America's Economic Future – A Discussion By Ted Kavadas
from the November 3 FOMC Minutes: “Members noted the possibility that some negative side effects might result from the maintenance of very low short-term interest rates for an extended period, including the possibility that such a policy stance could lead to excessive risk-taking in financial markets or an unanchoring of inflation expectations. While members currently …
I would like to comment on a commentary by Ron Paul in the November 16 edition of Forbes. It is titled “Be Prepared for the Worst” and subtitled “The large-scale government intervention in the economy is going to end badly.” The commentary can be found at this link: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1116/opinions-great-depression-economy-on-my-mind_print.html While I don’t agree with everything that Ron …
My last post about “Cash For Clunkers” was on October 8 and can be found here: https://www.economicgreenfield.com/2009/10/08/cash-for-clunkers-revisited/ On Thursday, there was an interesting story on CNNMoney.com concerning a sales analysis of the Cash For Clunkers program. It can be found at this link: http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/28/autos/clunkers_analysis/?postversion=2009102910 Here are some excerpts that are particularly notable: “A total of …
Here is a Wall Street Journal editorial from Monday: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574459341050610398.html I found it interesting for two reasons. First, it has a chart that shows the actual Unemployment Rate vs. that forecast in “The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.” Currently the Unemployment Rate is approximately 2% above the rate forecasted with the stimulus. Second, the editorial …
Here is an October 5 Wall Street Journal editorial reviewing the “Cash For Clunkers” stimulus plan: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703628304574453280766443704.html Also, to provide perspective, a chart of Vehicle Sales from the CalculatedRisk blog (10/1 post) at this link: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/10/light-vehicle-sales-92-million-saar-in.html As one can see, the “Cash for Clunkers” seems to have been successful in temporarily causing a surge in auto sales for July and …
Here is an October 1 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal titled “Stimulus Spending Doesn’t Work” : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574440723298786310.html Although I don’t concur with some of the statements in this Op-Ed, I do believe that its overall message and conclusions are important. SPX at 1054.72 as this post is written
Below is a link to a September 17 Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “The Stimulus Didn’t Work” : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574385233867030644.html I found the argument presented by the authors to be very interesting and well worth reading. SPX at 1071.78 as this post is written
I would like to briefly expand on a couple of points I made in my recently posted “America’s Trojan Horse” article (which can be found listed along the right-hand side of the main page.) First, I wrote, “There also appears to be a growing insensitivity to higher deficits and debts.” This is alarming, as sums of …
One of the more prevalent themes mentioned has been the possibility, or probability, of hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is often mentioned due to the degree of “money pumping” and other intervention measures that have occurred in the last two years to combat this period of economic weakness. However, despite all of the predictions of hyperinflation, there appears to …
In the Saturday edition of The Wall Street Journal, there is an op-ed from Martin Feldstein titled “How to Save an ‘Underwater’ Mortgage.” The editorial provides a good summary of the numbers behind “Underwater” mortgages. Also, I think the article is beneficial in that it highlights the problem of mortgage defaults and foreclosures, and how “Underwater” mortgages …