High above us in its ivory tower the Fed claims the ability to see what lies over the horizon, allowing it to dial-up just the right interest rate to steer our economy to a safe harbor. For eight years the Fed has dialed up the same interest rate of 0% and we are no closer to safe harbor than when we started. Which begs the question. Is the Fed actually in an ivory tower; or is it wandering around in a desert, riding its 0% interest rate camel toward the mirage of a robust economy that’s always disappearing right in front of its eyes?
I think the second scenario is what is actually happening. If the geniuses at The Fed don’t think our economy can handle a quarter point increase in the interest rate, what does that tell us about the strength of our economy. If they want to see what is causing our economic problems they need to look no farther than their zero percent interest rate policy. It is the cause and the effect of the problem.
JEFF DEIST: IN THRALL OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE
In his short article titled, In Thrall Of The Federal Reserve, Jeff Deist covers a lot of ground about the economic reality concerning the Feds zero percent interest rate policy. Here are some excerpts.
“Perhaps no economic pronouncement in history has been anticipated, discussed, predicted, dissected, and reported like the Federal Reserve’s momentous decision today not to raise interest rates..”
“This is not to say the hype is unwarranted. On the contrary, the decision to raise interest rates even just 25 basis points would have represented nothing less than the end of an era…”
“After so many years of the “new normal”, we have to be reminded just how extraordinary – and unprecedented – the Fed’s actions since 2008 have been…..these actions have set America on a hopelessly dangerous and unsustainable path…… placing so much economic power in the hands of a select few might not end well.”
“In The Theory of Money and Credit, Ludwig von Mises made the case more than 100 years ago – before the Fed ever existed – that monetary interventions cannot create prosperity:”
Mises -“Attempts to carry our economic reforms from the monetary side can never amount to anything but an artificial stimulation of economic activity by an expansion of the circulation, and this , as must constantly be emphasized, must necessarily lead to crises and depression. Recurring economic crises are nothing but the consequences of attempts, despite all the teachings of experience and all the warnings of the economists, to stimulate economic activity by means of additional credit.”
Related Article – If The Fed Is Always Wrong, How Can It’s Policies Ever Be Right? at zerohedge.com.
Related Article – The Role Of Interest Rates In A Market Economy, at austrianaddict.com.
Related Article – A Tornado vs. The Fed, Which Is More Destructive, at austrianaddict.com.
AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT 