the problem is the douche bags running the economy( Central bank/Treasury ) are in a horrible position. They know now that they let a huge housing bubble build and are scared to raise rates/tighten liquidity because it will cause a big old fashion financial meltdown with many bank failures and all of the messy things that come with this. So they can't act to fight the inflation problem with their full powers. My gut tells me that the inflation numbers are understating reality and the housing bubble problem is worse than their public commentary.
Alan Greenspan threw a big party for the baby boomers and wrecked the house. Cleaning it up will cause some pain.