The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would keep interest rates at their current level. Leadership from the big banks is unhappy with this decision since the rates may keep many businesses and Americans from taking out loans and may not fight inflation the way the Fed thinks it will. But should that be the only concern of banks and the Fed? Authors Bethany McLean and Dr. Nomi Prins join Yahoo Finance to discuss why the Fed's policies have really only benefited those at the top despite leadership signaling they are concerned with lower-income Americans. McLean, author of the NYT bestseller The Big Fail, elaborates on how Fed policy hurts lower-income Americans: "We have this weird system with Fed policy, which the Fed is deeply concerned about income inequality and those at the bottom end of the spectrum, but Fed policy nonetheless seems to further the very divides that are so problematic." "There's a ton of consumer debt that is at a record. Credit card debt over a trillion [dollars], total household debt over $17 trillion," Dr. Prins, author of Permanent Distortion: How The Financial Markets Abandoned The Real Economy Forever, echoes McLean's point. "All of that debt costs money and what JPMorgan does by consolidating a lot of those loans into itself because it's grown so large, is it effectively is taking money more from these Fed rate hikes by virtue of having all of those loans in it's purview from the American consumer..." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

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