Friends, it's official: the Fed has raised interest rates for the first time in three years. Big deal, you say (while rolling your eyes)? Hey, sarcasm is the laziest form of humor, you know. It really isn't a big deal, in itself. A quarter point here or there won't cause anyone to panic. What this means, though, is that: A) our long struggle against inflation isn't over, by a long shot, and B) the Fed probably realizes that no one will be buying our government bonds going forward unless we pay a decent rate of interest. Fair enough. The problem, as I've pointed out countless times before, is that America's business model, and particularly its spendthrift public finances, are based on easy credit. When that credit becomes less easy, well, the consequences could eventually be profound. Eventually, but not today...so relax!
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/16/fed-rate-decision-september-2026.html
Dr. Waddy: I make this comment as one who has little understanding of economics: don't higher fuel prices exacerbate inflation? As I recall, the "stagflation" of the late 70s was often attributed to our shameful dependence on the largesse of atavistic Middle East potentates who kept us in fear of another oil embargo . Now that President Trump has set our superlative energy industry free to do what it does best, without disingenuous radical roadblocks designed only to destroy the industry, why don't we just rely on our domestic sources of oil and gas? Wouldn't that cost less? If its made necessary by recalcitrant far left obstructionists like the one party NY state administration, maybe we could declare an "energy emergency" for the sole purpose of corralling the America haters who would of course try their best to subvert anything which affirms the domestic energy industry's common sense "unforgivably heretic" production in proven energy sources.
ReplyDeleteI've heard creditable commentary to the effect that oil prices are the product of an international process, about which I am ignorant. Why can't we just go it alone ?
RAY TO DR. WADDY AND JACK
ReplyDeleteSince I am mentally challenged in the field of high level economics, the only thing I understand about your article is the photo of someone's palace. That is a palace isn't it?