Short him, not me.
Posted on 11/11/2010 10:33:55 AM PST by blam
We have lost any desire to borrow *any* money at *any* interest rate...
These SOB's can keep their stinking money.
Exactly!! Bush was pushing Buy Buy Buy after Sept 11 for example everyone bought GM cars at 0 percent interest.
A greatly weakened other party which is just about out of political capital. All the lies that got them this far just are no longer going to fly. You don't take into account public opinion which is what the other party needs to function. Bottom line...if you believe that the far-left has mostly shot their wad, you will be fairly optimistic at this point and will see that if Obama gives on his tax-cut pledge it shows he is pretty much out of capital as far as manipulating public opinion. But if you believe that what the Dems say still resonates as much with the public you will be pessimistic.
You don't take into account good feelings. However, good feelings are important when you're talking about public consumption and factually DO lead to people opening their wallets. For robotic investors who only spend when dry facts lead, they will also have plenty of reason to see that hiring makes better sense now than it did a year ago.
Yeah, but I think my Benjamins will soon become Grants and there ain't much I can do about that.
They are going to loan us this week the money we printed last week!
Short him, not me.
You don't take into account good feelings. However, good feelings are important when you're talking about public consumption and factually DO lead to people opening their wallets.Even for those without jobs or uncertain about whether they will have a job? What about their feelings? Say I accept your theory, I would still insist that until the structural problems occasioned by, or that caused the crisis, are resolved, there will be few good feelings to go around. People are not going to spend or, worse, run up their credit card bills again, just because Republicans are in office. If they're smart they're going to pay down their debts, spend as little as possible, and perhaps invest in commodities as a hedge against inflation if they have any surplus at all.
People are not going to spend or, worse, run up their credit card bills again, just because Republicans are in office. If they're smart they're going to pay down their debts, spend as little as possible
No, it's not the Repubs. It's the pro-business climate they will help create. I'm not saying people are going to run up their credit cards. But a better climate will begin to prevail where people won't be as scared and even the little guy will again feel confident to invest a little.
Paul Volcker and Ronald Reagan did a pretty good job of getting rid of it...
It was PAINFUL as hell... 22% interest rates.. but, it worked.
Yes. People have realized that the level of debt they have is to high in a bad and unstable economy, so they are trying to dig themselves out of debt and get on more solid ground. This leads decreased demand, and prices drop somewhat in response.
So our federal government steps in and says we can't be having deflation! We have to increase spending! So they once again devalue the US dollar more making it in the short term harder for people to dig themselves out of debt.
It makes it easier to borrow money and easier to pay it back later because inflation means the dollars you are paying the bills with a couple years from now will be worth less.
However, Americans are already in buried in debt. If you keep making it easy to borrow even when people are too far in debt you help the economy in the short term, but it creates a bubble which comes back to haunt you.
This is the same thing that the Clinton and Bush administrations did with mortgage rates. Clinton did it because he wanted the larges economic expanision in history to be his legacy. Bush continued it because between 9/11, business accounting scandals, and recovering from the dot com crash it was the only thing keeping us out of a recession.
Now Obama needs to show some economic recovery pretty damn fast if he wants reelected. The policy may cause more harm than good in the long run, but he has to get reelected before he needs to worry about that.
The government needs to quit pushing more credit and devaluing the dollar and instead let us start digging ourselves a bit out of debt so we are on more solid footing.
Yes, it means slow growth for a while longer. Yes it means economic pain in the short term. We can't put off paying the bill for overspending forever.
LOL!
Just like in 1923, 
Ten Millard Mark note (10 billion US)
Volcker began the process under Carter and culminated it under Reagan.
But it took a man like Volcker.
With Bernanke and our stalwart politicians, how high would inflation have to rage before the will to impose the needed medicine would manifest itself?
Unfortunately, we may find out.
I'm afraid, you're right.
I think, it takes a combination of a Fed Chief like Volcker, WITH a President popular enough to keep the peoples mollified, and willing to endure the pain.
Reagan stood up to the challenge. And, pushed for the RIGHT kind of stimulus: Letting people KEEP more of their money.
They want a low inflation rate to boost housing prices etc.
It won’t be immediate, IMO, but things could be interesting at this time next year, as prices rise.
But when they rise further, will enough interconnected effects have been set in motion that the $4 gallon spikes to over $5. Your house may be worth more, but you’ll be spending more in energy costs to heat/cool it.
“Puttin’ out fire with Gasoline” - David Bowie.
And more in property taxes.
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