Rock on.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
The Big Money
Aside from the fact that at the moment we've all agreed to believe in the fiction that is money, it does have one "real" value - as legal tender, it must be accepted as payments for claimed debt. If you have no debt, money has as much value as people believe it does...
I Know It Won't Happen
No I don't think a trillion dollar coin will be minted, but it's clearly legal and mostly harmless. I don't have an opinion about the politics - whether the Obama admin should publicly acknowledge that it's in their toolbox - but if the options are "negotiate over debt ceiling" versus platinum coin, platinum coin clearly rules.
Just raise the debt ceiling is best.
Threaten to use coin if debt ceiling isn't raised, then debt ceiling is raised is second best.
Third best is mint the damn coin and tell Congress to suck on it.
Fourth best is continuing the idea that the debt ceiling is something to be negotiated over, and coming to some sort of "deal."
Fifth best is can't pay bills and default.
Just raise the debt ceiling is best.
Threaten to use coin if debt ceiling isn't raised, then debt ceiling is raised is second best.
Third best is mint the damn coin and tell Congress to suck on it.
Fourth best is continuing the idea that the debt ceiling is something to be negotiated over, and coming to some sort of "deal."
Fifth best is can't pay bills and default.
Soylent Green Is Made Of Nothing
I think this is a good post from Joe. Basically people freaked out by the platinum coin are freaked out by the notion that money is just made up, don't like to acknowledge that Treasury, as a normal part of doing business, engages in significant coin seigniorage all the time, and that when the Fed "increases its balance sheet" or "engages in quantitative easing" it is actually waving a magic wand and creating massive amounts of money out of thin air.
We leave most money creation to the Fed because we have this idea that absent independent central banking governments will choose printing money over tax or borrowing as a way to pay their bills, and unacceptably high inflation will be the result. But this isn't what would be happening with the coin. It wouldn't be used for anything other than paying already scheduled expenditures, and when the Congress got sane again they would unwind the transaction (melt the coin). The All Powerful Markets would understand that this was the plan, and it would be infinitely preferably to stopping paying bills and defaulting.
We leave most money creation to the Fed because we have this idea that absent independent central banking governments will choose printing money over tax or borrowing as a way to pay their bills, and unacceptably high inflation will be the result. But this isn't what would be happening with the coin. It wouldn't be used for anything other than paying already scheduled expenditures, and when the Congress got sane again they would unwind the transaction (melt the coin). The All Powerful Markets would understand that this was the plan, and it would be infinitely preferably to stopping paying bills and defaulting.
Cheap
I was actually going to make this point yesterday and forgot, but even if you don't believe that government stimulus is stimulus, we should still take the opportunity to build/fix lots of public infrastructure right now. Unless you think all of our roads/bridges are in perfect repair, I guess. It's cheaper to do so now. Borrowing costs are low, and contractors are willing to work a bit more cheaply than they would in good times.
Fortunately There's A Solution For That
More austerity!
The "tough austerity measures" are the direct cause of the problem. Give people free money. Problems solved.
It's 2013. This has been going on for the long time. The people in charge are determined to keep fucking things up as much as possible.
The euro zone jobless rate rose to a new high of 11.8 percent in November from 11.7 percent in October, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported from Luxembourg. Eurostat estimates that about 18.8 million in the euro zone were unemployed in November – 2 million more than a year earlier.
...
Eurostat said Spain, suffering from the collapse of a property bubble and struggling to cope with tough austerity measures, had the highest unemployment rate, at 26.6 percent. Greece, the beleaguered country where the sovereign debt crisis began, was next at 26.0 percent, according to September data. Austria, at 4.5 percent, tiny Luxembourg, at 5.1 percent, and Germany, at 5.4 percent, were the lowest.
The "tough austerity measures" are the direct cause of the problem. Give people free money. Problems solved.
It's 2013. This has been going on for the long time. The people in charge are determined to keep fucking things up as much as possible.
Congress Still Has To Authorize Expenditures
I'd be quite happy for Bamz to mint a couple of those suckers and spend them on SUPERTRAINS, but he can't. He can mint one, put it in the bank at the Fed, and use the money for already authorized expenditures.
Mint The Coin
I remain baffled by the resistance. It's just a gimmicky - but lega1 - way to get around the debt ceiling nonsense. It won't cause inflation. It doesn't allow B. Barry Bamz to buy a trillion dollars worth of bling. And it can be undone the instant new bonds can be sold.
Monday, January 07, 2013
The Bleeding Leads
What's a bit maddening is there is almost no follow up reporting on gun crimes in Philadelphia, except for certain types of victims. It took me awhile to notice that. A young man was shot around the corner from me not that long ago, and I have no idea if the perps were caught or what the motive was. I'm not claiming this wasn't covered - I have no idea - but I pay a reasonable amount of attention to local news and I never saw it.
The murders are reported, but they're just kind of ticked off. Rarely are there actual stories.
The murders are reported, but they're just kind of ticked off. Rarely are there actual stories.
Good Changes
Good news.
Basically the old formula encouraged park-n-ride projects with long spaces between few stops in order to keep the speed high. Those aren't the kinds of projects urbanist transit nerds like very much, as they aren't complementary with walkable development.
Previously, the FTA relied heavily on “travel time savings” to judge the merits of a project. The new formula will focus instead on the number of passengers expected to be served. Economic benefits like the impact on development will also be considered.
Basically the old formula encouraged park-n-ride projects with long spaces between few stops in order to keep the speed high. Those aren't the kinds of projects urbanist transit nerds like very much, as they aren't complementary with walkable development.
SUPERBUS
The sharp rise in intercity bus travel is one of the more interesting recent stories. I credit the internet for a lot of that. It's easy to look for options, punch up schedules, and buy tickets.
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