Press Releases
Fed Still Insists on Stopping Jobs Momentum
Washington D.C. – As the U.S. economy continues to recover with 311,000 jobs added in February, now is the time for the Federal Reserve to back off further interest rate hikes before they derail economic growth, not after.
Alarmingly, during appearances before Congress this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell declared interest rates are ‘likely to be higher’ than previously expected despite recent red flags tshowing the policy threatens to stop economic momentum – including slowing wage growth and declining demand in the U.S. manufacturing sector. The Chairman was grilled by lawmakers on why he intends to ramp up rates further when the Fed’s own economists admit it will cost millions of jobs and bring about a recession. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has also projected that economic growth will grind to a “halt” this year “in response to the sharp increase in interest rates that occurred in 2022.”
As the economy makes huge strides towards a full recovery, it makes no sense for the Fed to stop the momentum now with more job-killing interest rate hikes.
The Fed’s own economists see that continuing down this path is a recipe for recession, but it’s not inevitable. Millions of everyday Americans losing their jobs is simply not worth further rate hikes that have done little to deter greedy corporations from overcharging consumers. The Fed is acting like the captain of the Titanic that sees the iceberg coming but maintains a direct collision course. Rather than do far more harm than good, the Fed should step aside now and let the administration and Congress build on its work to rein in corporate profiteering.”
