In Europe, those views are even more deeply held. The German Bundesbank -- still seared by memories of hyperinflation in the 1920s and the collapse of political order that gave rise to the Nazis -- remains ever vigilant. Its president, Jens Weidman, is strongly opposed to many of the recent sovereign bailouts to preserve the euro on the grounds that good money chasing bad will spark inflation.

These officials tend to be firm yet measured in their concern ‑ something that cannot be said of populist politicians and analysis. The Tea Party is fueled not just by debt animus but by a deep-seated belief that "real" inflation is much higher than what the government reports, and it insists that the spending habits of the government will end in the collapse of the dollar, hyperinflation and the government's de facto stealing from hard-working Americans' money.

That is the fear of gold bugs, and added to the mix are the views of former Representative Ron Paul and his son, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), that the Fed is putting the United States in inflation peril. Many professional investors and economists are similarly convinced that the current policies of zero interest rates and deficit spending are setting the stage for massive inflation.

How to explain the inverse relationship between inflation concerns and inflation realities? Yes, low inflation in recent years has been juxtaposed with modest economic growth and wage stagnation for most Americans ‑ as well as for most Europeans and Japanese. Given that perceptions of economic well-being are ultimately tied to disposable income, these forces have largely canceled each other out.

In addition, people tend to be acutely aware of the volatility of energy and food prices, which have spiked - and then receded - many times in past years.

Yet even with food and fuel, inflation perceptions can be deceptive. Many people are aware that the price of a loaf of bread has risen from less than 40 cents in the 1970s to an average of more than $2 today. Food prices have also risen periodically over the past few years in the face of global demand and droughts. That cements a perception of inflation.

Yet over the past few decades, food as an overall percent of income has gone down, down and down. In 1972, Americans spent 15 percent of their disposable income on food; today, that figure is 11 percent. The only shift has been in eating out ‑ people spend more on restaurants and much less on food at home. And that has happened even as incomes have stagnated. Gasoline, which has fluctuated widely, has maintained a steady share of disposable income for decades, at about 3.5 percent, which is now decreasing because of production from shale oil deposits and ever-more-efficient vehicles.

One of the strongest arguments for vigilance against inflation comes from economists following the dicta of Milton Friedman that "inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." In that view, the actions of governments and central bankers are the determining factor, and the experience of the 20th century was that inflation often followed government policies, especially promiscuous government spending. Since that is what happened in the past, many are firmly convinced that it will, perforce, happen in the future.