Why Is the Fed Still Raising Interest Rates? | by Martin Feldstein
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/three-reasons-for-fed-interest-rate-increases-by-martin-feldstein-2018-12?fbclid=IwAR2zGije7NQYxemP7CGSSISGqGWec01fhlHn_cTdBm_Pr4FLoqG2HLETEw4 Given that the US Federal Reserve has long said that its interest-rate policy is “data dependent,” why has it pressed ahead with monetary tightening in the face of worsening economic indicators? Three reasons stand out. CAMBRIDGE – Earlier this month, the US Federal Reserve’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to increase the short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, taking it from 2.25% to 2.5%. This was the fourth increase in 12 months, a sequence that had been projected a year ago, and the FOMC members also indicated that there would be two more quarter-point increases in 2019. The announcement soon met with widespread disapproval. Critics noted that economic growth has slow...