What's interesting about Volcker is that he changed the Fed's approach away from targeting rates to targeting bank reserves, effectively handing rate control to the market while setting a very wide range for short rates to move in before they would be forced to react. He admitted in his excellent (and rare) book "Changing Fortunes" that there would have been absolutely zero state support for him deliberately hike Fed Funds as high as they ultimately went. Needless to say, rate volatility exceeded the Fed's expectations. Excerpts from the book: