‘Scares the hell out of me’: Charles Payne says Fed is clueless on US economic damage

Fox Business host Charles Payne said Thursday that members of the Federal Reserve appear clueless about how their plan impacts the economy and warned they don’t have a “grasp” on the issue.

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will lower its federal funds rate to a target range of 4.25% to 4.50%, marking the third cut of the year in an effort to ease inflation. On “Kudlow,” Fox Business host Larry Kudlow called out the Fed’s move and asked Payne his thoughts about the central bank’s “mistakes” in handling inflation.

“I’m just saying though all that’s a long stone’s throw from what the Fed’s doing,” Kudlow said.

“They are goofing around. They are saying black is white, white is black. How can you understand the central bank that is making mistakes, won’t acknowledge that their models have failed and their strategy on inflation is failing? How do you figure?”

Payne responded.

“When Jay Powell yesterday said that finding a job that it’s been pulling back moderately. I used a chart on my show yesterday and today. No, it’s falling off a cliff. It’s collapsed,” Payne said.

“A long-term unemployment over 27 weeks is skyrocketing. Job listings by Indeed has fallen off a cliff. So when I hear the Federal Reserve chairman talk about these things in such a casual manner, it scares the hell out of me.”

WATCH:

Following the announcement of the Federal Reserve’s cut, U.S. stocks hit one of their worst days within the year, with the S&P 500 falling 178 points (3%), the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 1,123 points (2.6%) and the Nasdaq composite dropping 3.6%, according to CBS News. In response to the cut, Powell said he believed it was the “right call” and that “the slower pace of cuts for next year reflects the higher inflation readings we’ve had this year.”

“What’s happening is that you don’t have a grasp on what’s happening,” Payne said.

“Then when you’re data dependent, right, and the data is revised so dramatically month after month. You mean to tell me that you’re basing policies on faulty information? You’ve got all the PhDs in the world. You have access to every business out there. Get ahead of the curve sometime.”

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released in November, showed that while economists had expected 110,000 jobs to be added in October, the U.S. added only 12,000 nonfarm payroll jobs. The BLS’ most recent report, released Dec. 6, found that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000, “changing little” from the 4.2% unemployment rate in November compared to 4.1% in December, with 7.1 million people currently unemployed.

Inflation, a major concern for both voters and businesses, has continued to affect the U.S., peaking at 9.1% in June 2022. Despite cuts, inflation has remained above the Fed’s 2% target and is now expected to stay above that level until 2027, according to MarketWatch.

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