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So... Mr. Bernanke, what would you say ya do here?


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2006 Jun 27, 2:31pm   20,040 views  277 comments

by HARM   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

Bob

Randy H Said:

Abolish the Fed

I hope that is a joke. I’m trying to imagine a global economy without Central Banks, or a global economy in which one country unilaterally dissolves its Central Bank.

*shiver*

HARM Replied:

Explain to me in plain English exactly HOW the Fed’s mission has anything to do with “helping” the public (non bankers) and how they’ve actually succeeded in that role, and perhaps I’ll consider retracting that statement.

Federal Reserve System from Wikipedia
Roles and responsibilities
The main tasks of the Federal Reserve are to:

–Supervise and regulate banks
Not doing so well on that score lately from my POV.

–Implement monetary policy by open market operations, setting the discount rate, and setting the reserve ratio
Yes, they’ve done a “mah-velous” job of flooding capital markets with unlimited liquidity, blowing asset bubbles and destroying the value of the USD –kudos to them!

–Maintain a strong payments system
No argument here –creditors/lenders of all kinds have enjoyed limitless cash-flow under the Fed. Debtors on the other hand…

–Control the amount of currency that is made and destroyed on a day to day basis (in conjunction with the Mint and Bureau of Engraving and Printing)
Kind of depends on what you mean by “control”, doesn’t it? If you mean “set the money-creation spigot permanently to ‘ON’ and flood asset/capital markets until you have one speculative bubble after another”, then they’ve done a bang-up job!

In short, I believe the Fed has failed miserably at serving the public’s interests (assuming that it ever really had anything to do with this –I doubt it) and has only succeeded in making the business cycle even more volatile/extreme than it already was. Let’s not forget that the 1930s Great Depression, 1970s Stagflation and several severe recessions occurred on the Fed’s watch (founded in 1913), as has the consistent destruction of the purchasing power of the USD, in the interests of fake nominal “growth” through inflation.

The Treasury handles the production of paper money and coinage just fine. What exactly do we (the public) need a Federal Reserve System for?

Discuss, enjoy...
HARM

« First        Comments 251 - 277 of 277        Search these comments

251   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 29, 11:33am  

I have read that the essential difference about Americans is that we succeed despite our gov't. Therefore, for the most part, it doesn't matter which set of hacks we have in there.

Europeans look toward their gov't to manage things.

I don't know if it's true, but it rings true.

252   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 11:35am  

I don’t know if it’s true, but it rings true.

like many things that ring true at first, i think that oversimplifies things. and comes from a funny place, like libertarianism or something

253   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 11:53am  

oscar wilde was gay also

254   HARM   2006 Jun 29, 11:55am  

John Maynard Keynes may have been the ultimate anti-Monetarist, but he was still a capitalist. And a pretty good one at that.

255   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 11:58am  

'a pretty good capitalist'? how so? he was an economist, commenting on a capitalist system

256   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 12:04pm  

here are some quotes from the vilely gay oscar wilde. naturally, anyone who is straight, such as schmend rick, will always contribute far more to society than someone who is gay, so i don't know why anyone even paid attention to oscar wilde - presumably he is just useful as some sort of moral example of utter wrongness. schmend rick will follow up with links to his own set of highly superior and thoughtful plays and witticisms which enrich all our lives.

A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.

America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.

Biography lends to death a new terror.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

I always like to know everything about my new friends, and nothing about my old ones.

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

I am not young enough to know everything.

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

Illusion is the first of all pleasures.

It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.

One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.

257   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 12:16pm  

no, i'm not, actually... it would be the worse for you if i were, heh

258   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 29, 12:20pm  

>>does gathering facts improve our life?

Facts for facts sake? That's trivia. It can be a good hobby, and a hobby can improve your life.

259   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 12:33pm  

I just watched a children’s educational presentation on Global Climate Change. They trotted out the Mann “Hockey Stick” graph. You know, the one that shows no Medieval Warming Period. The nice facilitator might as well have been wearing a Brownshirt.

so true. we'll just have to wait and see... wish england would get warmer soon...

260   Zephyr   2006 Jun 29, 12:36pm  

So much bad science! Don’t you know the real truth? Global warming is caused by the steady decline in the number of pirates in the world. Look at the data. The correlation is very strong on this – stronger than the facts supporting any other theory!

Here is a link for this and other great knowledge about our universe and its creator: http://www.venganza.org/

261   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 12:41pm  

the latter. assuming you're collectiong at all...

262   Zephyr   2006 Jun 29, 12:50pm  

Imagine growing a wide range of crops in Siberia, and further north in Canada. Throughout history the prosperity of mankind and advancement of civilization has been positively correlated with world temperatures. Global warming, while disruptive if too fast, should bring another episode of such prosperity.

263   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 12:53pm  

could happen...

264   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 29, 1:16pm  

>>maybe our economy is going to collapse because the whole country wont stop blogging.

Smartest thing said today.

265   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 1:31pm  

>>maybe our economy is going to collapse because the whole country wont stop blogging.

Smartest thing said today.

yes, but it's a bit self-referential and recursive...

266   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 1:35pm  

Sure the ocean effects overwhelm the paddy emissions.

what does irish flatulence have to do with it? surely they're no worse than any other country...

267   HARM   2006 Jun 29, 1:37pm  

Different Sean Said:
‘a pretty good capitalist’? how so? he was an economist, commenting on a capitalist system

John Maynard Keynes: The Economist As Savior 1920-1937 : A Biography
by Robert Skidelsky

His net worth was over ₤500,000 in 1936, or more than ₤13 million at current values (p. 524). Keynes achieved similar success (and failures) for his friends and for King's. Skidelsky succeeds in bringing out the relationship between Keynes' pursuit of wealth and his pursuit for good life in a clear manner and in captivating detail.

