KLA2 wrote:Created by some godless, socialist commies? Bible-thumping, capitalist tea-partiers?
Doesn't conform to my stereotype of either, although if you force me to choose, I'd probably bet more on the latter rather than the former.
KLA2 wrote:Economists???
Definitely not.
KLA2 wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k
I hope Mactep is amused by this.
Started out pretty well, then a minute or so in, it all went to hell.
Re the goodness or badness of inflation or deflation - it is an ill wind that blows no one some good. If you are heavily in debt, inflation is your friend. The video does not mention wages going down in a deflation. If the price of your firm's product declines by 30%, and your salary is cut to match, and your mortgage debt remains at exactly the same level, how do you feel about that?
Re Bernanke and policy work - not really true, he was one of the governors of the Federal Reserve System, and then Chair of Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, before becoming Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. He was also on his local school board once, for what that is worth. Whether he is the best qualified candidate is a matter of judgment (I think he was considered a dark horse candidate until Bush appointed him to the CEA), but I would not support his replacement by the plumber with the nice beard, at least not without some further information.
Re buying the securities from the Treasury Department - transferring money from the government's left pocket to its right pocket, and bonds from its right pocket to its left pocket, will have no effect on anything meaningful at all. To have a stimulative effect, either public spending or private spending (bit of an oversimplification there) has to be increased. The theory is supposed to be that this one will increase private spending; many are arguing it won't have that effect. Doing what the video author seems to want
definitely won't. Maybe if you want to put on a show for political purposes, look what we're doing, without actually doing anything, you can do as the vidoe author seems to like.
KLA2 wrote:I hope his response (if any) can be kept under a thousand words. :wink:
Didn't keep track. How did I do?