The Drudge Report (my favorite news site), has posted a link to this story, with the headline (by Drudge): IT’S STARTING: Fed Raises Discount Rate . . .
There’s a lot in that headline. First, the bold “IT’S STARTING” tells us that some horrible thing is happening to us, and that what follows is only the start of it. Then, after being told that the Fed Raises Discount Rate, three periods at the end of the sentence remind us that the horror will continue . . .
But what’s happened? Nothing except that the government has raised the interest rate on money it loans to banks. That’s right–it is making it just a little bit harder for banks to use taxpayer money.
]The conservative icon Drudge is not the only one upset that this President’s administration is doing this. FOX news called it a “stealth rate hike” despite the fact it’s just as public as any of the interest adjustments the U.S. government performs.
And this isn’t a raise on all interest rates. Interest rates are still being kept at ridiculously low levels by artificial government intervention. And lower interest rates encourage borrowing and discourage lending, the last thing we should want right now in our debt-laden society.
The so-called “discount rate” has been raised from .50% to .75%, a quarter-point increase. I’d like to see it raised again to at least 1%. Tonight.
2 Comments
I’m very conservative and I think I agree with you. This certainly isn’t my area of expertise in any way, but raising rates is usually a good sign. I don’t think it’s helpful to think they are trying to do something ‘stealth’ (huh? as if people don’t know?) or malicious.
Jeff
As much as we may hate to pay higher interest rates, it’s those interest rates that encourage people to save and not pile on so much debt. And I have no idea why Fox decided to call it “stealth.” If they do much more journalism like that (I don’t know if they do since I don’t watch news) perhaps they ought to change their slogan to “We report, wedecide.