A Good Issue For Democrats

原文地址：The Fed's Challenge

The Federal Reserveris trying to tame inflation without wrecking the economy.

• tame: 驯服/控制
• wreck: 破坏

America’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, is trying to strike a delicate balance: It has to take steps to slow down the economy to bring inflation under control — but it wants to do so without causing a severe recession.

• strike a delicate balance: 达成一个微妙的平衡

The predicament is unusual for a government agency. Typically, public officials talk about stimulating the economy and creating more jobs.

predicament: 困境

In response, the Fed has raised interest rates five times this year to increase the cost of borrowing money. The goal: More expensive loans will result in less investment, then less business expansion, then fewer jobs, then lower pay, then less inflation.

The Fed, believing inflation would be temporary, was slow to raise interest rates last year. That probably exacerbated the rising prices we’re dealing with now.

• exacerbated: 加剧