the people, through who they elect. Which is why unlimited money for campaign financing and declaring corporations people is tantamount to buying elections. It was a massive shift of power the lemmings don't understand.
Is this an argument or a tweet?
What does this have to do with the "abuse of monetary policy?"
money printer go brrr
They don't even print most of it. Digital.
You want to fuck up the whole world? Fuck the Black Plague or Ebola or coronavirus or Spanish flu.
Make a computer virus that destroys the e-banking system.
April 10th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
They did. It's called COBOL.
I spent several years studying Monetary Policy. Interest rates are no different than any other market price, there is a supply and a demand for it. When the Federal Reserve fixes rates at an artificially low rate, you’ll get savings shortages. For the econ geeks, the supply curve represents the supply of savings, and the demand curve represents debtors needs to borrow. The point they meet is the rate. We’ve been operating at 20+ years of artificially low rates, resulting in a savings shortage because supply does not meet demand. The difference between supply and demand represents the expansion in money supply in the fractional reserve system... Nobody has any savings, including most Fortune 500 companies. When you have an economy with an unhealthy amount of debt, you get exaggerated results (big profits and losses). Now, that things are bad, those losses are worse and the rate of interest should be rising.
It was actually a tenet of communism to have a central bank. I’m in favor of ending the Federal Reserve, but a more practical solution is to give it a strict formula on inflation via computer. Print an incrementally larger amount of cash each year, say 1%, and then never touch it. Put it in the constitution. Will never happen, because they like the flexibility to help their friends.
This is the most intelligent comment in this thread, far exceeding my dumbass posts.
All these years of cheap money has led to 1 of every 6 US businesses being “zombie corporations”. They can only survive on cheap money. If interest rates go up to normal ranges, these firms can’t stay in business. So, this downturn may actually be helpful by forcing some of the zombies to declare bankruptcy and get absorbed by healthier business...or fade away entirely because they’ve been making buggy whips. That is capitalism. Government riddled with lobbyists has trouble letting these bad events happen.
As an antitrust attorney, I think we are pretty much counting on this to happen whenever the COVID restrictions are relaxed. I would look for a lot of PE firms to buy up companies that took a particularly hard hit. The PE firms have the quick infusion of cash to prop the failing businesses back up and turn a profit.
April 10th, 2020 at 11:17 PM ^
I agree with your assessment about the opportunities for PE firms, and their cash infusions will play a key part of our economic recovery. Except for the PE firms who specialize at buying companies which are in need of cash, but instead they extract what little cash and other resources there are, squeezing out every penny into their pockets, claiming 'necessary business expenses', and thereby speeding the demise of the failing businesses while simulataneously leaving smaller creditors high and dry.
It is all part of the capitalism cycle, but at what cost to the human capital who relied on the companies for their income, health care, and pensions? Capitalism tends to view labor like any other form of capital, such as natural resources. When the wealth is extracted from the capital, the residual husks are dumped on the landscape without regard to what happens to them afterward. Do we ask that the capitalists clean up after themselves, or allow them to leave it to another generation? Should we insist that the capitalists take care of their spent human capital as well? Are capitalist corporations citizens, and if so, do they have a responsibility to the other citizens?
April 10th, 2020 at 11:52 PM ^
Are you sneaking in the reason why we need government to keep profit motive from excessive damage of the public good?
Bravo!
Probably has something to do with the fact that this week followed the worst entire month possibly ever.
Monetary policy is out of order to the extent the government mandated shutdown of the economy is out of order. The stock market is nothing more than a discounting mechanism of earnings of corporate America. Millions out of jobs made official in employment numbers while market positive is not unusual. Market was down 34% in 23 days was the market discounting and pricing job losses weeks ago. The fact that the market was positive when official unemployment numbers announced is not unusual. Markets look forward.
Agreed. The fed/government has been way too aggressive in propping up the stock market. If the economy is going to crash and burn, the stock market should as well.
Don't forget to play Risk tonight. Have a Good Friday.
