On Wednesday, days before the U.S. is projected to run out of money to pay its bills, the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in a bipartisan effort. The final vote of 314- 177 received support from 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats. With both sides making concessions, it’s not surprising to see members of each party voicing their displeasure with the deal.
The Strong Get Stronger
This week, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell announced that later this month the Fed will begin “tapering” its asset purchase program now that the economy has moved past the need for extraordinary stimulus. As a reminder, to combat the recessionary effects of the pandemic and stimulate the economy, the Fed reduced interest rates to 0% and reintroduced an asset purchase program to the tune of $120 billion per month. By any measure, this is a remarkably large stimulus program.