Every­day Eco­nom­ics: With rate cut, con­sumer con­fi­dence should improve

Last week, the Fed­er­al Reserve deliv­ered its first rate cut since the onset of the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic. His­tor­i­cal­ly, reduc­tions in the fed funds rate have occurred in response to slow­ing eco­nom­ic activ­i­ty, falling infla­tion, or exter­nal shocks like the dot-com bub­ble burst, the glob­al finan­cial cri­sis, or the pan­dem­ic. This time is dif­fer­ent. After suc­ceed­ing at bring­ing infla­tion down and restor­ing bal­ance in the labor mar­ket, …