Stockman: Fed Needs to Stop Its Jihad Against the Savers, Retirees of America
During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast, David Stockman, former Reagan Budget Director, said the Federal Reserve is waging war against savers and retirees.
“I’m arguing that the jig is up,” Stockman said. “Eighty months of zero interest rates is crazy enough. It’s time for the Fed to stop its wretched jihad against the savers and retirees of America… and allow the market to find an interest rate that makes sense.”
He added, “There are savers out there- millions. There are borrowers out there- millions. Let them figure out the right rate, not 12 people sitting on the FOMC.”
Stockman also said the Fed’s 2% inflation target is “totally made up.”
“[It] conveniently allows them [the Fed] to shovel free money into Wall Street,” he said. “It never does get to Main Street. The whole idea of zero interest rates is to get consumers and households all jiggy and get them borrowing and spending, but that doesn’t work anymore because we’re at peak debt. Households have $13 trillion of debt. Ninety percent of households are tapped out. They can’t borrow, regardless of the interest rate.”
In order to help solve the current economic situation, Stockman said the Fed needs to be impartial.
“We can’t solve this economy by picking sides at the Fed between savers and borrowers and say ‘we’re going to keep at zero for borrowers forever.’ It should be neutral and it shouldn’t be intruding in such a massive way into the financial market.”