NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The arguments are there for both sides of the Fed rate debate.

Oil and gas prices have spiked higher and hurricane dislocations have helped push many already high commodity prices even higher. People are getting worried about higher inflation which could in and of itself breed higher inflation. And jobs have been growing.

And so -- the thinking goes -- the Fed cannot afford to show even a whiff of letting go of its anti-inflation resolve: it must raise rates today.

On the other side we saw a big drop in consumer sentiment last week, led by crumbling expectations, which is a good indicator of future consumer spending. The Philadelphia Fed's survey was weak, another sign that manufacturing has lost some steam. High gas prices are causing lower income consumers and even middle-income consumers to spend less.

And so -- according to the counter-argument -- the prudent course is to just sit one meeting out, to announce a pause while policymakers wait for the mud to be washed away and the winds to die down, so they can assess the lasting impact of Katrina.

But there's still one big reason to believe the Fed will raise rates again today and that's the fact that no policymaker has come forward to give a speech or offer a quote to a reporter that would indicate any desire to deviate from its rate-hiking course.

This Fed, led for 18 years by Alan Greenspan, has found ways to become more and more an intentional stater or leaker or hinter of its intentions. And if history is a guide, the lack of contrary words from the Fed suggests all systems are go for a rate hike.

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Kathleen Hays is economics correspondent for CNN. You can read more of her columns here.