You have an excellent point on the velocity of money. It is almost half of what it would be in a healthy economy, and is almost single handedly keeping inflation lower than it should be.
Two reasons are:
1. The excess of govt spending. It takes way too long for the govt to spend money.
2. Major Corporations are cash rich, and that money is not flowing through the economy.
The real inflation rate as calculated by the 1980 CPI Formula is closer to 8%. See http://www.shadowstats.com
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