Federal Reserve day was funny Wednesday, in its typical absurdly pathetic way.
Our money masters decided to reduce their desired short-term interest rate by 25 basis points, which is one quarter of a percentage point.
Beforehand, the usual suspects were on CNBC politicizing the whole thing. Afterward, more of the same.
One vapid sort was crowing after the fact how would-be replacements for current Fed president Jerome Powell showed the institution was apolitical and bigger than would-be interference from presidents by not dissenting on the cut, as in voting it was not large enough in view of roiled labor markets and incessant downward revisions of employment.
Oh, yes, the Fed is apolitical, like when it cut twice as much – 50 basis points or one-half percent – last September, just ahead of a presidential election and when so many Fed “experts” ruled that out as being too political and too close to said election; that it would be appearing to be, if not outright screaming, support for Cackling Kamala.
Fortunately, justice prevailed and the Fed was not able to push the Cackling One across the finish line in first place. Fed types then resorted to trying to hamstring Donald Trump, ignoring signs rate cuts were in order, refusing to provide them, and with its members going out of their way to crimp verbally Trump progress with their public utterances.
Add in that a DEI Fed member since has been charged with mis-stating – multiple times – what her primary residence is in order to gain favorable mortgage treatment. Just clerical error, her apologists proclaim. So, someone who can’t decide where she lives and can’t understand mortgage forms should have a hand in making monetary policy for this once-great nation?
Yeah, sure.
Part of the circus on Fed announcement day is the press conference with Powell, in which he often directly contradicts himself, but always can expect to be given verbal bouquets by his sycophants in the media.
Include in that list CNBC’s Steve LiesMan, as short on intellectual honesty as he is on hair.
I can’t recall – and couldn’t find anything on the internet — indicating him talking about a political Fed when that half-point cut was unleashed last year, just before an election. He does, however, go out of his way frequently to make snide comments about Trump and his team.
And then there was the Bloomberg reporterette at the Powell presser, who used “ums” and “you knows” about a thousand times trying to ask Powell her question.
She sounded like a grown-up (chronologically, not mentally) Valley Girl. Gag me with a spoon!
I’m not sure what she was asking. I couldn’t get past her bastardization of the language.
Alas, the Fed display was just an example of the pathetically poor media we now have on a national basis.
Earlier today, my wife was watching coverage of Trump’s visit to England, including a military display on the grounds of Windsor Castle, which included an impressive jet fighter flyover.
One high-profile Fox type noted that no doubt Prime Minister Keir Starmer was watching from his nearby country manor, thinking about how he could get Trump to drop tariffs on steel aluminum.
Too bad she apparently hadn’t been paying attention to the coverage, because moments before she spoke cameras had shown Starmer, larger than life, seated on the lawn watching the events.
My wife thought I was being too critical when I noted this. I countered that since the wife was watching it, she should consider if a media member could not get such a thing correct, regarding a event she was covering, maybe she should not trust her on other reports.
A few minutes later, Martha MacCallum did note for the record that Starmer was in attendance, just as an aside.
At least MacCallum was paying attention. If more of us paid attention. Fed circus day would have to close its tent and go back to reporting the news, not attempting to massage and influence it.
What a great thing that would be.
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