'Get on with it': Why the Fed's first rate cut wouldn't be that big of a deal

Calls for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates sooner than later have been getting louder.

The Fed ’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets for its monetary policy meeting this coming Tuesday and Wednesday .

The risk of recession has been rising with economic growth slowing, consumer spending growth plateauing and debt delinquencies rising.

The stakes for the upcoming Fed policy meetings aren’t nearly as high as they were in 2022 and 2023 .

In 2022 , the Fed cut rates by 150 basis points to effectively 0% as the economy was falling apart.

Today , that crisis is largely behind us with inflation rates hovering near the Fed ’s target levels.

One rate cut may or may not bolster growth a little.

AAA : The national average for a gallon of gas squeaked out a two-penny increase to $ 3.52 since last week .

Consumers are spending 0.3% month over month in June to a record annual rate of $19.44 trillion .

Consumer sentiment has remained virtually unchanged in the last three months .