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Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
With the dark cloud of Europe’s ongoing financial crisis still hanging over the world financial system, the Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting Tuesday with speculation swirling that policymakers could announce more stimulus to boost the U.S. economy.
A crucial Greek election over the weekend eased fears of an imminent financial disaster in the eurozone by handing victory to New Democracy, a center-right party that supports Greece staying in the currency union. That means, for now at least, investors can stop worrying about the market chaos that would follow a Greek decision to leave the eurozone.
Now the focus shifts to the Fed and how it might play its next hand.
Recent reports, including two straight months of weak job growth, suggest economic growth is slowing again after a tepid recovery. That sets the stage for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to ask central bankers to approve more stimulus, although the options are limited. In testimony this month Bernanke said the Fed stands ready to act if needed.
Opinions are divided over what the Fed will do.
Some economists expect policymakers to extend “Operation Twist,” a program launched last fall that adjusts the composition of the government bonds held by the Fed by swapping short-term assets for longer-term assets. The idea is to push down long-term interest rates, making it easier for businesses and consumers to get credit. The program is due to end June 30, although the Fed could opt to extend it beyond that date.
Others are hoping for something stronger, such as another massive bond-buying program known as “quantitative easing,” or QE, in which the Fed essentially prints money to buy long-term mortgage or Treasury bonds.
That would be controversial because past efforts have had a questionable success rate, and it brings with it the risk of inflation down the road because it increases the money supply. Also, economists say the Fed is likely to want to keep something in its arsenal in case the economic outlook worsens further over the summer.
An extension of “Operation Twist” is the most likely first step, according to Former Richmond Fed President Al Broaddus.
“I think if there’s a significant risk, and action is needed, they may need to do something this week,” Broaddus told CNBC. “My guess is it will be some kind of modification of Operation Twist.”
He said the focus of the meeting would be domestic U.S. conditions with some discussion of the eurozone crisis.
Barclays Capital strategists Alan James and Edmund Shing are also expecting an extension to the Fed’s Operation Twist, pointing to weakness in manufacturing output and in consumer sentiment.
“The soft patch in U.S. economic data keeps getting larger,” they wrote in a research note Monday.
One of the only other options open to the Fed is to adjust interest rates, which are already at record-low levels near zero. In January the Fed said it plans to hold down rates until late 2014 to sustain the economic recovery. The Fed would now have to signal to the market that it plans to hold rates down even further into the future.
The worsening debt crisis in Europe and fears over whether Congress will hold off on tax increases and government spending cuts that are supposed to start in 2013 -- also known as the “fiscal cliff” -- are weighing on consumer and business confidence.
Signs that Europe’s woes, which investors fear will have negative repercussions on the U.S. economy, are far from over were seen Monday when Spanish borrowing costs soared, with 10-year bond yields hitting 7.30 percent -- the highest in the eurozone’s history and above the rate that has forced other struggling euro-area nations to seek an international bailout.
Still, the troubles in Europe shouldn’t factor too heavily in the Fed’s plans this week, said Dino Kos, a former New York Fed executive vice president. Weakness in Europe should already be factored into the Fed’s forecast, he told CNBC.
“It shouldn’t really affect their thinking, although the situation has obviously gotten worse,” he said. “The way it should impact their thinking is does the European slowdown affect U.S. growth, and does the growth then come down to such a degree that they need to counter it?”
Kos said the best position for the Fed this week would be to hold fire, given the potential negative consequences of the fiscal cliff.
“Do you want the Federal Reserve to have something in reserve?” he said, noting that there are many uncertainties surrounding the fiscal cliff, given its timing, and the uncertainties about what the political situation will be at the end of the year.
“I would say they should wait,” he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Dino Kos, former NY Federal Reserve Bank executive vice president and Alfred Broaddus, former Richmond Federal Reserve president, discuss the outcome of Sunday's election in Greece; the impact on U.S. markets and the economy; and whether the Fed will i...
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What are they going to do? The Fed Lending Rate is already almost zero and printing more money will only make things worse.
How about electing a new POTUS on 11/6/12?.......Now there is a refreshing thought! The future VP, Marco Rubio's energy and intelligence alone (and look Ma...no teleprompter) sure beats the POTUS and his ol' sidekick Joe Biden any day!
Only if the new POTUS is any less a crook than the current POTUS. Unfortunately any party that starts with either an R or a D usually isn't the most honest. On the bright side, we already know O-man is a crook, so at least we can have Hope that a Change to a new guy will be at least a little less crooked. Any straightening of the arrow will be useful.
No more teleprompters....The POTUS needs to say what he feels..............not what he reads!
Until an article mentions the words "FED to be dissolved", "repealing NAFTA", "ending tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas", " reforming trade tariffs"... NOTHING will ever improve in the USA.
All of 'our' elected 'leaders' are nothing more than puppets on strings to the very, very wealthy and their interests and agenda which has nothing to do with the 'commoners' interests and agenda. What we NEED is a third party, but that is prohibited by the 'good ole boy two party' SYSTEM. Wonder why the Tea Party disappeared........hmmmmm??
Hey Desperation, your party line is showing and your name is certainly befitting of someone out to blindly bash Obama (no, I'm not defending him), ever since teleprompters were invented all presidents use them, Dubya even used flash cards, guess he spoke what he read and not what he felt either eh? But that's ok because he was a white republican, right?
the fed is in control of the entire economy; all the other bull out there is just idle talk; they will do what they deem best for their member banks; the citizens of the United States are simply looked at as units of production, to be used as they determine is best for their business venture; paper money being printed ,backed by debt, which is backed by debt, which is backed by future debt, insane.
GovHater
YES !!!
You got it and I agree with you. The Fed is nothing but a bunch of Banksters out to loot the world . We should get out of the U.N. and all of it's stupid agencies ( IMF, World Bank , UNICEF and so on ). As all are corrupt !!!!
bob
I will get a good nights sleep knowing Bernanke is on this.
