No more fine tuning: Fed should stay the course on interest rates

Though by most metrics the economy is doing great, that doesn’t mean rising interest rates and inflation haven’t both hurt households and a majority are still living paycheck to paycheck.

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Editorials

November 7, 2023 - 3:35 PM

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell is right to hold the benchmark interest rate steady. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS)

Last week, the Federal Reserve did the right thing by leaving well enough alone, keeping the benchmark interest rate at about 5.4%. With the acute pressure that the board and Chair Jay Powell in particular have faced in the past several months, we’re glad they’ve had the wisdom to know when to step back.

There have been those that, wedded to formulaic understandings about the economy, have insisted it’s all but mechanically impossible for inflation to come down into acceptable ranges without seriously harming the economy. We’ve even heard that we need a recession, that a…

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