The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Zimbabwe’ Ben Rides Again?

Posted on | July 23, 2012 | 5 Comments

by Smitty

The post title is meant to connect Ben Bernanke with ruinous monetary policy in another country, not as a derogation of the fine people of Zimbabwe, who certainly deserve better than a Bernanke riff.

Financial Times reports that, while the Federal Reserve isn’t addicted to the cocaine of currency inflation, the Fed does seem to think it smells kinda purdy:

The recent slowdown in US economic growth is forcing the Federal Reserve to consider something for which it has always set the bar very high: a third round of quantitative easing.
A decision on whether to launch another round of asset purchases remains in the balance as the central bank wrestles with a complicated economic outlook and uncertainty about the costs and benefits of its easing tools.
In an interview with the Financial Times, John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed, said that the weak outlook and the extent of downside risks “would argue for further action” but the counter-argument was doubts about tools such as QE3.

Read the whole thing.

In defense of ‘Zimbabwe’ Ben, when you put a junkie on guard at the police evidence vault, you can’t be surprised if there is a lot of nosing about going on. The problem really isn’t Bernanke himself, but rather the system, and the fact that there is bi-partisan reward for playing along.

Via Mataconis

Update: more at Ace of Spades.

Category: End The Fed

Comments

5 Responses to “‘Zimbabwe’ Ben Rides Again?”

  1. Quartermaster
    July 23rd, 2012 @ 12:14 pm

    Heh! The Good People of Rhodesia got Mugabe before it became Zimbabwe, while it was still the jewel of South Africa. Now they have a burned out ruin with the same despot they got after one man, one vote, one time.

    The Republic of South Africa isn’t far behind now.

  2. jwallin
    July 23rd, 2012 @ 12:59 pm

    So when can we expect those 10,000 denomination bills to come rolling off the presses huh Benny boy?

    I’ve got a place reserved in my collection right next to:
    continentals, confederate dollars, weimar republic marks, hungarian pengo and zimbabwe dollars.

  3. Adjoran
    July 23rd, 2012 @ 2:34 pm

    Elected or appointed, the bane of policymakers is always the intense drive to be seen as doing something.   All the “QE” does is swap out short term bonds for longer-term issues, which has the effect of keeping those long rates down.  But we don’t have slow jobs and economic growth because individuals companies are concerned about long-term interest rates, so it can’t have any immediate effect.

    It’s like looking busy at work so the boss doesn’t drop a new project on your desk.

    The problem really isn’t Bernanke himself, but rather the system, and the fact that there is bi-partisan reward for playing along.

    Uh-oh – the BS detectors alert to the growing stench of impending insane gold buggery. 

    You can have my calculator when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

  4. Thane_Eichenauer
    July 23rd, 2012 @ 8:53 pm


    House to vote on Fed audit bill on Tuesday | Reuters
    It will be interesting to see who votes for secrecy and who votes for a full (one time) audit. 

  5. Cube
    July 23rd, 2012 @ 10:12 pm

     A better question is when can we expect to see them in our wallets?  Answer: not anytime soon.  ‘Cause you know that while prices for everything else will go up to compensate, our paychecks won’t.  So once again, the people end up paying for the politicians decisions.

    I get that it’s a collective punishment for making bad electoral choices but enough already.  I keep passing cars with new Obama 2012 stickers on them so then again maybe there hasn’t been enough fiscal pain for some people.