With more than $4 trillion in cash setting on the sidelines, it should come as a surprise to no one why the
economy added only 69,000 jobs in May and unemployment grew to 8.2%. The fact is, Americans no longer trust Wall Street, which reflects negatively on federal banking and market regulators tasked with protecting investors.
The private sector can create jobs faster than the government with efficient access to capital, but the
government has to ensure capital markets are worthy of the public's trust.
Please sign the petition to the U.S. Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committee asking for improved oversight of federal banking and market regulators.
To read more about what we’re trying to do and to sign the petition, click here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-senate-banking-and-u-s-house-financial-services-committees-use-technology-to-provide-oversight-of-u-s-banking-and-market-regulators?share_id=HTpDoOQNJgpe=d2e
It'll just take a minute!
A government cannot give anything to anyone with out taking from somebody who earned it first.
Governments create nothing but debt..
I'm still waiting on this change that was promised me. All I see is the First Gay President, First Illegal Immigrant President and the food-stamp President. Where is the jobs President? Oh nevermind he thinks the private sector is doing good. The one that promised to end lobbyists up in Washington, I haven't seen his A$$ either. I voted for change and all I got is @!$%#y pesos. Nov 2012 I'm voting to send his a$$ back to the hood. Send Bernake's sorry A$$ to jail.
I think economies tend to be more local than the National Media reports. Our Town is growing steadily, my business is doing well but then again we are a coastal town and our business's do not herk and jerk every time a Wall Street rumor starts. Good news doesn't sell and never has, its much easier to paint everyone with one brush. Media is big business and controversy sells adds.
That said I do realize the World Economy is struggling to make everyone an overnight millionaire.
BTW Since when is making Wall Street bets whole a FED Mandate? Everytime the Market gyrates we have to see his ugly mug telling us what we already know...
It is NOT going to be Bernanke's decision on what he will do. Bernanke is just going to follow the orders of his European "financial crook" supervisors:
END THE FEDERAL RESERVE !!!
IDO; although i agree with you; it is impossible to end the FED., they are the Government, Treasury, and own the United States, lock, stock and barrel; any attempt to revoke their charter, would result in their collapsing the entire economy within 24 hours, the final nail in the coffin was in 1936, when FDR, turned over the entire money supply of the nation to the 13(now 12) fed banks, so they could flood the nation with Fed notes, in a attempt to pull the Nation out of a depression.
Support small business, get the states and local out and away from inside their pockets..
Where is the investments for our failing infrastructure..Make the corporate elite pay for it, they are the only ones left with extra cash.
Where is our Transit system so we can give big oil a kick in the pants.
Stimulus is like giving the economy a dried up useless tit..
No but they could create an even playing field and make the corporate pay a share..Trouble is they're all rich and it would affect them..They just keep sucking.
I am the majority middle class constituent that doesn't get anything his way.
The Fed has force fed us enough stimulus. I am Fed up!
A government cannot give anything to anyone with out taking from somebody who earned it first.
That is like saying a business can't give money to it's employees without first taking money from customers who earned it.
The Fed should screw off. They helped create the financial crisis with low interest rates and now they think they can solve the crisis with low interest rates and through printing more money?
Why does the 1 % make a big mess then throw it in the lap of the 99 % like now we have to solve it? Oh, my, what should we do now people?
Sorry, I just can't get excited about it. Too busy keeping our heads above water...
Bless those of you who still have the stamina to care.
A poor population is easier to govern..
Go ahead, print more government backed notes.
I already have my family fortune secured.
I have changed all of my U.S.A. government notes to Mexican peso's.!!
Keep in mind...the Fed is still conducting Operation Twist and will continue to do so until at least the end of the month. My point is that the "slowdown" has occurred during an ongoing "Fed" action. Wall Street is speculating that Ben will announce QE3 along with extending Operation Twist. The problem is not the availability of credit. Corporations have historically high cash reserves. They are increasing dividends and announcing stock buyback programs. It's the consumer who is not in a position to spend. Since our economy is based on 70% consumer spending, actions must be taken to build the confidence of the consumer. I am afraid that Wall Street will be disappointed in Ben's news conference tomorrow.
Wow, talk about being caught between a "rock and a hard place", Bernanke has the "fiscal cliff" looming in January versus the need to stimulate the economy before Obama's election!! Eerily like looking down the barrel of a gun.
If they hadn't done the seemingly useless QE2 several months ago Bernanke and the Fed would at least have that arrow in their quiver now.
This much I agree with. I just hope you're not suggesting that said POTUS is Mitt "I don't really have a position on immigration right now, let me consult with my masters and see what they want me to say about the issue" Romney.
Thank the Baby Boomers for destroying the economy so they can retire in comfort with all their entitlements that they didn't pay into like Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare and leaving the bill to younger generations. And when the younger generations reach retirement age, all those entitlements will not be there.
Baby Boomers = Entitlement Generation
I copied this from strengthinnumbers who posted it.
George Carlin
(May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008)
"The American Dream"
Theres a reason why education sucks and its the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. Its never gonna get any better, dont look for it, be happy with what you got. Because the OWNERS of this country dont want that. Im talking about the real owners now. the REAL owners. The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You dont. You have no choice. You have owners. They OWN you. They own everything. They own all the important land, they own and control the corporations theyve long since bought and paid for the Senate the Congress the State Houses the City Halls they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all the news and information you get to hear. THEY GOT YOU BY THE BALLS! They spend BILLIONS of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying to get what they want. Well we KNOW what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else. But I'll tell you what they DONT want. They dont want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They dont want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. Theyre not interested in that. That doesnt help them. Thats against their interests. They dont want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly theyre getting f***ed by a system that threw them overboard thirty f***ing years ago, they dont want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers. People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly sh***ier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime, and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And NOW theyre comin' for your social security money. They want your f***ing retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They'll get it! Theyll get it all from you sooner or later because they OWN this f***ing place. Its a big club... and YOU AINT IN IT. You and I are not in the big club. By the way, its the same big club they use to beat you over the head all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head in their media telling you what to believe what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted, folks. The game is rigged. And nobody seems to notice.. nobody seems to care... Good honest hard-working people. White-collar, blue-collar, it doesnt matter what color shirt you have on, good honest hard-working people continue - these people of modest means - continue to elect these rich c**k suckers who dont give a F*** about them. They dont give a F*** about you, they dont GIVE a F*** about you. They dont CARE about you. At ALL, at ALL, at ALL! Man...You know? And nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care... Thats what the owners count on - the fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red white and blue d**k thats being jammed up their a**holes everyday because the owners of this country know the truth... Its called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.
