And our GDP is..............

[Oddball]

It's political insofar as politician and bureaucrats have screwed everything up.

But otherwise, you're exactly right.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

I wish people would understand that this is not a political issue.

We have an economy that is heavily indebted and reliant upon the value of assets such as homes and stocks.

This started under Clinton, was perpetuated by Bush and is being pumped up under Obama. It doesn't matter if its a Republican or a Democrat Congress. It has all been the same. This is how our economy is being run, and it is a political consensus. We are highly reliant on the excess creation of money and enormous global economic imbalances. It is highly unlikely that this is sustainable. And when it collapses, it will not be a Republican nor a Democrat's fault.

what about reinstating Glass-Steagall and some of the other regulations that were in place before Clinton repealed them?

We need less regulation, not more.

 

[Toro]

what about reinstating Glass-Steagall and some of the other regulations that were in place before Clinton repealed them?

Yes, but it is not that simple.

We have created these enormous structures in finance that transcend investment and commercial banks. We must regulate ALL financial institutions such that they have sufficient capital to meet significant declines in asset prices.

 

[elvis]

I wish people would understand that this is not a political issue.

We have an economy that is heavily indebted and reliant upon the value of assets such as homes and stocks.

This started under Clinton, was perpetuated by Bush and is being pumped up under Obama. It doesn't matter if its a Republican or a Democrat Congress. It has all been the same. This is how our economy is being run, and it is a political consensus. We are highly reliant on the excess creation of money and enormous global economic imbalances. It is highly unlikely that this is sustainable. And when it collapses, it will not be a Republican nor a Democrat's fault.

what about reinstating Glass-Steagall and some of the other regulations that were in place before Clinton repealed them?

We need less regulation, not more.

Glass Steagall's repeal is what caused this.

 

[Oddball]

I wish people would understand that this is not a political issue.

We have an economy that is heavily indebted and reliant upon the value of assets such as homes and stocks.

This started under Clinton, was perpetuated by Bush and is being pumped up under Obama. It doesn't matter if its a Republican or a Democrat Congress. It has all been the same. This is how our economy is being run, and it is a political consensus. We are highly reliant on the excess creation of money and enormous global economic imbalances. It is highly unlikely that this is sustainable. And when it collapses, it will not be a Republican nor a Democrat's fault.

Gee....Weren't some saying pretty much the same things back in 1913???

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

what about reinstating Glass-Steagall and some of the other regulations that were in place before Clinton repealed them?

We need less regulation, not more.

Glass Steagall's repeal is what caused this.

No, the Federal Reserve caused this. Had we allowed the market to set interest rates rather than some unelected bankers to artificially set them low this wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad as it is.

 

[Paulie]

The easy money policy led to the inflation of housing prices, via the speculation boom. Just like it led to the inflation of stock prices in the 90's, in THAT speculation boom.

When you create so much extra money, what else do you expect people to do with it? Sit on it in cash form and watch its value deteriorate into practically nothing?

The problem with it is, there's not enough people who are savvy enough to figure out when enough is enough. Of course, that could obviously be said about the Fed as well.

When is enough new money enough?

 

[Toro]

If they don't start withdrawing all this excess liquidity in a very big way in the not too distant future, very bad things are awaiting down the road.

Our financial system has become a joke.

 

[Paulie]

If they don't start withdrawing all this excess liquidity in a very big way in the not too distant future, very bad things are awaiting down the road.

Our financial system has become a joke.

I've gotta say Toro, your tone lately has definitely changed.

What would you do about the Fed?

 

[Toro]

If they don't start withdrawing all this excess liquidity in a very big way in the not too distant future, very bad things are awaiting down the road.

Our financial system has become a joke.

I've gotta say Toro, your tone lately has definitely changed.

What would you do about the Fed?

I never believed that economic Armageddon was coming. I still don't. We weren't going to make the mistakes that we made 80 years ago.

There has to be some sort of anchor to monetary policy. I don't believe in the gold system but the policies of the Federal Reserve of the past 20 years have been discredited IMHO.

There also has to be intelligent regulation of the financial system. You cannot allow large corporations that imperil the entire global economy to lever up to their hearts content.

 

[Toro]

i wonder how long the DOW will continue to go up for no reason?

It's not for no reason. It's for bad reasons. that is what they are saying.

It's not just for bad reasons. The markets are rising in part because economic Armageddon is off the table and stock prices got utterly stupid 3-4 months ago.

Today, however, after rising 50% off the bottom, stocks are trading around their long-term average valuations, and this is anything but an average economy.

 

[Oddball]

If they don't start withdrawing all this excess liquidity in a very big way in the not too distant future, very bad things are awaiting down the road.

Our financial system has become a joke.

I've gotta say Toro, your tone lately has definitely changed.

What would you do about the Fed?

I never believed that economic Armageddon was coming. I still don't. We weren't going to make the mistakes that we made 80 years ago.

There has to be some sort of anchor to monetary policy. I don't believe in the gold system but the policies of the Federal Reserve of the past 20 years have been discredited IMHO.

There also has to be intelligent regulation of the financial system. You cannot allow large corporations that imperil the entire global economy to lever up to their hearts content.

This will never happen in a system dominated by fiat money and discredited Keynesian economic central control.