Quick warning at the top, in an effort to make monetary policy a little more exciting,

our guest today uses some salty language.

Yesterday and today, just a few blocks from the White House,

a group of 12 economists from around the country are meeting privately.

The same way they do every few weeks. This federal open market committee

is like a panel of doctors monitoring the country's vital signs.

And those vital signs, they're not looking so great.

I think it's more like the Fed was a doctor and it's like,

hey, you go to physical therapy, three months, you'll be better.

You'll totally be back to running marathons or whatever.

This is Slates Jordan Weissman.

And then like the patient after three months of physical therapy is like,

no, my knee still hurts. I think something's wrong and the doctor is like,

three more months of physical therapy. You'll be fine. You'll be back on the road.

And it's like three months after it's like, no, no, it's getting worse.

Still not great.

What Jordan's saying here is that the economy has been looking sort of ragged for a while now.

The question is what the Fed's going to do about it.

Later today, they'll take a vote and decide whether to prescribe the one medicine

they've got, lowering the interest rates.

It's something the Fed hasn't recommended in a decade.

Usually the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates because either the economy is spiraling into

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