For gods sakes..how many freaking times this has to be said..and why even write an article about it..The FEDS can't do nothing..they did all they can do..there is nothing left to do by the Feds..GET IT THROUGH YOUR BRAINS!!!!
The evil rich people want it all? Why not just repeal the constitution?
Nekat...republicons already did with Citizens United......
Looooong stated: "Thank the Baby Boomers for destroying the economy so they can retire in comfort with all their entitlements that they didn't pay into like Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare and leaving the bill to younger generations. And when the younger generations reach retirement age, all those entitlements will not be there.
Baby Boomers = Entitlement Generation"
And that makes you, what, Spoiled Brats? Spoiled Brats = Me Me Me Generation
Let me explain something to you, IF you are able to learn anything new. The baby boomers paid into SS their whole working lives, and those who are still working, still are paying into it, and from the time Congress placed the SS fund into the general fund back in 1964, they spent everything and left just enough to cover the monthly payout amount, and now they spend whatever is left over at the end of each month that would normally be called interest, if there is even that amount leftover. IF, they are borrowing to cover any payouts, blame Congress, not the ones who are still paying into the system.
So, while you want to blame the boomers, just remember this, when Congress finished looting the excess interest from the fund(and they still do, if there is ANY left over after the monthly payout), everything the boomers were paying into that fund from that point on, was being paid back out as fast as it was being taken in, and as of this day, it is still being paid out that way. So, I gather that you don't like the fact that you will have to do the same thing as the boomers, pay into it till it's your turn to retire? if you don't like it, tell Congress to get their thieving paws out of it, and to set it back up as a separate fund, as it was in the start, and should have been left that way. Whining about it doesn't fix anything, and from the looks of your comment, that's the only thing you know how to do, is whine.
99.99% of the people here and around the country don't even understand the history of social security. It was designed to be an insurance policy that paid out if you (whether male or female) lived beyond average life expectancy. When it was established, male and female average life expectancy were both below age 65. Now it's like 79 for men and like 81 for women. And yet someone forgot to move the SS initial payout year accordingly.
I don't care if you are Republican or Democrat or Independent. If you are not in favor of maintaining raising the initial payout year back to above avg life expectancy, you are guilty of contributing to the problem and maintaining an outrageous lack of sustainability.
This is a simple math problem that a 5 year old can do. Case closed.
It does not matter now or in the near future if the Fed acts. The reason being is the tea bagging republican extremist in the house refuse to act themselves. Except like spite full little children but that is to no avail. In fact what the American people NEED to be told is things could have already been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better then they are. BUT! And that is your wife's very BIG! but, those goper's bent on hate and President Obama as the "greatest enemy Americas ever faced", obviously have ZERO knowledge or understanding of history and don't care. They care about no one unless that no one is themselves individually.
Goper's do not see a country of many, out of one many, they see out of one ME. Out of one I and so on and so fourth. Many things could have already been done such as infrastructure, it being a vast large job creator in contracts and longevity with an eventual end many years from now. ; ]
Things like that create stability not volatility and they also create certainty. ; ] Do anti abortion anti gay and women hating bills create jobs or certainty? Because that is ALL goper's in the house have done. Weather you wish to hear a fellow American that is not black and is not our President wants this country to struggle and fail broke and bound well to bad. ; ] Because that is EXACTLY what tea bagging republican extremist in the house and senate wish. You see the old adage "Actions, speak louder than word's". Or actions speak volumes ring oh so true. The President has put fourth many plans on many different topics but the goper"s LIE and say he has not. The goper's ONLY say that because they are not plans they like even though they would work. So they lie. Going against one of the most IMPORTANT commandments of God. If they cannot be true to God how in the heck could we believe they would EVER in a billion years be true to you or this country. There actions have proven as such every day. ; ]
Cheers
I was going to say, "How about if the Republicans drop their scorched earth agenda and passed some of the jobs bills?", but I see mowdy beat me to it... and more. Just a tad meaner than I would have done, which is no biggie considering the venue.
What the Pubs are doing is just so blatantly obvious, it is insulting.
What we need to do is fire up the WPA and CCC. Put our returning vets in charge of the teams rebuilding America.
But helping America and her vets would help Obama, and in their minds, is not an option. They want ABSOLUTE POWER at all costs. Problem is they are Hoovering the economy again.
Who is going to end up paying for all of this one way or another? I know, the federal tax payers. Remember that government induced inflation which is generated by all of the essentially counterfeit money that the Fed has been printing up is a cruel tax on holders of the dollar that know one votes for but the tax gets paid whether one likes it or not. The value of our money is just stolen from us. I would think that in the future those buying our debt will be insisting that the principal be indexed with inflation. I can picture in the future the new hundred googleplex mega dollar bill with a picture of our current President on it. With such a large and growing trade deficit all of this new money is just going to leak out of the economy and leave us with nothing but more debt. Maybe Greece will bail us out.
If the Fed gives me the money I promise that I will spend it all, here in the USA.
I hate to say this but, people, we are so intertwined in the world economy. If you want to know what's happening in our country jobs and directions in manufacturing you can't look inside our borders, you must look mostly to Europe and some to the west. We have to start seeing beyond the oceans. When somthing happens like it did in Greece and it Effects Europe it will take it's tole on us. After what has happened in Europe, they will start to pick up as will we. this will probably take 2-3 months before any small things start to happen here jobwise. If you want to know if you are going to be working in the next 2 months or so you have to pay attention to what is happening in Europe or the Orient today. You are going to have to retrain your thinking to see ahead and in a broader field.
