35 Years of failed policy, lies, delusion, and bullshit
The theoretical goal of counter-cyclical monetary policy is to ease monetary conditions when the economy is going through recession. This provides businesses with affordable credit in periods when investors are generally risk averse. This access to liquidity helps to repair the real economy as businesses rationalize their production. However when used for too long and in too large of doses, the monetary heroin becomes highly addictive. Instead of facilitating investment, it subsidizes inertia and misallocation of capital. Soon dependency results and instead of focusing on rebuilding the real economy, the business sector instead sells off its assets and leverages itself with cheap money, used to pay dividends. At the end of this entire charade, instead of a healthy balanced economy, there is no economy. There is only a massive pile of debt, 0% interest rates, and a boatload of buffoons wondering what to do next. Voila.
[ZH: July 31st, 2014: Frat Boyz running out of "profit-enhancing" options]
Layoffs highest in two years
[Aug. 13th, 2014: More Cisco layoffs]
Debt at 370% of GDP (left scale)
Fed Funds Rate: From 18% in 1980 down to 0% for the past five years straight
"Dude, where's the economy?"
0% interest rates are compliments of Third World deflation (aka. outsourcing)
The Obama pseudo-recovery, worse than the Bush pseudo-recovery
Jobs adjusted for U.S. population
MW: Aug. 14th, 2014:
