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To: Kaslin

Observe Japan’s money printing. It is far bigger than ours.
There is deflation in Japan, not inflation.


4 posted on 02/24/2015 12:03:03 PM PST by entropy12 (Real function of economists is to make astrologers look respectable.)
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To: entropy12; Kaslin; grania; All
"Money-printing" by central banks in Japan and the US and elsewhere is not the cause of deflation (or inflation) - the reason for "printing" is the massive debt and deficits that have been and are being created ("printed") by their respective governments. The central banks simply monetize them the best they can as they are required to do by their charters. Without debt, there is no need for the Fed to "print money" or do QE - the Fed doesn't create the debt, in fact in the last few years it returned excess profit to the Treasury — on the order of approximately $100B per annum, on average — thus reducing the government deficits.

This quixotic / "Paulist" focus on the Fed as "the root of all evil" is simply a political grandstanding, attention-grabber for financially / economically unsophisticated people who don't know or really understand what the Fed is required to do, according to the laws made by Congress, like the idiotic and self-contradictory "dual-mandate" etc., without having the necessary tools but for a few blunt monetary instruments granted to them by Congress... and as such setting up the political blame game with the Fed as a scape-goat for financial or economic problems created by politicians.

It's also a convenient diversion from real problems created by the economically unworkable, stupid laws, taxes and regulations created for their own political purposes by Congress and administrations and agencies which distort normal realities of financial markets — like CRA, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, Fannie and Freddie, HUD, CFPB etc. etc.

Waging jihad against the Fed not only distracts from the positive things Fed has done for the economy — like creatively using QE to help keep rates low whichi allowed the private sector to refinance the debt, including mortgage and shore up corporate capital structures and equity markets which is the prime reason for somewhat less-than-disastrous economy and employment, and partially mitigate gross distortions of the economy from government malinvestment of fiscal "stimulus" programs, particularly ObamaCare —

It would be far better for GOP, both politically and sincerely, to give credit to the Fed for saving the economy from the unwise fiscal policies of this administration and previous Congresses, and recognize, just like both Bernanke and Yellen said, that the US fiscal policy of high debt and deficits is unsustainable. This would recognize the Fed's contribution to the limping and weak, but not contracting, economy and gives it credit for health of the equity markets and corporate profits, which have provided them with capital to hire and increase employment - thus taking away any semblance of credit from Obama and the Democrats. As it stands, while GOP is busy beating up on the Fed, Obama and the Dems are laughing all the way to take the credit for all the things that monetary policy accomplished despite their disastrous fiscal policies and programs.

That's the kind of thing that would also go over well with people who understand the economy and the differences and limitations of fiscal and monetary policies (which is why presidents would be wise to work together with the Fed, as article indicated, and as was done successfully during the 2008 financial/credit crisis) who would not be caught dead voting for liberal Democrats, yet are looking at Paulistas or other Fed-bashing Republicans and just shake their heads at the financial / economic ignorance of otherwise natural allies.

Fed has already been much more transparent than Rand Paul. And Fed is audited, really audited, every year. this Audit the Fed ruse is about political control of the monetary policy by know-nothings in Congress and administrations, same way as the Net Neutrality which is really about regulation and control of the Internet. Maybe we should rename Audit the Fed into Fed Neutrality - that should go over well with OWS crowd and "disadvantaged."

The Fed, in and of itself, is not the enemy - let's not create them where they don't exist and get embarrassed in the process.

See also:
There's a new mortgage crisis brewing [Richard Bove] - FR / CNBC, by Richard X. Bove, 2015 February 23

It's Official: Ron Paul Is Head Of Monetary Policy Subcommittee - FR, post #99, 2010 December 09 (acorn/tree)

Blame the Fed for the Financial Crisis - FR, post #38, WSJ, by Ron Paul, 2011 October 21 (acorn/tree)

Meet The 35 Foreign Banks That Got Bailed Out By The Fed (And This Is Just The CPFF Banks) - FR, posts #31, #34, #35, #38, 2010 December 02

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8 posted on 02/24/2015 9:09:23 PM PST by CutePuppy (If you don't ask the right questions you may not get the right answers)
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