Is what happened in Greece or somthing like it going to happen again? I say yes. Next time it could be worse. I would also say that when these events occure that they don't care who or what party is in charge at the time. What has happened here is something probably not thought of (cause and effect) and our government is going to have to learn how to deal with it differently than the way they have been doing.
There are two philosaphys on running this country the Dems. stand by 1 and the Reps. stand by the other. There is going to have to be a third one added, as neither one of the two that are used work in this situation. Quit usen your head for a hat rack and quit pointing fingers. You sound so much like a cry baby to me. Pathetic! I'm appaled!
I would much prefer a POTUS that says what he thinks.
saxon
____________________________________________________
I completely agree saxon, thank you for your post.
Even though the charter for the "Fed" expires next year, the only way to end their criminal, treasonous reign at this point would be violent overthrow. And unfortunately the majority of Americans are too dumb to care, and " homeland security" has now been poised and armed to protect the rich criminals who control them.
They own this country and anyone who thinks we still have a democracy here is very naive.
CLOSE THE "FED" AND PROSECUTE !
(We still need more honest politicians in addition to Ron Paul to take a stand against these criminals.)
The Federal Reserve is like a big Mafia loan shark. It owns our nation in the same way a
loan shark owns his "clients!" There is absolutely no difference between the two.
No matter what the situation, whenever there is news related to the Federal Reserve a big,
loud, coordinated, conspiratorial lie of omission is committed by every single news outlet
in our nation. What is this lie? It is keeping up the false impression that the Federal
Reserve is part of our government! The Fed is a private, for profit bank, that controls
our government and economy. They control the money supply, inflation, depression,
recessions, etc. They are not accountable to Congress, the executive branch or anyone
in government.
The revolutionary war was started primarily to get away from a similar situation in England
where the Bank of England held the same control over their nation. Revolutionaries realized
this and they put an end to it. Unfortunately some traitors in the Senate reversed our true
liberation and now we have a private bank controlling our personal financial status.
Let me ask you a simple question: what country in its right mind would create a system that
would force it to lend itself money and have to repay the money WITH INTEREST? What country
would charge itself interest? What nation would put itself out of business by making it
bankrupt because of interest? The answer is none! America is not charging itself interest
on its debt, the privately owned central bankers are doing this and they are hiding in
plain sight! Congress (with the exception of Ron Paul), every US president and every
single member of the corporate media are either part of the conspiracy or just plain stupid!
Two presidents tried to stop this outrage, and they were both assassinated. Lincoln was
set to bypass the central banks in order to finance the Civil War. The banks were going
to charge him 24-36% interest on the loans. So Lincoln had Congress pass a law authorizing
the printing of full legal tender. These treasury notes would be used to finance the war.
Lincoln wrote: "... (we) gave the people of this Republic the greatest blessing they have
ever had - their own paper money to pay their own debts..." Now go and research the person
who supposedly killed Lincoln and how he relates to bankers.
After Lincoln was assassinated Congress revoked the Greenback Law and enacted the National
Banking Act. The national banks were to be privately owned and the national bank notes they
issued were to be interest-bearing. The Act also provided that the Greenbacks should be
retired from circulation as soon as they came back to the Treasury in payment of taxes.
John F. Kennedy was the next brave man to take on the Federal Reserve. On June 4, 1963,
President Kennedy signed a Presidential Executive Order 11110. This order virtually
stripped the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States
Government at interest. Kennedy declared the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank
would soon be out of business. This order gave the Treasury Department the authority
to issue silver certificates against any silver in the treasury. This executive order
still stands today. No president since has had the courage to invoke it for it would
mean their demise. The US government is a front for the real controllers; the central
bankers.
Debt keeps the central banks in control of the world. Nations that eliminate their debt
end up on the hit list. When you see nations "liberated" by the US or its allies what
normally follows is a central bank extending loans to these liberated nations. The World
Bank always comes to the rescue. What a joke this is like having a loan shark come to the
rescue of someone who needs food money for his kids!
War is the single biggest money making business for the central bankers. Nations go into
tremendous debt to finance war. Interestingly enough, but in no way surprising to those
of us who know better, the architects of both Vietnam and the Iraq invasion both went on
to become the head of the World Bank; Robert McNamara and Paul Wolfowitz. It is the central
banks that push the world towards military conflict.
Look at your money; it say "Federal Reserve Note!" It is not an American government
currency backed by an asset. It is fiat currency backed by nothing. The Federal Reserve
lends these notes to the government, with interest! What a scam! How do we permit this?
Oh, I know, we permit this because most people don't know about it...thanks to the
criminals in the media. For if the people knew, perhaps Henry Ford's words would ring
true and we would indeed take to the streets to stop this crime!
The Federal Reserve is a private bank that owns the sole right to dictate monetary policy
for our nation. As a matter of fact shortly after George W. Bush was placed in office by
very powerful people, not by the electorate, the Federal Reserve announced that they would
no longer report how much money was being printed. Imagine that! Well you don't have to
imagine that because it happened, and your media did not tell you about it, and your
Congress sat quiet. Americans let this happen because Americans are pretty much stupid people.
They laugh at intelligent people as they dedicate themselves to being suckers who worship
a little flag as opposed to a legitimate government.
________________________________________________________________________
This is the biggest scam and conspiracy on our planet and we must make this part of our
daily discussion. Ask questions, and DEMAND answers!
________________________________________________________________
LOU DOBBS; who owns the federal reserve;
Only in America-2604171
---- Boomers aren't the problem, they just never noticed or cared or did anything for the forty years that the current system benefitted them.
A few facts to conside:
1. Genx'ers have also been working for 20 years and paying into social security. It just won't be there when we retire. So all the money the boomers paid in, they'll get. All the money we pay in, will go to care for you and that's it.
2. You enjoyed forty years of money printing and insane expansion of public debt so that you never had a truly terrible economy to deal with. The bill is coming due and the generation that you call 'ME ME ME' will be the ones to deal with it (as we have been).
3. Frankly, the boomer generation screwed this country up so much there is no going back. Look at public debt for your parents. 25 years of conservative spending, stable careful growth and politicians under control. The distribution of wealth (business owner compared to worker) was reasonable, taxes were reasonable, employment levels were reasonable. Now it's all out of whack. You sold this nation for comfort and ideals.
That's ok - we'll take care of it.
"That's ok - we'll take care of it."
No, I very much doubt that you will, you forget, we know your generation to well, many from your generation are busy feeling sorry for yourselves to get Congress to put the SS fund back to the way it was originally set up before 64. And by the way, the boomers weren't controlling Congress back in 64 when the system was changed in the first place, we were to young at the time, and most of us didn't even know it had been looted and then changed. Nice try at pushing all the blame on one generation alone, but it doesn't cut it. This is more than one generations fault, it goes back even before our generation. The majority of those who were in office back in 64 were around when SS first started under Roosevelt. And even back in 64, Congress was on a spending spree with the tax payers money, to the point, they were running short, hence, the reason Johnson put the SS money into the general fund, to cover the shortfall, but the spending spree never stopped, and is still going on today.
The next time you feel like standing up to those older than you, I suggest growing a bigger pair next time, and some brains to go along with them. If not, we'll see about getting you some cheese to go with your whine.
"A few facts to conside:"
Facts? Yeah, riiight.
End the Fed! Bernanke to jail!
End the Wars, end the alphabet agencies, end insider trading of Congress, end the government control of corporations, end the bailouts.
And put some banksters in prison for their crimes. Confidence in the system would go a long way.
Trevor kudos, well said.
Send John Corzine to jail..... Oh, wait, he's still bundling for Obama's re-election campaign, then he can go to jail for the stealing of millions from investors.
What am I saying, Holder will file those charges in the, "Freind's get out of Jail Free" file along with the New Black Panther party thugs / Voter intimidation deal in Philly.
We're not going to monetize the debt !! Remember that promise Bernacke & Geithner???? QE1, QE2.... ring a bell. Bunch of f'ing liars!!!!! I think lying is a pre-requisite for Obama and all the ilk that work for him... .you have to be able to lie about anything and be willing to do it often.
The disgrace ends this November - Romney 2012 - The clear choice to restore integrity.
Wouldn't it be interesting if just some of the US companies who've been making record profits for the past couple years...put the money back into the system?
Might be helpful to many, if Romney also moved his $14 million back to US soil, instead of using off-shore accounts.
Hey, It's....... Um, companies do put money back into the "system". It's called employees, benefits, infrastructure spending (IE: buildings, etc), utility usage, etc.
You do realize, the Obama's are millionaires as well, don't you? Aren't you at all curious how Michelle had a part time job in a Chicago Hospital making over 300k? I find that interesting......
LIBERAL ALERT : Your mere existance and the fact you breath air doesn't entitle you to a damn thing someone else has worked their ass off for. Go make your own success and stop demanding it. Parasites to society one and all !!!!
yep you're right...the mere existance of large corporate farms, corporate banks, corporate oil companies...they need the welfare, oh sorry tax breaks. Parasites to society one and all indeed!
Gotta love the "screw you, I got mine" attitude. A society unto yourself. You know, even Americans you don't like are still Americans. In theory, all on the same team.
Just_D Ummm... what "employees, benefits, infrastructure spending" are you talking about? If that was happening, the unemployment rate would be down. So obviously they are NOT reinvesting. And then your mind drifts and you start blathering random bs in the rest of your post.
Trevor typed "end the government control of corporations". You do realize that lack of government regulation is why we are in this mess. Capitalism is great. Unfettered capitalism is evil. If corporations are "people", then by definition they are sociopaths. Profit is all that matters. No regard to other people. No regard to any country. That is why capitalism must regulated. To think otherwise would be... sociopathic behavior.
You guys can carry on with your hate fest now.
And Obama,Eric Holder,Tim gikner and anyone else on the Obama team
Just_D_Facts
Umm companies also bleed money from the system.... cut their corporate welfare support by the fed government.
notabraindeaddem
and Boehner, McConnell, and Romney, or anyone else associated with the GOP
Every time the Feds print more money or the minimum wage is raised your savings go down in value. Watch out !!!
Just D Facts....
Read something other than Ayn Rand. Corporations are not meritocracies, they are just in better positions.
A few 'facts'
1. Corporations pay roughly 300 billion a year in taxes. Individuals in the middle tax bracket pay about a trillion in taxes on income (not to include SS and medicare taxes) - Corporations pay one third what the average worker does.
2. Small businesses assets are plummeting. Corporate assets are at an all time high. Small business owner taxes are far higher than executives (they can't hide it all through loop holes).
3. If you are going to make the argument that corporations are simply 'better' and the average small business owner is not successful through lack of work (or the average worker for that matter), then remove all government spending to large corporations in the form of do nothing projects, corporate welfare, tax breaks and subsisides and see what happens.
Personally, I would love a system where individual merit is rewarded, but that no longer happens. If it did, our financial system would have collapsed and the most prudent organizations would have survived. What happened was the most imprudent were bailed out by public funds and the debt was handed over to the population. Privatize profit - socialize loss is the name of the game now and there's nothing 'successful' or 'meritous' about that.
Learn a little about the banking system and you'll see that they have no risks whatsoever. The only people taking risks are people.
Yea, help out the banksters and Wall Street, after all that's what it's all about, "Money for nothin and your chicks for free".
Did anybody go to jail yet? Maddoff was the sacrificial lamb plus he swindled a lot of the very wealthy so you know he was going down. If they just ripped off the middle classes apparently they were untouchable...
