Deborah Danker

In the last several years, a number of current and former members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have developed a new view as to how the Federal Reserve should close the gap between the current rate of inflation and the long-run objective of price stability. Proponents of this new view hold that when inflation is moderate but still above the long-run objective|as is the case currently|the Federal Reserve should not take deliberate action to reduce inflation. Instead, it should wait for external circumstances|e.g., favorable supply shocks and unforeseen recessions|to deliver the desired additional reduction in inflation. Until such disinflationary shocks occur, the Fed should move aggressively to counteract incipient increases in inflation...

This approach to the conduct of monetary policy has come to be known as "the opportunistic approach to disinflation."

From The Opportunistic Approach to Disinflation by Athanasios Orphanides and David Wilcox

To give an indication of how widely expressed a particular view is at a meeting, the minutes use common quantitative wording: ‘‘all,’’ ‘‘most,’’ ‘‘many,’’ ‘‘several,’’ ‘‘few,’’ or ‘‘one,’’ in descending order.