And...

The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics
Biography of John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)

"...Contrary to some of his critics' assertions, Keynes was a relatively strong advocate of free markets. It was Keynes, not Adam Smith, who said "there is no objection to be raised against the classical analysis of the manner in which private self-interest will determine what in particular is produced, in what proportions the factors of production will be combined to produce it, and how the value of the final product will be distributed between them." Keynes believed that once full employment was achieved by fiscal policy measures, the market mechanism could then operate freely. "Thus," continued Keynes, "apart from the necessity of central controls to bring about an adjustment between the propensity to consume and the inducement to invest, there is no more reason to socialize economic life than there was before.""

268   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 2:09pm  

touché, brer rabbit. no time to argue, too busy improving the economy, and anyway it would be churlish.

as oscar wilde said:

Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.

Biography lends to death a new terror.

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

269   Different Sean   2006 Jun 29, 3:50pm  

Natural GHGs = life sustaining blanket of atmosphere.
Anthropogenic GHGs = uniquely important in destroying the environment.

that's silly. you're burning huge amounts of fossil fuel that were formerly locked in the ground, producing particularly CO, CO2 and methane, which has gone up enormously in global atmospheric concentration since pre-industrial times. not to mention CFCs and ozone. i suppose if your engine runs out of oil and water you should keep driving it for another 100 miles since it seems to be idling OK now. still, all we can do now is sit back and see what happens in the next decade or two -- i personally won't be buying any beachfront or low lying property...

270   Michael Holliday   2006 Jun 29, 11:22pm  

alien Says:

rates go up…

markets rise…

dollar falls?

?????

_____

Hmm...

Rates go up, market rises.
Market rises, gold rises.
Gold rises, my wealth rises.
My wealth rises, my health rises.
My health rises, my lurkey rises.
My lurkey rises, my wife rises...to the occasion.
My wife rises to the occasion, oceans rise.
Oceans rise, and the sun rises too.
The sun rises, the roosters rise.
The roosters rise, the roosters cry,
Michael Holliday rises and shines.
Michael Holliday rises and shines
and the whole world is happy!

Yay!

Yawn...sorry, it's only 6:24 a.m. and I'm still sleepy & can't think straight.
Give me some coffee, damn it!

Has the BA bubbly housing market collapsed into dishwater yet?

271   DinOR   2006 Jun 29, 11:34pm  

HARM,

"here's a lovely chart"

Calculated Risk puts out some amazing stuff. Thank you for bringing this to our attention! Talk about flipping a switch. GDP without MEW after 2000 absolutely falls off a cliff! This caliber of data is what prompted my comment to Randy H about having 89 different choices of fake hardwood flooring! Where's the benefit? And you're right, everyone from DL to the guy working in the fake hardwood flooring dept. at Home Despot is going to feel the burn.

Just a quick aside, my former neighbor custom built his 2,000 + sq. ft. home in OCT 2005. He told us he had about 300K into it, (his wife who stood slightly behind him was shaking her head with a doubtful smirk as in "try higher"). Just on Tuesday we drove past THREE homes a few blocks away (equally nice if not nicer) for 275 to 300K! TURNKEY! No "sweat equity" no sweat period! I can't wait to see what Labor Day and beyond brings!

272   DinOR   2006 Jun 29, 11:42pm  

I've got a feeling "Mr. Smarmy" failed to include the considerable expense of LANDSCAPING in his "estimate". These new homes are beautifully and completely landscaped with rather spendy decorative (and professionally done, not Mr. DIY) extensive block retaining walls. Graded, leveled, sodded and seeded, barkdust applied, walkways and sidewalks, decks and exterior lighting. All of which I "estimate" Mr. Smarmy will have completed by 2009.

273   HARM   2006 Jun 30, 1:31am  

Graded, leveled, sodded and seeded, barkdust applied, walkways and sidewalks, decks and exterior lighting. All of which I “estimate” Mr. Smarmy will have completed by 2009.

Just in time for Mr. & Mrs. HARM to take it off his hands for about .50 on the dollar (infl. adjusted). The next time you see him, please take a moment to thank him for all the 'free' upgrades and maintenance on my future home.

274   DinOR   2006 Jun 30, 2:09am  

HARM,

Oh I will! There was a time when "landscaping" meant leveling the ground and casting grass seed by hand. Now it's like 20K at a minimum, and that assumes $7.50 per hour labor! God forbid you can't pick up your crew at Home Despot. I don't mean to pick on this particular "Mr. Smarmy" b/c there are so many. This poor couple (true believers) just so happen to have been my former neighbors. As FB's they are truly not alone.

275   skibum   2006 Jun 30, 2:35am  

Back to Fed talk: Clearly most of the MSM spin has been along the lines of, "thank goodness, it looks like the Fed is hinting that they may pause in the rate raises next time." However, the Mercury News' spin on it cracked the hell out of me:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14937455.htm

Title: "More Mortgage Pain Coming"

Choice FB quote:

Dawn Ruiz, who's currently trying to sell a house in Merced, said she has a home equity line on which she's been making interest-only payments, but she hasn't been watching the interest rate closely.

"I don't want to know,'' she said.

276   Peter P   2006 Jun 30, 4:03am  

New thread: Global warming and the housing bubble

277   surfer-x   2006 Jun 30, 4:39am  

Dawn Ruiz, who’s currently trying to sell a house in Merced, said she has a home equity line on which she’s been making interest-only payments, but she hasn’t been watching the interest rate closely.

“I don’t want to know,'’ she said.

I truly hope people like Dawn lose everything, house,car, get divorced, everything. Fuck you, you fucking fucked borrower.

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