Once we realize this, we'll be a lot better off. I use inflation as an example. Is raising interest rates really the right solution? I don't think so. Here's what I would do about inflation.
I'm not a fundamentalist christian. I'm not worried about losing anything. I think we are in flux. There is no solid ground right now. So trying to figure something out under these circumstances is an empty pursuit. I am interested in what people are doing - besides looking at their phone or streaming. So the idea of COS sounds like a step toward taking back our power at a state level. Will it work? I don't know, but we have to try to find a way out of this mess. It will take great leadership like Trump presented. He has the right ideas. He's just not packaged well. That could change. He's making the effort. That's what's important to me. What are you doing? Anyth8ing? Are you part of any movement? Do you have any solid ides?
Besides the “discount window” rate, interest rates are only *targeted* by the Fed, not set. The financial markets still do ultimately determine interest rates, on the margin. There is pervasive ignorance, indoctrination and narrative control in the field of economics. Economics today is largely become the apologetics of the modern religion: State Power. In reality, the Fed will only intervene in the financial markets via buying and selling of assets (largely US treasuries… and since 2008 “agency debt” too). Buying increases money in the banking system (inflationary), whereas selling decreases money in the banking system (deflationary). But the Fed’s interventions are only one side of these market exchanges. When the Fed suspends it’s interventions (buying are selling assets) the markets begin to reflect the actual market demand for money. So in a prolonged period of significant asset market intervention (2008-2022) rising rates is to be expected when the Fed slows or discontinues buying assets.
I am afraid that I have more bad news for you, Steve... The tooth fairy is not real either :P...
I came from the Eastern bloc; OF COURSE I don't really trust the governments - default setting (although I thought things would be different here). I lost my trust in the US government in 2008, and in CDC and FDA in 2020.
Sorry for your naive misunderstanding. The factors causing inflation are well known. The exploding deficit is the end ultimate cause now which started in the 2008 economic fix. The actions in 2008 saved the financial engineers but wasted a lot of money in overspending by Congress. That caused the trend to zero interest rates with the government printing money. Zero interest means money has no real value. That has led to even more financial engineering and asset inflation. Much like LBJ deciding guns and butter were OK, Nixon trying to cover over the huge spending increase coupled with product shortages driven by oil embargo along with cheap money. We keep trying.
Increasing the interest rates back to some nominal value reflecting the value of money is long overdue, but won't end the structural economic failure of excessive deficits. We need some technology improvements to correct plummeting productivity. And the new green push is much like creating growth by smashing windows - pointless distraction.
Raising interest rates doesn't put the toothpaste back into the tube. Abolishing deficit spending, and hanging everyone who did it is the solution to "inflation", actually a euphemism for embezzling. And BTW, my index of the rate of cost of living increase is 59%. The other solution is a land value tax to quash property speculation. Mortgage interest is a poor substitute. (The commoners still suffer the inflation, but the banksters profiteer.)
I think is probably why we have no trust in any public office or private entity. They are all evil. If they aren't trying to enrich themselves with dark money, they pay out dark money to enrich themselves They've traded their soul for a bag of chips.
Agree, having open debate and a free exchange of idea is critical to a healthy society. It allows us to look at problems from different angles and points of view and find solutions. This kind of open discourse has eroded over time as the 2 parties politicize nearly every issue, and resort to person attacks for those with opposing positions making civil discussion impossible.
While the democrats with the help of a friendly media are the greater offenders here, the republican party remains under the control of the country club crowd that has no interest in supporting issues that matter to most Americans. These people need to go.
"... the Federal Reserve is now raising interest rates in order to drive up mortgage costs to aspiring home owners. The Federal Reserve is driving individuals out of the housing market in order to free up properties for “private equity” firms to purchase homes for their rental values. That private equity firms see rental income from the existing stock of houses as the best investment opportunity tells us that the US economy has played out. When investment goes into existing assets, not into producing new assets, the economy ceases to grow."
The current administration is lawless. There is a usurper in the WH and a politicized DOJ. The mainstream press plays a critical role in letting them get away with in-your-face lies. How can this be when everybody has a phone and a lap top: alternative sources are 1/16” below the surface? No questions asked! It’s astounding!
