It's official the economy has turned......
- Thread starter RCG Trader
- Start date
You're trying to have a debate with a group of pollyanna's. Unfortuantely, I suspect that there is no limit to just how much "printing" is required to try and validate that the economy is somehow improving. (in their minds)
It buys a few months of luke warm econ stats at the expense of more malinvestment and overhang of debt.
So gas prices as 2008 levels while housing prices are back to about year 2000 levels with zero interest rates (i.e. no interest income), 46 million on food stamps,central banks flooding the market place with artificial liquidity (to buy another day or month of "normalcy").
These are facts. The few "glimmers of hope" you see in massaged econ statistics (that will be revised at some future date) do nothing to counteract the above forces in place.
These are unprecedented times. There is no roadmap whatsoever for whatever course we are currently on. I heard comparisons to the 1970s a few years ago, but those analogs have been completely abandoned. Of course, the 1930's is a popular comparison as well, but I can't buy much into that as well.
Obviously, each era is unique as it provides for future historical comparisons. All I need to look at are those charts of the Fed's balance sheet and it's pretty easy to extrapolate that once the private sector stopped the "borrow and spend", you know who came in and took up the slack.
The problem is there isn't a way to wind down this mess. Can anybody honestly come to the conclusion that announcing ZIRP thru 2014 was prudent, much less a part of the "mandate", especially considering the rhetoric less than a year ago about being ready to do what's needed should "inflation" pose a concern at some future date. (hint: it was the 60 Minutes interview about the time commodities were running hot last time).
From my perspective, we're in the midst of some pretty awful stagflation.
