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It’s been a big day for your wallet—and maybe your democracy, too.

Back up! What happened?

The Federal Reserve left interest rates between 3.5 and 3.75 percent, where they’ve been since last year. It did so because Fed officials are worried about stubborn inflation, which spiked to a three-year high after Trump attacked Iran.

OK…so you’re telling me interest rates are staying the same? Thanks for wasting my time.

Give me a little credit! The bigger news is that almost every Fed official who gets to vote on setting interest rates thinks they’re likely to stay high this year—and half expect them to go higher.

What does that have to do with my wallet?

Higher interest rates make it costlier to borrow money, which acts as a brake on spending, employment, and economic growth. Think of it as tough medicine the Fed can administer to help control inflation. So keeping interest rates higher for longer means getting a business loan, a mortgage, and even a job may be harder for the foreseeable future.

Bummer. But what does this have to do with American democracy?

As is often the case these days, it goes back to Donald Trump. The president wants the Fed to lower rates, even though his policies (including but not limited to the........

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