After the FOMC’s June 2023 meeting, an article in the Wall Street Journal noted that “officials at the June meeting penciled in two more increases this year and the minutes said that projection would be a valuable tool in shaping public expectations about the need to lift rates further to bring inflation down to the Fed’s 2% target.”

a. Which of the FOMC’s monetary policy tools is the article describing?

b. What does the FOMC hope will be the result of using this tool is in a situation when the inflation rate is well above the Fed’s target rate?