to raise taxes without raising taxes.

I think the premise is that deflation is much much worse (and not amenable to the available controls that the Fed has available) and it is pretty impossible to reliably target < %2 inflation, so effectively the idea of "2% inflation" is the minimal possible amount of inflation.

[WalterBright]

Before the Fed took over the banks, 0% inflation was common and normal. Inflation netted out to zero for the previous century.

The very first year after the Fed took over, endemic inflation settled in.

> and not amenable to the available controls that the Fed has available

We had deflation in the Great Depression because the Fed did not understand their role in creating money.