Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, focused on his June testimony before Congress about the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington, DC headquarters.
I would argue that housing affordability has little to do with the Trump admin’s push here. After all, if slashing the overnight borrowing rate leads the bond markets to expect higher long-term inflation — which would surely make sense to me — then those rates on long-term loans like mortgages wouldn’t fall much, if at all.
Anyways, as you pointed out, markets need to know the Fed is insulated from political pressure. This kind of move is a really good way to introduce the exact kind of uncertainty that upends markets.
100% agree with the difference between short term rates and long term rates. But this is an optics game to say that he is reducing rates and doing his part
True. I do remember seeing last week something about a push by the admin to have the treasury purchase some $200 billion in securities that would help lower mortgage rates (don’t quote me there). The combination of those two lends credence to that theory.
Powell and the Federal Reserve are the true architects of economic mischief—but Trump blames them for the wrong reasons. It’s not some failure to raise or lower rates at the “right” moment; the crime is that the Fed exists at all. By creating money out of thin air and manipulating its value, the Federal Reserve warps the economy, fuels unsustainable booms, and guarantees inevitable busts. Trump's analysis is upside down: the Fed is not failing occasionally, it is committing a constant, systemic assault on wealth, production, and liberty. The entire institution is a legalized engine of theft, and Powell is simply its latest steward.
Without the Fed, money would be a product of the market, not of government printing presses. Credit would be real, savings-based, and voluntary, and economic booms and busts would reflect actual human action, not artificial stimulation. The state would lose its power to inflate, steal through hidden taxation, and distort every corner of economic life.
I would argue that housing affordability has little to do with the Trump admin’s push here. After all, if slashing the overnight borrowing rate leads the bond markets to expect higher long-term inflation — which would surely make sense to me — then those rates on long-term loans like mortgages wouldn’t fall much, if at all.
Anyways, as you pointed out, markets need to know the Fed is insulated from political pressure. This kind of move is a really good way to introduce the exact kind of uncertainty that upends markets.
100% agree with the difference between short term rates and long term rates. But this is an optics game to say that he is reducing rates and doing his part
True. I do remember seeing last week something about a push by the admin to have the treasury purchase some $200 billion in securities that would help lower mortgage rates (don’t quote me there). The combination of those two lends credence to that theory.
Yes, I saw that too. Not sure how much it would help. Or the cap on credit card interest rates. Optics
Powell and the Federal Reserve are the true architects of economic mischief—but Trump blames them for the wrong reasons. It’s not some failure to raise or lower rates at the “right” moment; the crime is that the Fed exists at all. By creating money out of thin air and manipulating its value, the Federal Reserve warps the economy, fuels unsustainable booms, and guarantees inevitable busts. Trump's analysis is upside down: the Fed is not failing occasionally, it is committing a constant, systemic assault on wealth, production, and liberty. The entire institution is a legalized engine of theft, and Powell is simply its latest steward.
What does a world without the Fed look like?
Without the Fed, money would be a product of the market, not of government printing presses. Credit would be real, savings-based, and voluntary, and economic booms and busts would reflect actual human action, not artificial stimulation. The state would lose its power to inflate, steal through hidden taxation, and distort every corner of economic life.