" More recently, the Bank of Japan, eager to move away from zero interest rates, had tightened policy in 2000 and again in 2007. Each time, the move had proved premature and the bank was forced to reverse itself. Still, in the interest of good planning, I thought it made sense for the FOMC to discuss and agree on the mechanics of normalizing policy. And making clear that we had a workable strategy for tightening policy when the time came might ease the concerns of both the hawks inside the Fed and our external critics. "

― Ben S. Bernanke , The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath