Comments on: Where DID that Trillion Dollars Go?

By: Justin P

Justin P — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:40:00 +0000

70′s style stagflation? That’s what I’m thinking, the jobs report tomorrow isn’t going to be pretty.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:32:00 +0000

“Well how can he soak them up if he doesn’t know where it is in the first place?”

And how can he soak it up if the bulk of it is in a form (like the Fed’s purchase of toxic assets) that the Fed cannot liquidate?

Even Volker was prepared to let inflation fly if President Carter hadn’t given him permission to attack it. There is plenty of reason to believe Bernanke won’t or can’t control impending inflation.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:26:00 +0000

“Pump” is a nice word, isn’t it. Gives a visual connotation that people think they understand. Keynesians picture shifting lines on their modified IS/LM plots. And all of it is completely divorced from reality.

In reality, the closest pump analogy is one where you are spending your limited time trying to save your sinking boat by pumping water from the front of the boat to the back of the boat.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:18:00 +0000

http://hotlynxnow.com/2-StoryOuthouse.jpg

Here is graphic demonstration of where you fit in in the grand scheme of government.

By: Justin P

Justin P — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:07:00 +0000

One of the more nonsensical things Keynes said for sure. I’m sure if Keynes were around today he’d prefer the Helicopter approach.

Here’s something to think about; in order to stave off long term inflation, Heli-Ben said he will soak up all those excess reserves right? Well how can he soak them up if he doesn’t know where it is in the first place?

By: Justin P

Justin P — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:01:00 +0000

If were are lucky, Helicopter Ben will turn out to be as good to as as John Law was to France.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Bad day for her. She clearly doesn’t know how to handle herself. It is a travesty what is happening at the Fed, but another spokesperson for IG would’ve confidently asserted “The numbers you give are not from our office. A thorough investigation is actively underway. This is our highest priority. We are going to get to the bottom of it. You will be the first person I notify when we conclude our exhaustive report.”

That is, “Blah blah blah” can be presented in very different ways to very different effect.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:24:00 +0000

The unscrupulous or incompetent businessman — even if he only comprises 1% of all businessmen — is held out as proof that the free market is “untrustworthy” and must be “overseen” by “regulators”. But a virtually unlimited number of screw-ups by those regulators — and screw-ups of massive proportions — is never taken as proof that such regulation is “untrustworthy”.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:04:00 +0000

The whole idea behind TARP was to “pump” money into the economy. Where was the money to be pumped to? Some banks and some places and wherever, really, as long as it got out into the economy. Didn’t Keynes say something about how during a recession the government should pay people to dig holes and then fill them back up?

Why worry that the Fed lost a trillion dollars when that was the point to begin with.?

By: E. Barandiaran

E. Barandiaran — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:12:00 +0000

It’s not funny. It’s just a reminder of how easily people like Ben Bernanke when in a position of power can become a dictator. It’s hard to know the extent to which he’s not complying with the law, but certainly a minimum standard of decency includes the duty to report back to those that entrusted him with so much money. He should not be reappointed until he can explain every dolar he has spent and is spending.

By: joenorton

joenorton — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:25:00 +0000

My favorite part:

Alan Grayson: If you’re not in charge of investigating that, then who is?

Fed Inspector General: We actually… we have responsibility for the federal reserves programs and operations audits, to conduct audits and investigations in that area. Umm. In terms of whose responsible for investigating…Would you mind repeating the question one more time?