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HARM,
At least one of those links does present logical, reasonable arguments.
You are attempting to shift the context of this debate from now&futures.com is full of shit to reasonable people reasonably debate Fed centered econometrics.
I have never raised objection with reasoned critics. I will continue to object to bullshit, regardless of its particular flavor or affiliation. I point out that I took "The Futurist" (aka Juku) to task over his "$100 Oil is Good for the US" model, which included lots of equally flawed graphs and charts.
Randy,
You seem to be convinced now&futures.com's methodology is "full of shit", so I'll leave it at that. I am not a professional economist or statistician --as you are-- so it is highly doubtful I can create anything better or debate you on the specifics of whether or not they achieved their claim of "five nines 9999946 correlation" to the real index. Perhaps they should have just said "this is a pretty good guess" and left it at that.
I still doubt that compiling historical Fed data to create a rough reconstruction of M3 using a "best guess" of the Fed's (presumably secret) formula is entirely crazy or beyond ordinary human ability. However, I'll concede there may be much better models out there. If you know of any, please share them with us here.
HARM,
I and others have been and will continue to search for such models. I'll happily share anything I find, of course.
The second link you posted above:
M3 Measure of Money Discontinued by the Fed
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/conrad/2005/1122.html
is very reasonable. The third link is a bit of a polarized discussion, but also not without some interesting perspective and information.
Recreating a "guess" at M3 isn't really all that hard. But it's useless. What is hard is figuring out how to measure real money growth in aggregate, which is ultimately what you're after I assume.
No one reasonable denies that we have been awash in global liquidity. I'm just saying that the one particular site you used as support is illegitimate.
And, for the record, I am not a professional economist, econometricist, or statistician. I do not have a PhD in any of those fields.
I do not have a PhD in any of those fields.
I thought you were a CBA (Certified Bubble Analyst)?
aided and abetted by a man who is a born ex-bankrupt loser by the name of George W. Bush
correction: a born-AGAIN ex-bankrupt loser...
@goober,
According to the Economist:
To bring the ratio of prices to rents back to some sort of fair value, either rents must rise sharply or prices must fall. After many previous house-price booms most of the adjustment came through inflation pushing up rents and incomes, while home prices stayed broadly flat. But today, with inflation much lower, a similar process would take years. For example, if rents rise by an annual 2.5%, house prices would need to remain flat for 12 years to bring America's ratio of house prices to rents back to its long-term norm. Elsewhere it would take even longer. It seems more likely, then, that prices will fall.
Of course, this was calculating it for national prices, not CA's --which are much higher, and will naturally take longer. And it all depends upon what you think the "real" inflation rate is, and whether or not rents will track this rate long-term. Two very big "ifs".
Oops, forgot the source: http://www.economist.com/finance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=4079027
Using 2000 prices as a "pre-bubble" benchmark:
CAR 2000 median price: $241,250
(source: http://realtytimes.com/rtapages/20001207_carsurvey.htm)
CAR June 2006 median price: $575,800
(source: http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzE3ODY=)
575K / 241K = 239%
If we assume:
(a) the current CPI (~4%) is an accurate measure of inflation
(b) housing prices will stay perfectly flat long-term
(c) rent increases will roughly track the CPI long-term
Then it would take approx. 22.5 years for inflation alone to bring rents back into line with prices: 1.04^22.2 = ~2.39
If we assume "real inflation" is closer to the pre-Clinton CPI (7.5%), then it would take only 12 years for inflation to bring rents back into line with prices: 1.075^12 = ~2.39
All I will say is that if Rents don't "track inflation", then there won't be inflation. It's a circular iterative equation.
Same is true of incomes, with lag. There is no free lunch. It all depends upon how much more 'slack' you think can be taken out of the average consumer before (s)he gets upset enough to finally vote their own best economic interests.
goober Says:
I’m beginnig to think a plateau is possible…
if it plateaus, it will still put ridiculous demands on the income of the next generation, so there will be housing stress for years to come.
NYC council has announced the creation of 165,000 affordable housing place to be built or made available over the next 10 years... that would help to alleviate the problem by bringing down market prices both directly and indirectly by govt intervention... prices for these places would obviously be lower, and there would be a flow-on effect into uncontrolled prices due to lessened demand... both rents and purchases, i guess...
Now that we're here, it could take a decade or longer to just get back to anemic growth.
The stagflation we saw looming on the distant horizon back in the mid 00s has finally arrived. It only took a global debt market financial collapse, the Fed printing so many 0s that it's easier to state their balance sheet in scientific notation, and a 2.5 year long undeclared state of global martial law, to finally release it upon us.
Now that we're here, it could take a decade or longer to just get back to anemic growth.
That is, unless another one of those formerly rare black swans decides to join the gaggle.
Our glorious MIC is pumping on all cylinders now (thanks, Puton!) and will be the engine pulling us out back to growth.
I'm "anti-war" - I do dislike the senseless killing
The MIC is what is destroying, and will ultimately destroy the United States.
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No graphs. No charts. No equations. Just your comments.
Today should be a good day to talk about inflation. It affects us all, like Death and Taxes.
Randy H