The Federal Reserve’s Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report Wednesday, March 8, 2023 10:00 AM in 2128 RHOB. Ntsetselelo Dlamini, Intern, Skidmore College

Last week, I attended a House Financial Services Committee hearing during which Mr. Jerome Powell, chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, testified on the Federal Reserve's Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report.

As an international student, I appreciate the level of transparency and accountability that is an essential building block of any democracy. Seeing the Chairman answer a wide range of questions from different Congressmembers representing constituents from around the country served as a subtle reminder that ‘everybody has a boss.’

Now, as a student of Economics, I came to the hearing curious to see how the Federal Reserve seeks to maintain the delicate balance of achieving its two objectives of maximum employment and price stability. It is my belief that it is not a secret that contractionary monetary policy is an effective tool to curb inflation. I also think that rising prices disproportionately affect low income and disadvantaged citizens who do not have much disposable income to begin with. (Ed note: Creative Investment Research sometimes disagrees with this conclusion.)

The combination of record low unemployment and high inflation is certainly not familiar ground but the Federal Reserve seems committed to achieving 2% inflation, even at the potential cost of jobs.

Maternal Health Financing Facility for Black Women: A Solution to an Urgent Problem

Maternal mortality is a significant issue in the United States, with Black women disproportionately affected. Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts. However, the issue is not new, and despite the increasing amount of data available, the disparities have remained unaddressed for far too long. Creative Investment Research (CIR) is among the organizations that believe there is a solution to the problem. Through our proposed impact investing vehicle , the Maternal Health Financing Facility for Black Women (MHFFBW), we aim to tackle the mortality gap and support Black women during childbirth, which will, in turn, benefit their communities. The Facility, based on legally binding financing agreements containing terms and conditions that direct resources to individuals and institutions capable of addressing supply-side conditions at the heart...

Projected Impact of Gun Laws on Corporate Profits in Texas

More Fortune 500 companies are located in Texas than in any other state. Texas successfully used low taxes and minimal regulations as bait to recruit companies like Tesla and Oracle. The state promoted these “advantages” in ads highlighting their “free-market” environment and criticizing the "tax and spend policies of liberal leadership" in Democrat-run states. Four million people migrated to Texas over the past ten years. Our economic models predict a reversal, however. State of Texas corporations on the Fortune 1000 list generate $2.2 trillion in revenue, $158 billion in profit. They have a market value of $3.8 trillion and employ 2.5 million people nationwide. We continue to believe this increased corporate presence in Texas imposes a tax on the nation as a whole. Texas allows anyone 21 or older to carry handguns without training or licenses, and maintains lower gun purchase age limits. Beyond the recent abortion bill, which allows people to sue those who "aid and abe...

The $40 Trillion Debt Crisis Was a Choice — and Black America Will Pay a Disproportionate Price

The United States has now crossed a fiscal threshold that once seemed unimaginable: federal debt exceeds $40 trillion . Reuters reports that approximately $32.3 trillion is debt held by the public , with another roughly $7.8 trillion in intragovernmental holdings . It also reports that federal debt has increased by approximately $11.6 trillion during Donald Trump's two terms to date . For decades, Republican fiscal policy has combined large tax cuts with continued federal spending and then used the resulting deficits to justify demands for reductions in domestic programs. That pattern stretches from Ronald Reagan through George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The assertion that Republicans as a whole deliberately want the United States to default cannot be dismissed . Concerns about deliberate default strategies are not imaginary. In May 2023, Donald Trump publicly urged congressional Republicans to allow the United States to default if Democrats did not accept spending cuts. We argue...

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