[alternatives?]

Interest rates should be decided by the market.

[millenial4freedom]

and jeopardize the jobs of the 1000+ economists at the Fed? how heartless! /s

[Owen]

Interest rates at the short maturity end are indeed under Fed control.

At the longer term maturities of years, out to 30 years, the Fed does not control these rates.

To a large extent, neither does the free market.

Nearly every institution in the world, pension funds, mutual funds of all kinds, more or less every trust fund — they have bylaws that require them to have a % of holdings placed in zero risk instruments. These are pretty much always required to be US government instruments. And so since they are required to buy them, this is zero discretion demand for them. Zero discretion is not the stuff of the free marketplace.

The accumulated $37 Trillion in US debt is scattered across maturities. The composite interest rate that defines interest on the national debt is about 3.3% — and growing. It is growing because short term dept is now 4.5% and long term is 4.7%. So as instruments mature, they must be rolled over (replaced) with the same instrument (meaning if a 5 yr note matures, you must buy another to hold the account constant). But the same instrument now has a higher interest rate than it did 5 years ago. And so the 3.3% composite rate rises.

Oh, and a freeper above. There will be no significant tax cuts that are not offset with some other quiet maneuver to avoid an instantaneous revenue fall. Yes, Yes, I know it is popular to believe that tax cuts increase revenue. Whether that is true or not, it doesn’t happen in month 1 or even year 1. We can’t afford to double the deficit in year 1.

[Miami Rebel]

The market DOES set the rates. The Fed rate is at best symbolic: banks don’t actually borrow or lend at it. (That’s thanks to post 2008 reforms.)

Thinking this through, to the extent that the Fed DOES have power, however ephemeral, the effect of it influencing the markets would mean that sharp cuts to the fed rate would spur bullishness on the economy....WHICH WOULD LEAD TO HIGHER LONG-TERM RATES, e.g., mortgage rates.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“ Interest rates should be decided by the market.”

1,000 percent agree.
Get inflation down and rates will follow

[OKSooner]

President Trump gets to have his say in the matter.

[Dr. Sivana]

Interest rates should be decided by the market.

That idea was made mostly impossible 100 years ago when the Fed was related. (Not completely, because if the Fed raises rates too much, no one will borrow. They haven't made a law yet to require borrowing money.)

[Socon-Econ]

Trump has no authority to decree interest rates.