STEPHEN MOORE: The Case Against Jerome Powell

It’s hard to believe that a few years ago Time Magazine considered naming Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell as their Man of the Year. He may well have won, if it hadn’t been for someone named Taylor Swift.

Powell has been idolized by the left for one reason: he’s been a thorn in the side of Donald Trump for years. If Trump says “ying” Powell says “yang.”

Last week Powell finally lowered the federal funds rate and better late than never. But his speech to the media was a tirade against Trumponomics. He was filled with doom and gloom in his statement telling global investors that the economy is growing at only 1.6% so far this year and 1.6% next year.

What country was he talking about? Afghanistan?

Here are the facts: In the second quarter of this year, the U.S. economy grew by 3.3%, and with a few weeks to go in the third quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is forecasting 3% growth – twice Powell’s cracked crystal ball.

Powell also never mentioned that real household incomes are up $1,100 for the first seven months of 2025. He never mentioned that capital investment – the seed corn of a growing economy has been ramped up with hundreds of billions pledged next year.

He attacks Trump’s tariffs and more restrictive immigration policies as restricting growth – and he has a point that those have slightly slowed growth. But he never mentions the Trump tax cut, the immediate expensing for capital purchases (which has spurred an investment boom), the deregulations that could save up to $1 trillion this year, or that Trump’s pro-energy policies have increased U.S. production of oil and gas to record highs, or that the area where job growth is way down is in government employment – which is GOOD for the economy.

There’s also something almost comical about a Fed chair who let inflation soar by 21% during Biden’s four years in office – the highest rates in nearly 40 years dating back to Jimmy Carter’s stagflation. He promised inflation was “transitory” – oops. Tell that to people whose grocery bills rose by one-third in four years.