WASHINGTON — For the economy, 2022 was a throwback year. And not in a good way.
At times, it felt like the 1970s or early ’80s. Inflation running rampant. The United States and its European allies engaged in a not-so-Cold War with Russia. A bleak outlook leaving people feeling sour and anxious.
It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.
When the Federal Reserve’s policymakers made their 2022 forecasts a year ago, they seemed almost cheery. After two years of tumult ignited by the pandemic, they foresaw the U.S. economy returning to something close to normal.
They expected consumer inflation to reach 2.6% at the end of 2022 compared with 12 months earlier. That would’ve been only a few ticks above their 2% annual target but nothing ominous — and a clear recovery from high inflation earlier in…
