But the Fed — burned by its failure to foresee the inflation spike of 2021 and 2022 — isn’t ready to say that yet. Its economic projections, mostly made before Wednesday morning’s numbers, show only gradual progress against inflation. Of course, it didn’t cut rates (nobody thought it would), and its statement about that decision was only slightly more dovish than the last one.

The rest of us, however, don’t have to be that cautious. Inflation has basically been defeated, and interest rates will be coming down — not now, and maybe not at the next meeting, but soon and for the rest of this year and much of next.