Posted on 11/16/2010 4:45:37 PM PST by JohnRLott
The current inflation rate of 2 percent is "too low." That is at least if you believe Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. With the economy growing "too slowly to bring down unemployment," Mr. Bernanke's solution is to increase inflation.
The Federal Reserve last week started printing up $600 billion to buy U.S. Treasury Bonds and another almost $300 billion to buy mortgages. The printing more dollars will reduce the value of the dollar just as doubling the number of apples will reduce the price of apples.
A falling value of the dollar is what is called “inflation.” The problem is that this "stimulus" will only temporarily reduce unemployment and get the economy growing by tricking people into making mistakes that they will later regret, mistakes that will cost the country much more in the long run than will be gained by these temporary improvements. With unemployment stuck at least at 9.5 percent for a record 15 months, the desire "to do something" is understandable, but the only people who this policy will help are the politicians currently in office.
You would think that all economists would have learned the lessons of the 1960s and 1970s: higher inflation rates only temporarily reduce unemployment. . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Excuse me, but if we used the Legal Money our Constitution stipulates, IE Minted & Coined, instead of Bernanke’s junk IOUs, Bernanke’s tirade, to say nothing of the FED’s chicanery, would be moot.
It’s not for nothing that Princess ANN COULTER refers to
Mr. Lott as...’the INESTIMABLE JOHN LOTT’
both of them are indeed ...NATIONAL TREASURES....
Well educated idiots with short memories.
Sowell/Lott 2012!
In addition, anyone who has actually gone grocery shopping recently knows full well that the government's inflation statistics are manipulated downward for political reasons.
Obama is at war with those who choose to be productive outside of the umbrella of the liberal northeastern elites in government and crony capitalist businesses. Every person who can provide for him or herself without the aid of the liberal elites, is a threat to the very existence of the liberal ruling class. Bernanke is Obama's lapdog, nothing more.
In theory it’s possible to simply print money in such a way as to increase productivity, but that’s pretty ****ing far from what’s going on now. The money being printed now is simply driving gasoline and food out of normal people’s reaches.
Lassez-faire, free market economies always has and continues to be what actual-fact history as well as sound economic theory support. Free-market capitalism breathes and is lively and robust. Socialism belongs in an old dusty museum somewhere as a display for stupid, antiquated ideas that never worked in the real world.
Correct, but printing money out of thin air is not quite socialist, it is Mercantilist (Something the Friedman, Adam Smith would be horrified about, no doubt). The implications are both with reference to inflation driving commodity/product prices higher and also, increasing exports by devaluing our currency (like China and Japan have done in the last 50 years.) It is a completely political move because exports can increase in the short term and increase the cash reserves (reduce deficit/debt) but it is unsustainable and dangerous in the long run (by creating bubbles, currency wars etc.). Far from being stupid, it is a planned move to increase political capital even if it decreases the country’s economic capital in the process, not that Obama and his cronies care of course.
Hang on! Are you The John Lott?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lott
In that case, An Honour! Did not know you were a FReeper!
Ben Bernacke needs to go. Can a member of the Federal Reserve be removed by Congress?
Sure, if they’re not fussy how it gets done, and pay me in cash. Oh, sorry, I was just reading this spy movie novelization aloud.
as per usual... well done John R. Lott.
It seems troubling, however, that the Fed really believes that qe2 can actually help the economy. But I think Mr. Lott touched on something with his mention of the Chinese.
Ok, here’s a brand new and original conspiracy theory . . .
qe2 is an economic warning shot to the Chinese. The amount of debt being consumed by the Fed is comparable to that which is held by the Chinese - and we can take it out in one click of a Fed Chair’s mouse button. - and the majority of the US won’t even notice it.
then 5 days later . . .
A massive ICBM erupts out of the open sea off the coast of California heading east at Mach speeds. Coincidence? Maybe. But we used to do submarine launches in the Atlantic just to show the soviets we could. Is it that preposterous that we do the same with China.
China’s economy may be large and growing, and ours may be struggling - but we can still take out ALL of their debt with the click of a mouse; and we can take out much more with the push of a button.
These events may be entirely unrelated, but I suspect they seem very related - to the Chinese.
Have you read “Term Limits” by Vince Flynn? If not, I highly recommend it.
Very bumpable. Do the inflation bump. Bump if you heart inflation.
Was inflation measured the same in the 70s as it is today? Did the measurement exclude food and fuel then?
To me, it’s a great lie to say that there is no inflation as I look, especially, at the cost of food which has risen significantly.
It boggles my mind that they want to inflict further inflation on us. It’s outright theft.
I argue that it is stupid because these people only know politics and power and know little of true economic principles. Politically they’re stealth and subtle but economically, they’re stupid.
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