Since 1979, when Paul A. Volcker took the helm at the Federal Reserve, the mission of the central bank has been clear: to beat inflation down by repeated clubbings with the monetary policy truncheon. It's time to celebrate the Fed's success. By its own definition, the long fight for price stability has been won, convincingly. The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that core inflation―outside of food and en-ergy―rose only 2.6% from Janu-ary, 2001, to January, 2002. Over the past five years, it has been hovering around 2.5% or so (chart), with no sign of either an inflationary surge or a deflationary spiral. Inflation is no longer a factor in long-term decision-making by companies, consumers, and investors. And as Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has argued, that means the U.S. is effectively at price stability.
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机译：自1979年保罗·沃尔克（Paul A. Volcker）掌管美联储以来，中央银行的使命就很明确：通过与货币政策警棍反复打成一团，压低通货膨胀。现在是庆祝美联储成功的时候了。根据其自己的定义，令人信服的是赢得了长期的价格稳定之战。劳工统计局的最新数据显示，从2001年1月至2002年1月，核心通货膨胀率（食品和能源之外）仅增长了2.6％。在过去的五年中，它一直徘徊在2.5左右％左右（图表），没有通胀激增或通缩螺旋的迹象。通货膨胀不再是公司，消费者和投资者进行长期决策的因素。正如美联储主席格林斯潘（Alan Greenspan）所指出的那样，这意味着美国实际上处于价格稳定状态。
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