April 10th, 2020 at 10:34 PM ^
Wow! Took a pandemic to show how much the communist/socialist majority that posts on this blog. Guess that’s why the majority of posters would love a long drawn out lockdown to destroy the US economy. Makes sense now.
April 10th, 2020 at 10:38 PM ^
So the majority on this blog would be all for a 6 month lockdown and economic/stock market destruction with 50 percent unemployment and the final prize being Donald Trump being voted out of office?
April 10th, 2020 at 10:51 PM ^
I'd take the last one. But I also don't like Joe Biden. So here we are again 4 years later. It's astonishing that there are 350,000,000 people in this country and we have to choose between two bottom feeders.
April 11th, 2020 at 12:31 AM ^
If Biden’s elected I guaranty we aren’t quarantined like this, he’ll actually lead and take the scientists and experts advice.
April 11th, 2020 at 12:49 AM ^
You can’t be serious. Say what you want about his lack of identity in the progressive party but Biden has lost his shit.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/03/08/sky_news_host_marvels_at_joe_biden_gaffe_montage_not_enough_popcorn_in_the_world_for_biden-trump_debate.html
April 11th, 2020 at 12:52 AM ^
But did he grab em by the pussy? Fuck off with “gaffes”
April 11th, 2020 at 12:56 AM ^
Well Biden does have a sexual harassment claim that if taken by his Kavanaugh statements should be taken at her word. Hypocrisy is a motherfucker which nobody likes.
Biden is a hot mess and it’s sad that is the Democratic nominee.
Oh, like cheating on his wife with a 3rd rate porn star and then paying hush money from campaign contributions? Fuck off about a hot mess
April 12th, 2020 at 11:22 AM ^
Watch the video. Biden is as senile as he is corrupt.
At least Bernie believes in something with passion and honesty. Biden doesn’t know what the hell he believes and won’t remember it even when they tell him.
But here’s your charge against Biden. My personal belief is this is bullshit. Charges that are old brought in the middle of an election smell of partisan politics and can’t be applied with much fairness.
So...are you a hypocrite?
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/apr/12/tara-reade-joe-biden-sexual-assault-accuser-files-/
Look, I plan on voting for Biden as of the moment, but both Biden and the WHO were calling Trump's mild travel restrictions to and from Wuhan on January 31 as xenophobic and dangerous. Faucci was still saying the US was under no threat.
I honestly doubt Biden would have handled it better up until SHTF in the US - at that point he probably would have handled it better.
April 10th, 2020 at 11:40 PM ^
The lockdown needs to occur until the virus is contained. This isn’t a left wing hoax. Democrat and republican governors aren’t destroying their states economies in order to oust the president. The same measures are being used around the world, throughout a wide variety of governments because this is a serious risk to the people.
April 11th, 2020 at 12:34 AM ^
you'll never convince the deep state crowd of this, the whole world is in on it, that's just how deep the deep state goes.
/s
April 10th, 2020 at 10:41 PM ^
Wow. Talk about fake news. It's the "best week" only because of the massive dive that was taken just prior. It wasn't growth - it was a rally based on a (perceived) light at the end of the tunnel.
April 11th, 2020 at 12:33 AM ^
The recent rally is the Fed hard at work buying up assets left and right well beyond what the Fed was ever intended to do. Other economies are doing it too, the Eurozone just pumped 600 billion into the system.
My feeling is the Fed is even over bidding for assets right now, because that's the kind of asshat clowns we have in charge.
just my kind of thread, and here I go and do outdoor things and miss it...
Well gents, all I can say is people should have healthcare
Other than that.
total stimulus = $4,300,000,000,000
Americans= 333,000,000 people
therefore stimulus is $13,030 per American
Will it get spread out evenly? You know the answer.
And yet I see people in much nicer cars than what I drive on the news waiting in long lines at food banks.
America has been blessed with the best land and I feel we haven't been living up to our expectations as a people
just saying