Wealth & Money Quote by John W. Snow

“Keep our eye” is the tell: Snow’s line isn’t meant to enlighten so much as to manage attention. It pairs vigilance with reassurance, a rhetorical two-step central bankers and Treasury secretaries use when they want markets calm but not complacent. Inflation is cast as a prowling risk, not a present crisis; the speaker performs seriousness while signaling that no dramatic policy lurch is imminent.

The phrase “reasonably in check” is doing quiet heavy lifting. “Reasonably” leaves room for revisions later without admitting error, and “in check” implies containment through competent stewardship. It’s confidence with an escape hatch. The subtext is less about prices than about credibility: the U.S. government (and its monetary authorities) is watchful, disciplined, and still in control of the narrative.

Then there’s the widening lens: “on the global stage.” That pivot matters because inflation is never purely domestic. By internationalizing the frame, Snow softens accountability (oil shocks, supply chains, currency moves) and invites listeners to compare the U.S. favorably against worse-off peers. It also reassures investors that the U.S. is reading the same dashboard as everyone else, aware of spillovers and competitive pressures.

Contextually, Snow’s tenure at Treasury sat in an era when inflation anxiety hadn’t disappeared, but the bigger political stakes were growth, deficits, and confidence. The line is calibrated to keep expectations anchored: acknowledge the fear people remember, deny the panic they might be tempted to feel.