A radical idea to solve inflation from a radical former Fed pick

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.

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.