America’s economic ambition should reach well beyond slowing price increases. We should be expanding what this country can produce and what its people can achieve. The Federal Reserve should hold interest rates steady in October while it assesses September’s increase. Before making capital more expensive again, officials must account for the businesses, homes and opportunities that investment can build.
The Fed has already heard how rising costs can stand in the way of progress. Richmond Fed trucking contacts reported that expensive diesel had led some carriers to postpone buying more fuel-efficient trucks. Those trucks could lower operating expenses for years. Instead, money that could have improved the business was needed to meet the cost of keeping it running.
