After all, back then, the economy was still weighed down by the after-effects of the 2008 financial crisis, and inflation was running persistently below our 2 percent target. Let's contrast those conditions with the ones we face today. With uncertainty about the economic outlook unusually high today, the pre-2000s concerns about providing explicit forward guidance have regained their relevance.
High uncertainty about the outlook puts a premium on flexibility, and-to the extent that the Committee sees a cost to frequent changes to its forward guidance-the provision of explicit forward guidance could reduce the Committee's flexibility to respond to unexpected changes in economic conditions. The Committee's experience in the second half of last year illustrates this point.