Like the authors, you have causality backwards. You're implying that I cannot find an example where inflation was almost 15% and interest rates were over 16% back in the 1980s. Fed interest rates were lowered after the 2008 crisis to limit deflation. Inflation did not cause low T-bill rates. In fact, logic would dictate that high inflation would increase Treasury rate expectations and the demand for inflation-protected TIPS.
The reason interest rates were low after Congress nearly defaulted on their debts is because federal bonds were considered a safer risk/reward than the markets. Wall Street trusted our treasury to pay its interest this last year more than they trusted blue chips to both hold their value and pay dividends with an unstable recovery. They were even holding onto T-bills while losing to inflation at times.
The reason interest rates were low after Congress nearly defaulted on their debts is because federal bonds were considered a safer risk/reward than the markets. Wall Street trusted our treasury to pay its interest this last year more than they trusted blue chips to both hold their value and pay dividends with an unstable recovery. They were even holding onto T-bills while losing to inflation at times.