Today is Tax Day, which means Americans have probably either already filed their taxes or asked for an extension.
Even as filings are sent off to the Internal Revenue Service, new economic issues are waiting in the wings. President Guy Williams of Gulf Coast Bank and Trust joined WWL’s Newell Normand to discuss them.
“When you raise taxes, it’s like squeezing the balloon,” he said. “It pushes the air another place and people end up paying it one way or another.”
Americans have also been dealing with higher prices of consumer goods due to inflation. As the Federal Reserve Bank has attempted to bring down that inflation with increased interest rates, it became harder for people to borrow money.
While the Consumer Price Index rose last month, it did not increase as much as it had in February. Normand also noted that Americans have cut their retail spending for a second month in a row.
“Consumer spending is going down. You know, you would think, okay, this is great. The Fed’s going to get to their target. The problem is when you dig underneath, the Fed has another measure of inflation they call core inflation, which is their favorite way to look at inflation,” Williams explained. He also said “core inflation is looking very sticky and it is making the Fed nervous.”
Williams said the Fed is predicted to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points next month.
Listen to the full conversation here to learn more about Congress and the national debt ceiling. Property theft scams and the Hammond data breach.
