Low interest rates are a cause of the continuing recession. It’s counterintuitive to have a financial crisis with rates falling. Borrowers aren’t in a position to borrow, despite low rates. What good is a low rate when you still have to pay back the entire principle.
What should have happened is a region by region, loan by loan principle reset, but that would have killed urban Democrats and their cronyist policies. It would have forced municipalities to choose between unsustainable policies, including pensions, and basic services. It’s the change we need, being prevented by low interest rates.
What needs to happen is to restore the import tariffs and put Americans back to work. The reasons borrowers aren’t in a position to borrow is that there are no jobs, and those jobs that do exist are not quality jobs.
The drop in oil prices is going to help a little in the short run. But low import tariffs is like trying to bail out a ship that has an unrepaired hole in the side.