'Recessionary Russian roulette': House Dem demands Powell end 'kamikaze' interest rate policyA House Democratic lawmaker is urging the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as soon as possible, warning that failure to do so could plunge the country into a recession.
"I am writing to call upon the Federal Reserve to immediately cut interest rates. Even though the Fed has a statutory dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment, it has swung the pendulum too far in the direction of the former to the detriment of the latter," Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday.
"The rapidly changing conditions on the ground demand a monetary policy shift in favor of maximizing employment and economic growth."
Torres, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, cited the recent July jobs report, which showed a significant slowdown from June's growth. The 114,000 jobs added in July were below expectations, while the unemployment rate ticked up slightly from 4.1% to 4.3%.
He also pointed to the global stock market's CBOE Volatility Index – nicknamed the "fear index," which hit a level not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into an economic tailspin in March 2020.
"Time is running out. The longer the Fed takes to cut interest rates, the greater the risk of a recession. We may be fast approaching the point of no return," Torres said. "A recession is not an inevitability. It is a policy choice over which the Fed has singular power."
"The Fed has the power to stop playing recessionary Russian roulette. It has the power to save the economy from the self-inflicted wounds of a kamikaze interest rate policy that has kept rates too high for too long, inflicting too much damage on too many families and businesses."...............
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/recessionary-russian-roulette-house-dem-demands-powell-end-kamikaze-interest-rate-policy
