Paulson says inflation looks manageable

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Paulson says inflation looks manageable

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Monday that inflation appeared to be at a very manageable level, which would help to sustain a U.S. economic expansion that is now translating into real wage gains for average workers.

Paulson, in welcoming remarks to economists gathered at the Treasury for a round-table discussion of the U.S. economy, said it appeared that the U.S. economy had successfully transitioned to a more sustainable level of growth, "something that looks like 3 percent a year."

"One of the things that we're looking at is a strong economy that makes it easier to deal with some of the very major challenges we have," Paulson said. "It's much easier to undertake things like entitlement reform, social security, energy security from the position of a very strong economy."