Mainstream economics including people like the Fed have been substantially more worried about deflation than inflation for the last 5-10 years. Many thought tha

Mainstream economics including people like the Fed have been substantially more worried about deflation than inflation for the last 5-10 years. Many thought that inflation was dead forever and that their biggest problem was that they couldn't print money fast enough over the longterm to avoid a deflationary bust. It's hard to understate the degree to which fed economists didn't see this coming.