ICYMI: Economic Speakers Bureau Reached Wide Audiences to Discuss Fed Rate Cuts This Week

WASHINGTON — With all eyes on the Federal Reserve this week anticipating what would become the first cut to the federal funds rate in over four years, experts within the Economic Speakers Bureau held a virtual press briefing and shared their views with the media on why an interest rate cut was necessary and how it will shape the economy going forward.

The Economic Speakers Bureau’s diverse network of economic policy experts will continue to be available for interviews on the Federal Reserve, inflation, and the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to lower costs for the American consumer. Please reach out to [email protected] to schedule interviews.

This week, ESB experts appeared on TV, radio, podcasts, and were quoted in articles, including:

On Bloomberg Radio: Balance of Power . . .

Kathryn Anne Edwards, a labor economist and Bloomberg Opinion contributor, spoke about the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut in more than four years and how Chair Powell will aim to maintain a bright line between monetary policy and politics.
“The housing market has been brutal for so many Americans for these past few years and any type of movement, however it affects the election, is good for our economy and for people to feel confident that they can do something that they see as so fundamental as buying a home.”

On Bloomberg TV: Balance of Power . . .

Jennifer Harris, International Economist and Former Senior Director for the National Security Council & National Economic Council, weighed in on whether or not the Federal Reserve is too late on their 50 basis-point rate cut in regards to the job market.
“Better late than never . . . I am pretty comfortable that we have nailed the soft landing and we won’t see anything akin to a recession — at least in the way most of us experience it.”

On Civic Media’s Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEY podcast . . .

Kathryn Anne Edwards, opinion columnist for Bloomberg News and an economic policy consultant, joined to talk about the Fed interest cut and how it’s just good business to reduce the interest rates so that people with less money on hand can participate fully in the economy.
“When inflation took off, as we were coming out of the pandemic, the Fed was slow to cut interest rates because they didn’t want to jeopardize the labor market . . . Now, as inflation has fallen to 2.5%, there’s a real worry that the labor market is starting to buckle under the pressure, so [the Federal Reserve] acted in the labor market’s best interest today.”

On Comedy Central’s The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart podcast . . .

Kitty Richards, Senior Fellow at Groundwork Collaborative and Former Treasury Official, joined to delve into competing views on the root causes of recent price surges, the Fed’s response to those surges, and the effects of demand-side vs. supply-side stimulus on the American economy.
“If you think about where we saw costs rising, housing is a huge, huge part of it. The Fed’s high rates actually make housing more expensive for people . . . When the Fed’s turning that dial trying to reduce the amount of money in people’s pockets to bring down prices by bringing down demand, what they’re actually doing is increasing mortgage rates which is locking up the housing market and making housing more expensive in the long term.”

In Business Insider . . .

Skanda Amarnath, the executive director of the advocacy group Employ America and a former Fed economist, told reporters at a Monday briefing that it’s better to act early. “It’s better to move faster before the data is screaming that we’re in a recession because, by that time, 50 basis points may be just not enough,” he said.
“They’re going to cut rates this week,” Bharat Ramamurti, a senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project, told reporters during a Monday briefing. “And that is a sign from the body that is most focused on this, that our war on inflation is over.”

In POLITICO . . .

“Rate cuts going into the end of this year and the beginning of next year will help provide some momentum to the economy,” said Bharat Ramamurti, a former Biden White House official who’s now advising Harris’s campaign. Still, “what job growth is going to look like next year is going to be hard to predict.”

In The Hill . . .

Skanda Amarnath, executive director of Employ America and former analyst at the New York Fed, ultimately does not anticipate a rate cut “being make or break for the election…It’s a kind of a conspiratorial or sexy idea in the abstract, but it doesn’t really cash out,” he said.
“We have a moment where interest rates are relatively high compared to recent history — pretty clearly restrictive by most beneficials — so a more aggressive move might make more sense up front,” Amarnath said.

