Trump’s Interest Rate Obstacle Is Bigger Than Powell
Higher rates are the result of far more than Fed decisions. Debt, demographics, and deglobalization are all driving the price of money up.
Television stations broadcast the Powell press conference following the FOMC meeting, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 30. President Trump resumed his criticism after the central bank declined to cut interest rates.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergPresident Donald Trump wants lower interest rates. Achieving that objective will require overcoming bigger obstacles than Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
There are structural forces that drive the cost of borrowing, and right now they’re pointing up. Governments and businesses are piling on debt to pay for tax cuts, military spending, and AI investments — which means more demand for credit. As the Baby Boomers retire and China decouples from the US, the pool of saving to finance those loans is drying up.