I rocked out to "Money for nothin'" this morning. Great song. But yeah, printing more money isn't going to magically make the problem go away. I'm tired of my dollar being worth less and less because the criminal fed makes my commodity ($) more common all the time. On the other hand, if the fed just wants to print that money and give it all to me, I'll make sure something useful happens with it. I know I can do a better job spending free money than the the people who will be getting it.
How does actual printed money make its way into circulation? The Fed can't just give it away.
Is it through credit and the central bank?
Is it when the fed buys U.S. bonds it actually is income to the Gov't and they lower tax rates and thus put money back into our pocket?
Does it require a run on the banks to make digital money actual cash (when the bank runs out it orders new cash from the Central Bank)?
I'm asking because I don't really know.
Tiggle - It is more complicated than that. I am not an expert by any means, but this is how i understand it: There are several different levels of money supply. The FED does not actually "print" any money, instead they simply increase there balance sheet and purchase undesirable bonds from the market. This frees up the lower bank balance sheets and gives the signal that more money should be lent. The reason we have not felt the full affect of this issue is because the lower banks are not lending the money out, they are simply keeping it "locked up" on there balance sheet. The money is not "Real" until they lend it out again to the general public, this is when we have to worry about inflation, and it is when the FED will be forced to raise interest rates drastically to stop the massive inflation, which will result in continued recces ion. Again, i am not an economist but this is my understanding of what is happening. It is simply deferred pain.
Google "fractional reserve banking".
Ben is just waiting for the go-ahead from Axelrod and Tim G.
Expect the announcement just prior to obama's speech at the meeting in Mexico.
Fed: But Ponzis NEVER Run Out Of Suckers!
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=207478
The Fed may signal it could adjust rates? How much lower can they go? Answer: the Fed would have to start paying banks to take its money.
Haven't they been there and done that?
Captive, you are correct. The Fed 'lent' many large banks money and has paid them (0.25%, I believe) to park it on their balance sheets to give the appearance that they are solvent. While I was initially alarmed that this would translate to inflation (the money supply hugely increased because of this), velocity of money took a dive, resulting in a minimal inflationary effect. To Alan's point, though, rates have been low for quite a while. The economy is not being held back because rates have been 'too low'.
@Jay--you hit the nail on the head! Without the velocity of money increasing, inflation will be minimal.
Nothing is going to help the economy except jobs. When you give a family of five enought money for a week and no work you have to do it again its never ending. Your politicians dont care all they want is elected again.
Is it you want a job from a politician? I can give someone a job but it's only going to pay $2/hour.
No idiot its not me try reading it right. I dont have to work Im on welfare probably like you.
Joe, well said. QE - giving more money to the banks is an artificial stimulant with a built-in hangover called INFLATION. Those Fed idiots have doused main street with so much gas that once Romney sparks his first real fix for the economy inflation will pop through the roof. Then, our beloved Fed idiots will have to ratchet up interest rates thus killing our well-earned recovery.
If we would have wiped out the banks in 2008 and had Obama DONE NOTHING America would be prosperous again.
Its up to us to put this country back on track!! dont waste your Vote being PC.Vote for those that start this country us up again.We have to bits the bullet sooner or later and the only way is to get rid of the A$$W$$es in the White House All of which are puppets to the rich.
I love the way politicians throw around words like Marxism and socialism. They're so scared of the free market we've never faced a crisis without some sort of bailout. And the Federal Reserve has to go. You can always count on the Federal Reserve to dismantle the wealth of the middle-class and dig a bigger hole.
No Confidence. The Obama Administration is not only inept, it's corrupt. "If the Economy isn't on sound footing in three years, I'll be a one term President." Unfortunately for America, the tail of the tape states, you're one and done. No Confidence.
Dahly.........Corruption with repubs against President Obama started the day after his taking office. 14-15 republicans secretly met to pledge to vote against every bill that would help the economy recover. They pledged this saying they wanted him to be a one term president. They pledged to take the economy down just to destroy the presidents plans for recovery. Bin Laden wrote down the same plan and executed 911 to take the economy down to destroy the nation. These repubs, Ryan, cantor, DeMint, and Ginggrich pledged to act like the Taliban act like the insurgents do,(their own actual words) to prevent President Obama from a second term. Acting like the supreme terrorist of all time Bin Laden. Traitors. Deliberately sabotaging the recovery. Ref Richard draper new book.
Alan Simpson had this to say about his own party on 5/27/2012 Huff Post.
Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) lashed out at members of his party on Sunday, slamming them for their unwillingness to compromise on proposed tax increases.
In his characteristically colorful style, Simpson told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that Republicans' rigid opposition to new tax revenues has hampered productivity and diminished the chances of reaching an agreement with Democrats on debt reduction.
"You can’t cut spending your way out of this hole," Simpson, who was appointed as co-chair of President Obama's Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in 2010, said. "You can’t grow your way out of this hole, and you can’t tax your way out of this hole. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, we tell these people. This is madness."
Simpson continued: "If you want to be a purist, go somewhere on a mountaintop and praise the east or something. But if you want to be in politics, you learn to compromise. And you learn to compromise on the issue without compromising yourself. Show me a guy who won’t compromise and I’ll show you a guy with rock for brains."
Remember Gingrich's moment of honesty on Meet the Press?
"If you quote me, you are lying".
Even Jeb Bush had a moment of honesty recently.
Everybody knows what is going on, and it's pretty pathetic.
Scorched Earth.
Remember President Bush telling us that Iraqi Oil would pay for the war? We're still waiting because it hasn't been paid for yet.
o gee from all govt reports the recovery is moving along nicely.
personally i dont think i could survive much more stimulation
Operation Oliver Twist, please sir may I have more!
It's the Fed and their actions which are prolonging this. Get the government out, keep them out and don't let them back. Audit the Fed and then close it down for good. I wonder if Bernake ever heard of Japan's lost decade. If he did, he sure didn't learn much from it.
Or even the Great Depression for that matter.