In States Newsroom . . .

Skanda Amarnath, executive director of Employ America, a research group that advocates for full employment, said the Fed should be examining the economic data. “That’s what they should look at, not where they are in the electoral seasonal cycle,” she said. “I think that’s the case, by and large. I don’t see anything that’s just a real politicization here.”

In Yahoo! Finance . . .

“You’re really flirting with a potential disaster,” former Fed economist Skanda Amarnath said of a smaller interest rate cut, speaking during a media briefing on Monday. Amarnath, who is executive director of a group called Employ America, added that “it makes a lot of sense for the Fed to move a little more decisively.”

Following the Fed’s announcement, experts also reacted with the following statements:

Jennifer Harris, former Senior Director on the National Security Council and National Economic Council staff: “The Fed is signaling that post-COVID inflation is now firmly done, and they are willing to get foot forward on the labor market softening. This hands on approach to the labor market allows us to take a step back and look at Joe Biden’s economy: historic job creation, strongest growth in the world, record real wage gains for the middle class, record investment in US manufacturing, and record new business applications — all alongside record highs in the stock market and in corporate profits. It may not be fashionable to say, but Biden and Harris’s economic policies have produced one of the strongest US economies in decades. If this is Lina Khan destroying the American economy, I’ll take seconds.”

Bharat Ramamurti, Senior Advisor for Economic Strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project and former Deputy Director of the National Economic Council: “This is the right call. A welcome relief for consumers and businesses — and an important signal that the Fed is fully committed to supporting a strong job market and all the benefits that brings.”

Rakeen Mabud, Chief Economist at the Groundwork Collaborative: “Today’s rate cut is a step in the right direction, but only a first step. The Fed must continue to cut rates aggressively in the coming months to prevent a slowing labor market and provide much needed relief to people who are bearing the brunt of high interest rates.”

Skanda Amarnath, Executive Director of Employ America and former Fed economist: “Today’s decision reflects the substantial progress that has been made in getting inflation under control and an attentive proactive approach to addressing risks to the labor market and right-sizing the level of interest rates. Inflation has come a long way from where it was when the Fed first set raised interest rates above 5%. Given the rise in the unemployment rate, the Fed is wisely showing the public that they will not allow themselves to fall too far behind the curve. This is good news for families and businesses alike and makes a soft landing a much more likely outcome.”

Kitty Richards, Senior Fellow at the Groundwork Collaborative and former Treasury official: “It was past time for the Fed to cut interest rates. Today’s 50 basis point cut is a positive first step to bringing interest rates down to their normal long-term level so that our strong recovery can continue. High interest rates are causing direct harm to workers and families, so the Fed should follow the data and act just as decisively as they did when inflation was heating up.”

Indivar Dutta-Gupta, Doris Duke Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and Roosevelt Institute Tax Fellow: “This is roughly what the doctor ordered, even if it’s coming months late. This meaningful rate cut will take time to boost economic activity and create job opportunities. But it does signal now — to the American people and the world — that we’ve beaten high inflation and need to worry more about ensuring that everyone who wants to work can find a decent job. Especially at a time when fiscal policies are a drag on the economy, the Fed faces almost no downside risk as we achieve the ‘soft landing’ we knew was possible.”

###

About the Economic Speakers Bureau: The Groundwork Collaborative’s Economic Speakers Bureau includes a diverse group of experts available for comment on a variety of topics. Bureau members include former Biden Administration officials, labor law and policy experts, economists, and professors of law and public policy. They are available to speak to a wide range of issues and add underrepresented voices and new perspectives to economic coverage. While these bureau members are diverse in experience and policy areas, they are all grounded in the shared understanding that the strength of the economy should be judged by the economic well-being and trajectory of workers and families. The Economic Speakers Bureau will add nuance and underrepresented voices to the economic conversation, painting a fuller picture of the economy and what can be done to support working people.