Bernie Sanders: Federal Reserve is hurting US economy
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders says the Federal Reserve System, which is the central banking system of the United States, is “hurting” the economy more than helping it.
The Federal Reserve was created when the US central bank was privatized through the US Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The Fed has been raising interest rates to try to tamp down inflation in the US.
Asked whether the Federal Reserve’s recent actions have helped or hurt the economy, Sanders told NBC on Sunday, “That’s not what we should be doing.”
“It is wrong to be saying that the way we’re going to deal with inflation is by lowering wages and increasing unemployment,” Sanders said.
Raising concern about inflation, the independent senator said “at a time when working families are struggling and the people on top are doing phenomenally well … you don’t go after working people.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged the hikes could cause more unemployment and even lead to recession.
Sanders said Democrats need to continue talking about economic positions including raising the minimum wage in a way that centers their campaigns on working people and separates Democrats from their opponents.
Meanwhile, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that a recession is “possible but not inevitable.”
Back in August, Senator Elizabeth Warren said she was “very worried that the Fed is going to tip the economy into recession.”
Meanwhile, American economist and author Paul Craig Roberts also said last month that the decision by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates may signal an intention to cause an economic collapse.
Roberts also said US companies are taking advantage of the Ukraine conflict with Russia and raising energy prices at home.
President Joe Biden has taken a range of targeted actions to deal with the soaring gas prices, which has created serious headwinds for his Democratic party ahead of the midterms.
The Democratic president placed an embargo on Moscow oil earlier this year, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a military campaign against Ukraine on February 24.
In addition to the oil embargo, Washington and its Western allies imposed unprecedented waves of sanctions on Moscow.
The move has so far sent the prices of grain, cooking oil, fertilizers and energy skyrocketing.
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