printAs we warned you over these pixelated pages, QE2 was set to sail again, although this was no maiden voyage.
Quantitative Easing; a nicety for the Fed’s ballooning of the money supply, causing inflation, a devaluation of the dollar, and a diminution of its purchasing powers. In the offing I see hyperinflation. A stimulus sans the pomp and circumstance. Via Bloomberg.com:
The Federal Reserve will buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June, expanding record stimulus and risking its credibility in a bid to reduce unemployment and avert deflation.
Policy makers, who said new purchases will be about $75 billion a month, “will adjust the program as needed to best foster maximum employment and price stability,” the Fed’s Open Market Committee said in a statement in Washington. The central bank retained its pledge to keep interest rates low for an “extended period.”
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is trying to boost growth after near-zero interest rates and $1.7 trillion in securities purchases helped pull the economy out of recession without bringing down joblessness close to a 26-year high. He’s risking a strategy that may either fail or fuel inflation and asset bubbles, said Scott Pardee, a former New York Fed official who now teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont. …
UPDATE (Nov. 4): BACHMANN The Brave. Via WND.COM:
“Fresh from her victory in last night’s election, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says she begged the Federal Reserve not to go ahead with controversial plans to monetize the national debt, and is calling its purchase of hundreds of billions of dollars in Treasury bonds ‘a disaster’ for America. .. In her Oct. 14 letter, the Minnesota Republican told Bernanke the policy move was ‘clearly less preferable than improving our nation’s economy through responsible fiscal policy that consists of decreased government spending and lower rates of taxation and a constrained regulatory regime that operates within the boundaries of prudence and reasoned self-restraint.”
This woman has all the brain power poor Sarah is without.
OT – Michele Bachmann is running for Conference Chair
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=155615521146889&id=7658849357
I am pleased to announce that I am running for Chairman of the House Republican Conference! Constitutional Conservatives deserve a loud and clear voice in leadership!
What do you mean we don’t have any more money? We’ve still got checks in the check book.
Isn’t this auto-cannibalism?
Again, QE does not necessarily mean inflation though that’s what the fed wants – to hit its inflation target which has historically been around 2%. Monetarist theorists say that both overshooting and undershooting the target is bad.
And increasing the money supply does not necessarily produce inflation. Inflation depends on future expected path of monetary policy. i.e. If the increase is permanent, and results in money available exceeding the current demand for money, then inflation will rise. On the other hand, if the demand for money increases further, and/or the increase is seen to be temporary, then inflation will not rise much (if at all).
Expectations people! Rational expectations!
The only way the economy can recover is if the kind of corporate restructuring that occurred in the 80’s and early 90’s is allowed to occur. The large corporations and conglomerates that were fueled by Greenspan and Bernanke’s cheap money policies over the past 15 must be allowed to downsize by spinning off many parts of themselves. This, of course, threatens the perks and privileges of the existing management of these entities. Bernanke is trying to prevent this restructuring from occurring even if he has to risk destroying the U.S. currency to accomplish this.
Think of quantitative easing as a corporate bailout by other means and you understand the picture here.
The question is whether the new Congress will clip the wings (authority) of the Federal Reserve Counterfeiters – or even audit that gang??
My guess is that Congress will, after a struggle, pass something that has the APPEARANCE of being tough with the Fed but will actually be rather toothless. Furthermore, they will give Obama the authority to not get tough with the Feds satisfying all parties – (1) the Republicans have the appearance of “doing something” and can blame Obama/Feds if it doesn’t “work”, (2) Obama gets more political power and is “credible”, and (3) the Fed goes on doing what is has been doing.
I’m glad to see that Bachman is continuing the good fight! Reducing taxes tends to increase the amount of revenue the government receives. However, we have to get SERIOUS about reducing our spending. As an aerospace engineer working as a defense contractor I have to admit I’m sensitive to defense spending cuts. However, as an American taxpayer serious cuts in certain areas of defense must be on the table. I believe that one reason Europe was able to proper so long even with socialist policies is because we defended them for so long. Clearly, a whole lot of money could be saved if we brought most of our troops from Europe and closed most of our bases and let the Europeans defend themselves. I know Russia can still be troublesome but, the threat of the Russian Bear is a whole lot less than it was during the Cold War. Yes we must be vigilant but, more efficiently and closer to home. Why don’t we use our Military to defend the borders? As my lovely wife would say “Now there’s an idea!”.
Mike Marks: Reducing taxes will reduce government revenues (discounting tax sheltering) in the short run but grows the economy in the long run. Unfortunately, Americans have the attention span of gnats so they like the Republikeynsian tax cuts which shift the taxes from me to my daughter [and she neither votes nor cares!].
Deficits are like an addicting drug – get people hooked (on the spending) and the cost comes later. The politically expedient solutions is usually more tax cuts for the Republicans and more spending for the Democrats – although our proximity to deficit Armageddon may limit the politicians’ ability to please everyone.