The Federal Reserve and the Bank of England both refused to raise interest rates this week, siding with Wall Street while inflation keeps chewing through working-class paychecks on both sides of the Atlantic.

Three members of the Fed's Open Market Committee dissented in favor of a quarter-point hike, according to Benzinga, and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh declared he has "no tolerance" for inflation — then held rates flat anyway. Across the pond, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to keep its benchmark at 3.75%, CNBC reported, with members Megan Greene, Huw Pill, and Catherine Mann all pushing for a hike. The pattern is the same in London as in Washington: central bankers talk tough on inflation, then do nothing.

The stakes are straightforward. British inflation has sat above the BoE's 2% target for roughly five years, per CNBC. It dipped to a 15-month low of 2.6% in June — partly because regulated household energy bills lag market prices, Reuters noted — but that's cold comfort to anyone who's been paying inflated prices since 2021. U.S. inflation likewise remains above the Fed's 2% target, and the CME Group's FedWatch tool shows markets pricing a 65.2% probability of a rate hike by September, Benzinga reported. So much for "no tolerance."

What's keeping inflation alive? Energy. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for five months due to the on-again, off-again Iran war, Reuters reported, and oil spiked above $100 a barrel last week. BoE dissenters Greene and Pill both flagged energy risks. Greene warned that "additional supply risks, including a second energy chokepoint in the Red Sea and AI-related hardware supply constraints," are weighing on markets, and argued that "a proactive hike in Bank Rate may reduce the probability that second-round effects set in." Pill said the "profound uncertainty surrounding the energy price outlook is likely to be prolonged and of unknown duration."

Their colleagues on both committees weren't persuaded. The majorities opted to wait — and Wall Street cheered. U.S. stock futures rose on the Fed's hold, Benzinga noted, with Microsoft jumping over 8% on earnings. Technology analyst Luke Lango called the gap between "market fear and fundamental reality" the largest of the AI bull market and predicted a "swift and significant" rally. Easy for him to say. Private-sector wage growth in the U.K. is at its weakest since 2020, Reuters reported — 2.9%. When wages lag inflation year after year, someone is paying for those stock gains, and it isn't the analyst class.

Reuters framed the BoE's hold as a "relief" for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has prioritized cost-of-living measures. CNBC emphasized that the hold was "in line with economists' expectations." Benzinga buried the Fed dissent in the fourth paragraph and led with stock futures. Nobody led with the working man.

Here's the open question: if three dissenters at the Fed and three at the BoE all think rates need to go higher, and inflation is still above target, and energy shocks are ongoing — what exactly are the majorities waiting for? And who pays while they wait?