For Immediate Release

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Patriotic Millionaires Tell the Fed: “Back Off” On Rate Hikes

“In this case, the cure may be worse than the disease.”

Washington, DC – Today, the Federal Reserve voted unanimously to raise interest rates a quarter of a point in a bid to slow inflation. This marks the eighth time that the central bank has raised rates over the past year.

In response, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., released the following statement:

“Today’s interest rate hike by the Fed is bad news for the American economy. It’s true that raising rates is meant to solve inflation, but that doesn’t mean it’s the correct course to take right now. Raising rates may cool inflation, but it does so by making everything from mortgages to credit card payments more expensive, which hurts those already suffering the most in today’s cost of living crisis.

In this case, the cure may be worse than the disease.

If the federal government is truly committed to slowing inflation without heaping extra pain on the vulnerable, they should go after greedy, ultra-profitable corporations and their C-suite executives. Many corporations have used the hype over inflation in recent months to raise prices on consumers and line their pockets. Why else would corporate profits be at a 70-year high?

Everyone’s been complaining lately about how expensive eggs are. The fact that Cal-Maine, the largest egg producer in the US, experienced a ten-fold increase in their profits over the last year might just have something to do with it. The Fed raising interest rates won’t do anything to stop corporations like Cal-Maine from exploiting American consumers, unless they raise them so much as to cause a massive rise in unemployment. It is hard to see a scenario where this kind of action does not cause immense pain to the worst off in America. The Fed needs to back off, and let Congress step in to tackle corporate greed.”

For additional information or interview requests, please contact Emily McCloskey at emily@patrioticmillionaires.org