It must be public education...dumbing down the public. This has to change along with legislation that regulates media that make their money inter-state and have an obligation to reporting integrity. And nuke/rebuild the HHS agencies and medical industry. It will take a new administration and an engaged public never again apathetic or too busy to pay attention (like me).
We are in the midst of an engineered pandemic, an engineered vaccine intended to kill, engineered food shortages, engineered inflation and an engineered economic war. How can we trust a government intent on destroying the health and prosperity of the nation?
Steve makes one of the points I make often in my posts - i.e. it's not just Covid issues they have been lying about all along. It's actually hard to find one piece of "conventional wisdom" that isn't suspect. On inflation, I think it's been much higher than reported for decades. The government simply changed the way they calculate inflation (actually the CPI) ... to conceal real inflation. This allowed the Fed and government to continue to print $. Manipulating the data is standard operating procedure for our rulers. It's like Covid, nobody in the MSM ever challenges the bogus data. Does anyone really think unemployment is only, say, 4 or 5 percent? The government changed the way they calculate unemployment just like they changed the way they calculate inflation. If you have "dropped out of the workplace," you no longer count as unemployed. These techniques should all seem very familiar to those of us who have watched how they changed definitions and manipulate Covid data.
Steve, I agree with your recommendations but think that the reason that they are not implemented is the same reason that the vaccine solutions are not implemented. A saying by Catherine Austin Fitts is "crime that pays is crime that stays". Unfortunately it appears to me that the current system is setup for both the pharma and financial world to make money for the cronies who are in the know (the insiders). I would love to hear a solution about how to address this issue. My recommendation would be to dismantly the FDA and CDC at a minimum and start over. Similarly, my recommendation would be to remove the power of the Federal Reserve. I don't see a way to make either one of these solutions happen. The only other solution I have is to not participate in the policies of either system and encourage others to do the same. In that way, we could harness the power of the people and hopefully make a difference. Short of that, I am at a loss.
I'm not a fundamentalist christian. I'm not worried about losing anything. I think we are in flux. There is no solid ground right now. So trying to figure something out under these circumstances is an empty pursuit. I am interested in what people are doing - besides looking at their phone or streaming. So the idea of COS sounds like a step toward taking back our power at a state level. Will it work? I don't know, but we have to try to find a way out of this mess. It will take great leadership like Trump presented. He has the right ideas. He's just not packaged well. That could change. He's making the effort. That's what's important to me. What are you doing? Anyth8ing? Are you part of any movement? Do you have any solid ides?
Inflation is tied directly to M2. Money supply is everything.
Besides the “discount window” rate, interest rates are only *targeted* by the Fed, not set. The financial markets still do ultimately determine interest rates, on the margin. There is pervasive ignorance, indoctrination and narrative control in the field of economics. Economics today is largely become the apologetics of the modern religion: State Power. In reality, the Fed will only intervene in the financial markets via buying and selling of assets (largely US treasuries… and since 2008 “agency debt” too). Buying increases money in the banking system (inflationary), whereas selling decreases money in the banking system (deflationary). But the Fed’s interventions are only one side of these market exchanges. When the Fed suspends it’s interventions (buying are selling assets) the markets begin to reflect the actual market demand for money. So in a prolonged period of significant asset market intervention (2008-2022) rising rates is to be expected when the Fed slows or discontinues buying assets.
"Our trust in authority is badly misplaced"
I am afraid that I have more bad news for you, Steve... The tooth fairy is not real either :P...
I came from the Eastern bloc; OF COURSE I don't really trust the governments - default setting (although I thought things would be different here). I lost my trust in the US government in 2008, and in CDC and FDA in 2020.
I was naive - what is your excuse, Steve :-)?
Sorry for your naive misunderstanding. The factors causing inflation are well known. The exploding deficit is the end ultimate cause now which started in the 2008 economic fix. The actions in 2008 saved the financial engineers but wasted a lot of money in overspending by Congress. That caused the trend to zero interest rates with the government printing money. Zero interest means money has no real value. That has led to even more financial engineering and asset inflation. Much like LBJ deciding guns and butter were OK, Nixon trying to cover over the huge spending increase coupled with product shortages driven by oil embargo along with cheap money. We keep trying.
