The Economic hurricane brewing at the Fed

     In today's NYT, Paul Krugman compares the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian to the potential damage the Federal Reserve can do by continuing its policy of raising interest rates to combat inflation.  Krugman points out the Fed's tightening of the screws on the economy will not produce notable effects for some time.  Continuing to choke off growth by further increasing rates threatens dire consequences.  He likens that to officials waiting to see which path Ian was taking before issuing evacuation orders.  By the time they did, it was too late for many people.

     In our interdependent economic world, the consequences of the keepers of the world's largest economy actions are felt all around the globe.  Those actions, like climate change charged monsters such as Ian have the potential to hurt more people than ever before.  The Fed does not act in a vacuum and are the cause in many cases of suffering around the world.  Power and responsibility go hand in hand.  It's time to pause the rate increases and wait for their effects to be felt.