Comments on: Federal Reserve to responsible people: You chumps!

By: FirstSkirt

FirstSkirt — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:00:15 +0000

Gee, LGM, do you honestly believe that YOUR beloved “leaders”, Pelosi, Reid, Frank have a clue about what’s going on here. Democrats (and, unfortunately, some Republicans) love BIG brother government and spending. But, the democrats have outdone the Republicans through their hatred of free enterprise. I know little of Paulson, but he is as bad, or worse than all of these corrupt politicians (and sadly, he was appointed by Pres Bush), Damn right we are in deep trouble.

By: Fed Aims for Zero - and May Hit It | BobMaistros.com

Fed Aims for Zero - and May Hit It | BobMaistros.com — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:25:56 +0000

[...] Michelle Malkin, as always, states the case more [...]

By: Fed Cuts Rates, Punishing Thrift, and Impoverishing Savers | OpenMarket.org

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:20:50 +0000

[...] cut will also have the effect of reducing already very low interest rates on savings accounts, costing savers money. Not only is your bank interest rate less than the inflation rate, eroding the value of your [...]

By: Bailouts Unconstitutional Failures | OpenMarket.org

Bailouts Unconstitutional Failures | OpenMarket.org — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:17:32 +0000

[...] Even recent Fed actions that are perfectly legal — like its unprecedented cut in the federal funds rate to virtually zero – are likely to be completely ineffective in reviving the economy, even as they discourage responsibility and thrift. [...]

By: lgm

lgm — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:16:14 +0000

cheapseat said (#36):

gee lgm, then why aren’t the nasdaq stocks back up to 2000 levels, because god knows we spent a ton and gave out money like wat...[longwindedness omitted])

All that money is the reason the NASDQ has not sunk more. We are in deep %$#^!@* trouble.

By: Mister P

Mister P — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:03:36 +0000

What is the Real Definition of Inflation?
Webster’s 1983 Definition of Inflation
According to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary published in 1983 the second definition of “inflation” after “the act of inflating or the condition of being inflated” is:

“An increase in the amount of currency in circulation, resulting in a relatively sharp and sudden fall in its value and rise in prices: it may be caused by an increase in the volume of paper money issued or of gold mined, or a relative increase in expenditures as when the supply of goods fails to meet the demand.

This definition includes some of the basic economics of inflation and would seem to indicate that inflation is not defined as the increase in prices but as the increase in the supply of money that causes the increase in prices i.e. inflation is a cause rather than an effect.

Webster’s 2000 Definition of Inflation
However, The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000 Published by Houghton Mifflin Company says:

Inflation:
2) A persistent increase in the level of consumer prices or a persistent decline in the purchasing power of money, caused by an increase in available currency and credit beyond the proportion of available goods and services.

In this definition, inflation would appear to be the consequence or result (rising prices) rather than the cause.

Shifty Words
So between 1983 and 2000 the definition appears to have shifted from the cause to the result. Also note that the cause could be either an increase in money supply or a decrease in available goods and services.

By: cheapseat

cheapseat — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:42:28 +0000

gee lgm, then why aren’t the nasdaq stocks back up to 2000 levels, because god knows we spent a ton and gave out money like water since then, and nasdaq never got above 2500, 1/2 of the 2000 record of 5000+. if government could spend us out of a recession, there would never be any recessions, because year in and year out since wwII our government has spent more than it did the year before.

By: battleaxe

battleaxe — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:39:21 +0000

Saving money is useless when you have to carry all of your cash down to the store because it takes an entire wheelbarrow full to buy a single loaf of bread.

Printing money very quickly destroys savings and that seems to be the track we’re taking.

By: Mister P

Mister P — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:33:09 +0000

The Fed is lowering interest rates to nearly zero in so that this won’t continue.

You mean after they let it happen in the first place. What would happen if they refused to play this game. Demand decreases, businesses go defunct until the supply meets the lowered demand. Prices will drop until they are equal. These business however are returning to the previous number of customers (because of this decrease in competition) and make the same money they did before. The market place should decide (and will any way because the current scheme will not work). But now the pain will be worse.

By: desertdweller

desertdweller — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:32:29 +0000

On December 17th, 2008 at 12:30 am, robert537 said:

Get this:

IRS to help homeowners refinance or sell homes
The plan announced by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman would speed up a process where financially distressed homeowners may request that a federal tax lien be made secondary to liens by the lending institution that is refinancing or restructuring a loan.

Taxpayers will also be able to ask the IRS to discharge, or remove, its claim to a property in certain circumstances where the property is being sold for less than the amount of the mortgage lien.

Interesting. Also note there is NO help for those who are unable to make mortgage payments but are responsible enough to NOT be upside down on their home.

What message does THAT send?

By: lgm

lgm — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:25:27 +0000

This is not a black and white issue. Many people, after a lifetime of saving, have watched their balanced well managed portfolios decline by 40% or more in the past half year. The Fed is lowering interest rates to nearly zero in so that this won’t continue.

By: McCloud9

McCloud9 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:22:02 +0000

The Federal Reserve is NOTHING more than a Privately owned Bank (with Govt. oversight).John D. Rochefeller Jr., JP Morgan and Nelson Aldrich started this scam,President Wilson went along with it. If you think about it, the Internal Revenue Service is “The STRONG ARM” of the Fed… That is how The Goverment gets ITS PIECE OF THE PIE.
Chumps… I like that term, it has alot of meaning. And when people have their “Mortgage Burning Parties”, they celebrate what? No more Bank Payments? WRONG !!!! As long as there is a PROPERTY TAX, you ONLY RENT THAT DWELLING From… The FED. (sorry, its true).
Once a member of the Board of Governors is appointed by the president, he or she functions mostly independently. The Board is required to make an annual report of operations to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.[34] It also supervises and regulates the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks, and US banking system in general.
The ONLY way I think we can actually OWN our property is a FLAT TAX, and RETURN TO THE GOLD STANDARD.
It was the Gold Standard that Rockefeller,Morgan and Aldrich got rid of, so THEY WOULD CONTROL…Everything.

By: MarcoPolo

MarcoPolo — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:14:49 +0000

Remember when “inflation” meant increase in money supply. Now it means increase in prices.

The definition of inflation hasn’t changed. You just understand it better now.

The increase in the supply of money decreases the value of the money already in existance, so it takes more money to buy the same thing – prices go up.

It’s fascinating when you read up on it – the people at the top of the money chain get to use the cash before it devalues, so they get richer. People at the end, which is the workers and the savers, never get ahead, and in fact, get poorer.

That’s why taxes always have to go up – if the dollar didn’t devalue, we could almost always maintain our infrastructure on a set percentage of our production.

I am such a geek, but when I took econ 101 in college I knew I had found a niche. It was crystal clear to me right out of the gate. Philosophy….not so much.

By: Mister P

Mister P — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:08:53 +0000

YES the “fair tax”. Please join us.
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer

And steal whats left of our money.

By: Mister P

Mister P — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:06:51 +0000

Remember when “inflation” meant increase in money supply. Now it means increase in prices. So now they justify inflation to combat inflation (except they call it mistakenly deflation). So when demand finally catches up to supply we will see an increase in prices like this country has never seen before. We are like a spring being loaded. Hyperinflation, here we come. This may be a good time to buy what you can’t afford later – like gold.