Is It Too Late To End the Fed?
Plus: What the new E.U. trade deal means for tariffs and prices, a listener question about Rahm Emanuel’s presidential appeal, and the FBI raids John Bolton’s home.
This week, editors Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by Reason reporter Eric Boehm to break down Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's signals of an upcoming interest rate cut and President Donald Trump's very public pressure campaign on the Fed. They discuss what a rate cut could mean for jobs, inflation, and investment, how tariffs are distorting basic economic signals, and why the Fed's growing politicization should worry anyone who values a functional economy.
The conversation then turns to the administration's new trade deal with the European Union (E.U.), what it signals for tariffs, reciprocity, and the costs of everyday goods. They also field a question from a libertarian listener about former Rep. Rahm Emanuel's (D–Ill.) appeal as a presidential candidate before examining the FBI's raid on former National Security Adviser John Bolton's home, weighing whether it's a legitimate investigation into mishandled classified documents, or a case of political retribution.
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0:00—The impact of the Fed rate cuts
12:21—E.U. trade deal, tariffs, and their revenue
21:04—Cracker Barrel and the state of conservative commentary
33:07—Listener question on a Rahm Emanuel for president
42:19—FBI raids the home of John Bolton
51:21—Trump's order on burning the U.S. flag
52:39—Weekly cultural recommendations
Mentioned in This Podcast
"Powell's Last Stand," by Liz Wolfe
"Tariffs Begin Taking a Bite out of the Economy," by J.D. Tuccille
"Trump's New Trade 'Deal' With the E.U. Leaves Out Beer, Wine, Booze," by Eric Boehm
"The Europoors Are Choosing To Have Less Than Americans. It Doesn't Have To Be This Way," By Sam Bowman
"Trump's Steel Tariffs Now Apply to Milk and Hundreds of Other Products That Aren't Steel," by Eric Boehm
"Trump's Plans for Intel Take a Page From Bernie Sanders' Playbook," by Eric Boehm
"Cracker Barrel Didn't 'Go Woke.' It Just Went Broke," By Billy Binion
"The Justice Department's Investigation of John Bolton Seems Like a Witch Hunt," by Robby Soave
"My Conversations With John Bolton," by Matt Welch
Ken Kleppenstein on X: John Bolton thinks Chelsea Manning should get the death penalty
Marcus Lemonis on X: official statement on California regulatory system
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- Producer: Paul Alexander
- Video Editor: Ian Keyser