Com on Ben move us even closer to the Weimar republic and turn those "presses" higher. Gang, notice the value of YOUR hard earned money DROPPING? Think there is a cause and effect going on here? Hmmmmmm.
The only things additional "stimulus" will due is (a) inflate the money supply - thereby reducing the value of each of our dollars and (b) provide a temporary jolt to the stock market. The stock "traders" - not investors - are just BEGGING for more stimulus. It's all the business networks talk about apart from the euro zone mess.
So... no job is better than a temporary job?
There are plenty who will disagree.
You pay taxes on a temp job. You pay bills. You buy food. Money gets back into the economy.
That's a bad thing?
And this paranoia about inflation. Some inflation is good and is necessary. The feds previous actions during this depression have yet to result in any.
I don't like it that the fed has to do this, but it's looking like the Republicans are going to continue with their scorched earth policies. Question is, will they continue their temper tantrum even if Obama gets reelected? I believe they will, and it would be the death of their party. We need two parties.
Now if we could all move back to the center from the far, far right where we have been driven. The reality is, Obama is actually a moderate Republican by his actions. It's just that the right wing of the right wing of the fringe right has taken control of the Republican party. Insanity.
Dear Ben, you've done enough damage. Please just go away.
thank you
yes, yes, yes........
Anything announced by the Fed may have a short term impact, but the reality is that the Fed cannot heal the economy or give consumers and businesses the confidence necessary to improve things. Only a new face in the White House who is NOT following an anti-business, class-warfare agenda will spur additional economic growth.
Here we go again with the anti-business myth. Corporate profits are at record levels, corporate cash reserves are at record levels, market indices have nearly doubled since the president took office. Financial firms are making money, not having to be bailed out as they were during the previous administration.
Keep repeating your lies, there are some fools that will believe them despite facts that prove otherwise.
Class warfare will begin when the poor and the middle class start to fight back.
they cannot heal the economy they can only screw it up worse
A budget that decreases funding of programs for the poor and redirects that money to the wealthy in the form of tax breaks is class warfare. Rep. Ryan's own church called his budget immoral.
Peter is a Witch Doctor for The Job Creators.
Peter is a Witch Doctor for The Job Creators.
More sacrifices for less.
I love it that the "Nuns on a Bus" are calling out the Ryan budget for what it is.
You gotta be in deep doo doo if you have pissed off all of America's Nuns so much they feel the need to charter a bus and call you out on your bs. Party of "family values", my azz.
The Nuns are coming for you Mr. Ramenie.
Inflation inflation inflation ... these guys keep playing a shell game and it's gonna hurt in 2-5 years ...
At some point .... the fed will have no choice but to increase interest rates ... when they do and bond interest goes up ... guess what? So goes our debt payments. The effect will be that the USA will not be able to fund interest payments on the debt with current tax receipts.
Greece here we come.
Just think ... their debt is only around 450 Billion .... ours is 16 TRILLION. Default is coming.
Thanks Barack and Ben.
Steve - Nat'l Debt Jan. 2013 17 Trillion Dollars
!4 Trillion Dollars generated by Reagan, HW Bush & GW Bush
3 Trillion Dollars generated by Clinton & Obama
Does not include the off balance sheet debt generated by the GOP (ENRON type accounting)
The FED can control and mitigate inflation
Thank you Obama Admin and FED for rescuing the U S A & WORLD from the Bush Admin. FINANCIAL DISASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"3 Trillion Dollars generated by Clinton & Obama" Not even Obama believes that....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I realize that you don't think Obama and the Dems are responsible... Well, I don't think they are responsible either....
Got news for your folks... just like you fall for the Obama recovery line ... you're falling for this line of B.S.
Sadly, you will keep denying what is right in front of you till the end ...
PT Barnum was right ... sucker born every minute.
Concerned -
FYI -
The debt when Obama took office was at around $10 trillion. It is now over $15 trillion.
15-10 = 5
Meaning that Obama has added about $5 trillion to our debt all by himself!
Where is your $3 trillion for Clinton and Obama coming from? Is that liberal math? It sure isn't real math!
I wish Obama would have never counted the wars(defense budget), tax breaks, loopholes, and Medicare Part D, that we accrued during the first 8 years of this new century! These items account for 82%, of the debt, that he (Obama) is credited with adding!
Tammy, please identify your source, because you're full of baloney!
Wouldn't it be great if the REPUBLICANS in CONGRESS would represent the MAJORITY INTERESTS of their CONSTITUENTS and negotiate with the other members of CONGRESS to ACCOMPLISH something that would benefit the MAJORITY of U S CITIZENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO EXPECT???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Yes
and VICE VERSA!
Majority rule sounds like a democracy. We have a constitutional republic.
I wish the president would act in the best interests of the US rather than only concern himself with his political future.
If he really wanted his material to pass, he would not add wedge issue partisan politics to his proposals.
You mean like proposals that the Republicans made prior to Obama getting elected?
Those proposals and wedge issues?
Give me and the country a break. We all know the Pubs are on a scorched earth campaign.
Wedge issue my azz. You keep repeating that bs long enough, even you start to believe it.
Sad when a pledge to a douche-bag like Grover supersedes your pledge to your country.
Don, what world have you been living in? What wedge issue partisan politics are you talking about? Tax increases to the super wealthy to pay for bills designed to create jobs? If that's what you're talking about as being a wedge issue than you clearly have no common sense.
It's obvious to everybody what's wrong with our government and it's the do nothing obstructionist GOP. The only thing Republicans in Congress seem to care about are unborn babies. They don't give a crap about the American people. They have repeatedly put party above country and have been acting like children because they lost the election in 2008 to a black man. Republican politicians are a disgrace.
All I can say is stop the press!! If they keep printing money, we haven't even seen inflation!! The Fed for sure has to go. I am starting to think there is just no end to the madness. VERY SICK OF IT!!
The problem is they did keep "printing" money and then loaning it out. Now we sit on tens of trillions of debt on printed money.
Senario 1. ALL pensions and debts are defaulted on
Senario 2. Sufficient CASH is introduced to offset the debt and make it payable.
