CNN’s Patrick Gillespie and Heather Long report the U.S. economy looks healthy again and many people are saying it’s time, even past time, that America’s central bank stop the extreme life support measures that have been in place since the financial crisis. America added 12 million jobs since the recession ended in June 2009. Unemployment has fallen from a peak of 10% down to 5%, and even wages are finally starting to go up. The latest economic check up on Friday showed that hiring remained strong through November, yet America’s central bank still looks like it’s in crisis mode: interest rates are at historic lows near 0% and have been that way since December 2008 when the Federal Reserve was doing everything it could to jumpstart the economy, banking sector, and housing market in the recession.
Today, the economy is no longer in a state of emergency and many argue interest rates shouldn’t be either. The job market’s strength, especially in the face of a global economic slowdown, is why the Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates on December 16. It would be the Fed’s first rate increase in nearly a decade. Commonwealth Financial Network’s chief investment officer, Brad McMillan, argues, “The economy’s foundations are growing and the headwinds are subsiding. What else could you ask for? World peace?” Wall Street now predicts nearly an 80% chance of a rate hike. The Fed wants to see inflation move toward its 2% target, but with low gas prices and a strong U.S. dollar, annual inflation is close to 0%.