RE: The two percent inflation target

From a speech by Stanley Fischer (PDF) on Woodford, Patinkin, and Wicksell:

Wicksell states that both inflation and deflation are evils, but that it is generally believed that what is most desirable is a situation “in which prices are rising slowly but steadily” (p.3). He likens the arguments for this viewpoint as reminding one “of those who purposely keep their watches a little fast so as to be more certain of catching their trains” (p.3). Rational man that he was, he dismisses such behavior ... as not being able to survive in the long run.