The key question ahead of the Fed meeting today was if economic activity is strengthening and broadening, inflation remains elevated, and most people think rates need to go up again, why wait until December? Here's how Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh asked the question (put to him by @colbyLsmith of the NYT). Boiled down, his answer suggested the Fed has built enough credibility that waiting six weeks costs little, so they’ll take the extra information. He never says that outright. Most of the answer offered a defense of his record rather than a rationale for this decision.