#358 Danielle DiMartino Booth: The Fed Knows the Data Is Broken, Private Credit Is Contagious, and Nobody Is Fighting for American Families

In this episode, Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO of QI Research and former Fed insider, Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO of QI Research and former Fed insider, joins Julia to sound the alarm on a U.S. economy she believes is being misread, misreported, and mismanaged. From growing divisions inside the FOMC to deeply troubling labor market signals — including an ISM non-manufacturing employment reading of 45.2 last seen during the Great Recession — Danielle lays out why she believes the Fed is falling dangerously behind. She breaks down the private credit contagion risk, why only 25% of unemployed Americans are collecting benefits, and how student loan repayments, rising gas prices, and tightening lending standards are quietly crushing working families. With a midterm election on the horizon and consumer sentiment crumbling across all income levels, Danielle argues the stakes have never been higher — and that someone needs to start speaking up for everyday Americans.

Links:

Danielle's Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dimartinobooth

Substack: https://dimartinobooth.substack.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DanielleDiMartinoBoothQI

Fed Up: https://www.amazon.com/Fed-Up-Insiders-Federal-Reserve/dp/0735211655

Timestamps:

0:00 Welcome back Danielle DiMartino Booth

01:00 FOMC minutes: Even more division inside the Fed

4:47 – What happens if no Fed chair gets confirmed?

7:19 – Is the Fed ignoring everyday Americans?

8:51 – ISM data parallels to 2001, 2007, and the Great Recession

10:53 – Job insecurity hitting ALL income levels

15:26 – Stagflation or just stagnation? Danielle breaks it down

16:38 – Are we headed for a policy error? Private credit warning

18:18 – The 10-year Treasury, Iran, and the liquidity threat

20:48 – Private credit contagion: What's not getting enough attention

23:16 – Buy Now, Pay Later and gig workers getting crushed

25:42 – Only 25% of unemployed Americans are collecting benefits

27:23 – The Fed knows the data is broken — so why won't they say it?

28:35 – April FOMC: Rate cuts off the table?

29:34 – Danielle on who she's fighting for

30:31 – What investors don't understand about the real cost of living

31:58 – Parting thoughts: Spread kindness