Also, wtf is the Fed's objective? Nations with IMF debt and reliance on US imports are drowning, and American workers endure the recession, but WHY is it doing this?

Doubling the rate to borrow from the Fed also doubles the return on investment in US dollar-denominated securities. Whenever the advantage swings even slightly toward labor the Fed moves the rate up to keep the labor market "soft" to keep shareholders in control.

Not many working-class people buy Treasury securities or have much influence in setting prices, so the balance (or imbalance) is pushed back in favor of the investor class. The long stretch of QE freed up reserves that were previously invested in low-yield Treasuries that can now be re-invested at higher returns that don't produce economic activity at the "street level" without imposing hardship on the investor class.

Maybe, it's trying to hurt China's economy or increase foreign debt - I don't know, but I'm sure there's some twisted plan.

With the needless increase in borrowing rates, the case can be better made against American investment in its infrastructure and the GOP's constant battle against government spending can gain traction among econ illiterate voters. Expect to see a lot of calls for austerity in federal budgets as the usual econ myths are pushed on the mainstream voters who still relate federal spending to their own budgeting.

The usual targets of Social Security and Medicare that offer some institutional buffer against poverty will be dragged into the fear porn that the GOP has refined into an art form with no real pushback from even the most "progressive" members of Congress. The false metric of the debt ceiling will be cited as a harbinger of doom and both sides will come to an "agreement" that further erodes the spending power of the working class.