Either way inflation has already happened. It happened in the PAST when money was loaned that could not be repaid.
Folks, get a grip on reality - The Fed is not going to go away...... It serves the wealthy, and if you haven't noticed, Romney is a very wealthy person.
It is OK to whine and cry about the Fed, and tell scary stories about what is going to happen with inflation, etc. But the Fed currently has plenty of room to fight the inflation monster. Anybody remember the 80's when the prime rate was 20%, it worked much better than Ford's "whip inflation now" slogan.
Exactly how are they going to fight inflation? They can't raise interest rates because it will collapse Treasury bonds.
obamacarter isn't exactly poor either.... or biden.... or the kennedy's.... what about Reid and Pelosi??
20% prime rate would be great
It would be great for people that like to save money but who cares about them? It's massive debt that keeps the American economy moving. When one form of debt (mortgages) falls out of favor another will be shoved down our throats (student loans). And they're even better because student loans cannot be discharged. They will suffocate middle-class 2.0 for the rest of their lives.
When did they ever stop?
I'm amazed how some of you cannot resist turning this issue into a Republican or Democratic "thing". IT'S A FED THING, OK? Look, Obama is the worst, that's a given. Bush was nearly his equal. But Bush is gone and with luck, so too will be Obama shortly. BUT, this financial crisis is ongoing. We're not on our way out of it. There's no recovery going on. The FED doesn't have a clue, but feels it has to do something. Problem is, it's attempted to artificially manipulate the ecomomy too much already. As GermanGem said, "Dear Ben, you've done enough already", and she said it looking mighty good, I might add.
I agree with Dale this is a fed thing and the fed is independent of Congress or the president. They have the most short term influence on the economy, not the president.
you're sweet Dale:) Thank you:)
Completely disagree....the FED has already stated that they don't want this economic burden to fall solely on their laps. They have asked Congress repeatedly to get off their @sses and do something. But we all know that Republicans have already made up their minds not to help this President, even before he was sworn in.
Also the fact that you don't think Bush was the worst President in history tells me you're a freaking moron. Seriously, how can you be dumb enough to get us into 2 wars and cut taxes at the same time? And how can you not recognize that as being the dumbest thing you can do to our country?
Slowing economy could force Fed to take action.
Slowing economy could force me to take action.
Yeah baby, election day is coming!!!
the only thing left we can do is cut spending and get a grip on our record deficits and debt. Until action is taken in those areas nothing the Federal Reserve does will help. The free lunch is over.... The piper is demanding to be paid..... and the hope and change rhetoric we heard about four years ago turned out to be lies and deceit.
The federal government borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends. 60% of federal spending is on; Social Security, Medicare and Defense.
What would you cut?
They will need to look at all spending. Reform will be needed on SS and Medicare. We need to revisit the long standing US policy of trying to police the world.
I believe it is pretty much mathematically impossible to rescue ourselves via tax increases alone. Taxing rich only gives us squat . Even taxing everyone through the roof can not do it.
We have a spending problem AND a revenue problem. Looking at only one side of the equation is an exercise in futility.
You don't seriously think that there will be significant spending cuts WITHOUT some revenue increases, do you?
Every agency the government has is inefficient and there is plenty of room for cuts including the military.... or getting rid of some entirely..For example, do we need a department of education when the states could handle it?? All that department does is force mandates down the states throats without funding them! That's just one example. Social security will have to be tackled and it could mean a reduction of benefits by 30% for those who are fifteen years away from retirement. Social security never was intended to be a retirement program... it was a supplement to an individuals own plan. The party is over.. the piper has to be paid.... and we'll all feel it. However, the longer we wait to face reality the harder the pain. Let's get it over with.
I'll repeat. You don't seriously think that there will be significant spending cuts WITHOUT some revenue increases, do you?
Could you repeat that?
Sure...no revenue increases = no spending cuts. Is that too difficult?
U.S. Foreign Aid summary;
Israel, Egypt, Colombia, Jordan, Pakistan, Peru, Indonesia, Kenya, Bolivia, Ukraine, India, Haiti, Russia, Ethiopia, West Bank/Gaza, Liberia, Bangladesh, and Bosnia.
Why is U.S.A. borrowing to give it away in foreign aid??
Who will give us aid when our system collapses?
We need a government that is for America first..!!
How about if we just balance the budget so the country is paying 100% of what it costs to run the federal government? Do it any way you like. Then let the people decide what they want to keep paying for, and what they want to get rid of.
I wouldn't want to be a bureaucrat if that day ever comes.
Running government on borrowed money and diluted currency has to stop. It is dishonest, immoral, and unsustainable.
The budget cannot be balanced.
The finances of a country is quite different than the finances of a family. In a debt based monetary system, the budget cannot be balanced for a long time because the money supply (all the money we have) was borrowed at interest. Total debt is MORE than the entire money supply. Google for "HOW DO BANKS CREATE MONEY" to understand the problem. Money was created when we borrowed. It will never be paid off. And in order to pay the interest, we need to keep growing the economy at all times. But in a limited world that may not always be possible. As the social mood changes, expansion and contraction of credit, aka money supply, creates economic cycles like Kondratieff wave. We are now in Kondratieff Winter. Until spring, all efforts will fail.
You are right, the debt based monetary system is unsustainable.
First, the spending cuts, then we'll talk about raising taxes
Even if taxes are increased revenues will continue to fall, so regardless spending cuts must be done. Might as well get on them and then the rest of us may be impressed to see serious action.
As the the debt based economy as others have mentioned there is no way it can continue to work.
Imagine if you will you get a job and each month in payment your employer increases the amount of money you can borrow from them to live on - less of course interest charges. To begin with you have plenty of credit and no interest payments. Later 1/2 of your pay is taken to pay interest and even later you default. It is not a sustainable economic model, yet this is exactly how our central banks operate even with governments.
Spending cuts???? Like our politicians in Washington will ever allow that to happen.