Once, while a good friend was visiting me on a particularly cold winter’s night, the temperature in the poorly uninsulated living room of my old Victorian house dropped to a distinctly chilly 62 degrees. “Can’t you make it any warmer?” she asked? “I’m afraid I can’t,” I said; “the thermostat’s already on 68.” “Try setting it at 80,” she replied.

I didn’t indulge her (well, not that way). But I wonder whether those economists who have been calling for a higher inflation target would have.