The Fed shouldn't control interest rates. It should control taxes.

In almost every way, taxes are a better macroeconomic tool

The Federal Reserve.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Images courtesy iStock)

As the Federal Reserve announces its latest interest rate decision this afternoon, one economic fact will doubtlessly be forgotten: Interest rates are terrible. They can tank markets. They can throw people out of work. They can even cause recessions. They're just not a very good way to manage business cycles.

But there's a better tool, one that we should take out of the hands of government's most dysfunctional institution, Congress, and put into the hands of one of its most functional, the Fed. I'm speaking, of course, of taxes.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.