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Here’s a high-level explanation of what just happened today concerning interest rates. I know this is a major concern for many people.

Inflation is out of control right now. There are many factors behind rising prices, but a big one has been excessive government stimulus. We’re talking trillions of unnecessary dollars that have been poured into our economy.

Sidenote: everyone in this nation ought to be grateful for two Democrat senators: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. When liberals were determined to spend an additional $3.5 trillion with that awful “Build Back Broke” plan several months ago, Sens. Manchin and Sinema sided with Republicans and helped block that awful bill. Who knows how much worse our inflation would be right now had they voted with their Democrat colleagues.

Anyway, from groceries to gas and everything in between, inflation has become a major problem for many families. It’s a crisis that must be addressed.

One of the “tools” used by the Federal Reserve is its “benchmark interest rate.” Raising this rate typically makes it more expensive to borrow money, which in turn can help settle an overly heated economy. That’s what happened today when the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 0.75%. The Federal Reserve also signaled that additional rate hikes are likely in the coming months.

The problem with raising interest rates is that it can (and likely will) lead to higher unemployment, and it could also easily trigger an economic recession. These are very real dangers that must be considered when raising rates.

Two things are maddening to me:

First, we may not have been able to avoid all the global factors that led to this inflation, but we sure as heck could have prevented pumping trillions of unnecessary stimulus into the economy, which has only made the problem worse. I will never understand people who, to this day, claim we need to be spending more!

Second, if there were ever a time to slash taxes and reduce regulations, it’s right now. We need to keep costs low for companies. In turn, that will help keep their prices low. Sadly, that’s a foreign concept to the majority leadership in Congress and the White House.