Just read the Federal Reserve meeting minutes. The impression from this meeting is that the Fed is not debating whether to cut interest rates, but rather whether to do it now or wait a bit longer.

Most officials agree on the direction, but lack enough confidence that inflation has truly safely retreated, so the December rate cut is more about risk management than a clear judgment of economic weakening.

Those supporting a pause worry about inflation stickiness and the risk of policy signals being misinterpreted, while those supporting a rate cut are more concerned about a sudden deterioration in employment.

Overall, the disagreement is more about the pace rather than the stance, indicating that future policy will heavily depend on data, with rate cuts likely, but proceeding slowly and more cautiously.