<< <i>Bernanke will say in so many words. "I'm a do nothing, know it all academic with a degree from Harvard." To which I say, Fire his arse, and Geithner's while your at it, and impeach Obama. >>
"If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot."
Just a little FYI----------------sometimes the real reaction to the Fed minutes happens the day after. MJ
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I thought The Bernank did a great job, he managed to get stocks, bonds and PM's to all move up. It should be obvious that he needs to inflate the economy at some reasonable rate, maybe 5-8% annually.
This keeps the banksters happy because they aren't having to mark assest values down It keeps the politicians happy because they repay the massive debt with less valuable dollars in the future It makes the PM longs happy because it's obvious there is going to be inflation and that keeps the prices moving up
Ok, so the dollar gets weaker, big wuff. That leads to more exports which leads to more jobs at home, the politicians are happy about that and the people that get a job back are happy. Yes, there is a high risk of big time inflation, but if the Bernank gets really lucky (or changes the definitions again) he can keep that under control so we don't have hyper inflation.
To be honest what are the other options. Go back on the gold standard? Where are you going to find all the gold to make our current dollars worth anything at all? Or do you just go ahead and devalue the dollar by 80% tomorrow? I'm not alone in thinking that crashing the world economy on purpose is not a great idea.
Cut government spending to balance the budget? Well let's look at the big numbers, and that means starting with defense. I'm ok with bringing home everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow, and just about any other country. That would save a butt-load of money but apparantly many people don't like that one.
Cut out social security and medicare/medicade to save some money? That's a non-starter. I, for one, don't care about getting a 2% tax break if it means my 77 year old dad (who by the way served 24 years as an enlisted man in the USAF) can't get health insurance because he had a bypass last year. And what about all the 90 year old widows living on only that in retirement homes? Some people may be willing to throw them in the waste bin as historical relics, but I'm not one of them.
So as much as people would like to believe there is some simple majic fix, that's exactly like living in The Bernanks "inflation is moderate" fairy tale village. To fix this long term while causing as little pain as possible takes hard decisions, and reasonable people can disagree on which way to go.
Edited to add: I'm long physical gold, long CVX/GE/INTC/KO/MSFT among others.
<< <i>Bernanke will say in so many words. "I'm a do nothing, know it all academic with a degree from Harvard." To which I say, Fire his arse, and Geithner's while your at it, and impeach Obama. >>
"If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot." >>
Well said!! To whom do you attribute that wise advice?
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." PBShelley
Cut out social security and medicare/medicade to save some money? That's a non-starter. I, for one, don't care about getting a 2% tax break if it means my 77 year old dad (who by the way served 24 years as an enlisted man in the USAF) can't get health insurance because he had a bypass last year. And what about all the 90 year old widows living on only that in retirement homes? Some people may be willing to throw them in the waste bin as historical relics, but I'm not one of them.
The entitlements will be left untouched for those 55 and over. It is the younger generation who will likely not receive anything or a revised system in which they pay more into and receive a lot less. No one wants to throw the elderly in the streets. That is not what this country stands for, though I believe there will be a transitional phase where the SS and Medicare we know today will be entirely different. I think I will get get shafted being only 48 and I fall below that 55 threshold. If Obama gets elected in 2012 I might get a reprieve and they won't touch SS and Medicare for another 6 years.
Comments
<< <i>Bernanke will say in so many words. "I'm a do nothing, know it all academic with a degree from Harvard."
To which I say, Fire his arse, and Geithner's while your at it, and impeach Obama. >>
"If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot."
<< <i>
Eventually:
>>
I think i wet myself!
Fred, Las Vegas, NV
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
BLAH, BLAH and more BLAH.He served a bowl of pablum
to the masses. More then likely it contained a sedative.
Camelot
This keeps the banksters happy because they aren't having to mark assest values down
It keeps the politicians happy because they repay the massive debt with less valuable dollars in the future
It makes the PM longs happy because it's obvious there is going to be inflation and that keeps the prices moving up
Ok, so the dollar gets weaker, big wuff. That leads to more exports which leads to more jobs at home, the politicians are happy about that and the people that get a job back are happy. Yes, there is a high risk of big time inflation, but if the Bernank gets really lucky (or changes the definitions again) he can keep that under control so we don't have hyper inflation.
To be honest what are the other options. Go back on the gold standard? Where are you going to find all the gold to make our current dollars worth anything at all? Or do you just go ahead and devalue the dollar by 80% tomorrow? I'm not alone in thinking that crashing the world economy on purpose is not a great idea.
Cut government spending to balance the budget? Well let's look at the big numbers, and that means starting with defense. I'm ok with bringing home everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow, and just about any other country. That would save a butt-load of money but apparantly many people don't like that one.
Cut out social security and medicare/medicade to save some money? That's a non-starter. I, for one, don't care about getting a 2% tax break if it means my 77 year old dad (who by the way served 24 years as an enlisted man in the USAF) can't get health insurance because he had a bypass last year. And what about all the 90 year old widows living on only that in retirement homes? Some people may be willing to throw them in the waste bin as historical relics, but I'm not one of them.
So as much as people would like to believe there is some simple majic fix, that's exactly like living in The Bernanks "inflation is moderate" fairy tale village. To fix this long term while causing as little pain as possible takes hard decisions, and reasonable people can disagree on which way to go.
Edited to add: I'm long physical gold, long CVX/GE/INTC/KO/MSFT among others.
World Collection
British Collection
German States Collection
<< <i>
<< <i>Bernanke will say in so many words. "I'm a do nothing, know it all academic with a degree from Harvard."
To which I say, Fire his arse, and Geithner's while your at it, and impeach Obama. >>
"If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot." >>
Well said!! To whom do you attribute that wise advice?
The entitlements will be left untouched for those 55 and over. It is the younger generation who will likely not receive anything or a revised system in which they pay more into and receive a lot less. No one wants to throw the elderly in the streets. That is not what this country stands for, though I believe there will be a transitional phase where the SS and Medicare we know today will be entirely different. I think I will get get shafted being only 48 and I fall below that 55 threshold. If Obama gets elected in 2012 I might get a reprieve and they won't touch SS and Medicare for another 6 years.
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