ABOVE: Stephen Moore with FreedomWorks appeared on the Wednesday edition of CBN News’ Faith Nation to talk more about how the economic crisis is unfolding. Faith Nation is seen weekdays on the CBN News Channel.
The Federal Reserve is pulling the trigger and raising the federal interest rate for the first time in four years.
In announcing the rate hike today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the increased financial volatility in the face of the war in Ukraine.
“The financial and economic implications for the global economy and the U.S. economy are highly uncertain,” Powell said.
Interest rates could rise as many as seven times this year in an effort to combat sky-rocketing inflation. Wednesday’s rate hike – a quarter of a point – is expected to be followed by six additional rate hikes in that same range.
The increase means higher borrowing costs so consumers and businesses will pay more for mortgages, car loans, and credit card balances.
Stephen Moore, senior economist with FreedomWorks told CBN News’ Faith Nation that the recent action taken by the Federal Reserve was “a band-aid on a heart attack patient.”
He added, “they should of done more and I think they are way behind on the curve in terms of dealing with this inflation surge, especially in the last few months. These quarter-point increases over time is just going to delay the combatting of inflation.”
Moore explained that the Federal Reserve doesn’t have too many options and now it’s trying to catch up.
“They’re still way behind the curve in my opinion and the problem is if you let this inflation continue at this pace, you’re talking about real damage to family incomes,” Moore explained. “You’d have to see all of us getting 8, 9, 10 percent pay raises just to keep up with the inflation rate right now. The best option is to get this inflation down as quickly as possible.”
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