Increasing the interest rates back to some nominal value reflecting the value of money is long overdue, but won't end the structural economic failure of excessive deficits. We need some technology improvements to correct plummeting productivity. And the new green push is much like creating growth by smashing windows - pointless distraction.
Raising interest rates doesn't put the toothpaste back into the tube. Abolishing deficit spending, and hanging everyone who did it is the solution to "inflation", actually a euphemism for embezzling. And BTW, my index of the rate of cost of living increase is 59%. The other solution is a land value tax to quash property speculation. Mortgage interest is a poor substitute. (The commoners still suffer the inflation, but the banksters profiteer.)
I think is probably why we have no trust in any public office or private entity. They are all evil. If they aren't trying to enrich themselves with dark money, they pay out dark money to enrich themselves They've traded their soul for a bag of chips.
Agree, having open debate and a free exchange of idea is critical to a healthy society. It allows us to look at problems from different angles and points of view and find solutions. This kind of open discourse has eroded over time as the 2 parties politicize nearly every issue, and resort to person attacks for those with opposing positions making civil discussion impossible.
While the democrats with the help of a friendly media are the greater offenders here, the republican party remains under the control of the country club crowd that has no interest in supporting issues that matter to most Americans. These people need to go.
https://www.unz.com/proberts/the-united-states-does-not-have-an-economy/
"... the Federal Reserve is now raising interest rates in order to drive up mortgage costs to aspiring home owners. The Federal Reserve is driving individuals out of the housing market in order to free up properties for “private equity” firms to purchase homes for their rental values. That private equity firms see rental income from the existing stock of houses as the best investment opportunity tells us that the US economy has played out. When investment goes into existing assets, not into producing new assets, the economy ceases to grow."
The current administration is lawless. There is a usurper in the WH and a politicized DOJ. The mainstream press plays a critical role in letting them get away with in-your-face lies. How can this be when everybody has a phone and a lap top: alternative sources are 1/16” below the surface? No questions asked! It’s astounding!
It must be public education...dumbing down the public. This has to change along with legislation that regulates media that make their money inter-state and have an obligation to reporting integrity. And nuke/rebuild the HHS agencies and medical industry. It will take a new administration and an engaged public never again apathetic or too busy to pay attention (like me).
PCR agrees with your assessment.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/07/05/the-federal-reserves-policy-is-mistaken/
They really are not troubled by inflation, supply, or printing money by the millions, this has not happened by accident, this is the plan.
We are in the midst of an engineered pandemic, an engineered vaccine intended to kill, engineered food shortages, engineered inflation and an engineered economic war. How can we trust a government intent on destroying the health and prosperity of the nation?
Steve makes one of the points I make often in my posts - i.e. it's not just Covid issues they have been lying about all along. It's actually hard to find one piece of "conventional wisdom" that isn't suspect. On inflation, I think it's been much higher than reported for decades. The government simply changed the way they calculate inflation (actually the CPI) ... to conceal real inflation. This allowed the Fed and government to continue to print $. Manipulating the data is standard operating procedure for our rulers. It's like Covid, nobody in the MSM ever challenges the bogus data. Does anyone really think unemployment is only, say, 4 or 5 percent? The government changed the way they calculate unemployment just like they changed the way they calculate inflation. If you have "dropped out of the workplace," you no longer count as unemployed. These techniques should all seem very familiar to those of us who have watched how they changed definitions and manipulate Covid data.
Steve, I agree with your recommendations but think that the reason that they are not implemented is the same reason that the vaccine solutions are not implemented. A saying by Catherine Austin Fitts is "crime that pays is crime that stays". Unfortunately it appears to me that the current system is setup for both the pharma and financial world to make money for the cronies who are in the know (the insiders). I would love to hear a solution about how to address this issue. My recommendation would be to dismantly the FDA and CDC at a minimum and start over. Similarly, my recommendation would be to remove the power of the Federal Reserve. I don't see a way to make either one of these solutions happen. The only other solution I have is to not participate in the policies of either system and encourage others to do the same. In that way, we could harness the power of the people and hopefully make a difference. Short of that, I am at a loss.
The current inflation is INTENTIONAL, the Fed will keep printing money until the economy goes down like the titanic.