Ben Dandy's printing of $600 B new Bennie Bucks could equate to 18 million new jobs for the unemployed at $33 K per year. Every unemployed American could have been provided a job doing something, anything. Or a check for $4 K could of been sent to every taxpaying citizen. But no, the freshly minted Bennie Bucks will be used according to Ben Dandy himself to create " higher stock prices that will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can also spur spending. Increased spending will lead to higher incomes and profits that, in a virtuous circle, will further support economic expansion." This follows earlier comments from one of Ben Dandy's chief lackeys, V.P. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Brian Nut Sack who said: " risk asset values are likely to be elevated to levels higher than they would otherwise reach." In other, more honest words, an asset bubble.
The stated rationale for QE2 by Ben Dandy is to create yet another bubble in the US economy. This new bubble comes on the heels of the tech bubble during the late 1990's and the most recent housing bubble that still has the US economy crippled and homeowners reeling. As damaging as the two previous bubbles were there were some real gains derived. Not enough to offset the costs incurred but none the less some real gains. The country became wired to the Internet and new technological advances were created by the inflows of capital. Initially this lead to the creation of millions of new jobs which unfortunately have now for the most part disappeared or went overseas to the cheapest bidder. The housing bubble had the similar effect of job creation. Construction, real estate, mortgage brokers, etc. But, as with all bubbles, when they pop so do the assets and the jobs that were created by the same bubbles. This latest bubble created by Ben Dandy will have the same if not worse of downside with less of an upside. Inflating risk assets, the stock market, will create few if any American jobs. The immediate downsides of QE2 are being seen already.
Since the end of August when it became apparent QE2 would be launched, the price of oil has increased by approximately 20%. The effect QE2 has had on the the price of oil and therefore gas pump prices is written to here: "There is plenty of oil and gasoline on hand, and pump prices usually fall this time of year. So what's causing the run-up? Most analysts point to the Federal Reserves $600 billion economic stimulus effort. "Effectively, what the Fed did yesterday was impose a new tax on consumers," Cameron Hanover analyst Peter Beutel said. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Notsohappy-holidays-ahead-at-apf-1171983967.html?x=0
Not only in gas prices are the cost of QE2 already being felt, but in commodities in general. Since August here are the increases seen:
- Cotton + 68%
- Sugar +66%
- Soybeans +23%
- Rice +29%
- Coffee +15%
- Oats +31%
- Copper +16%
- http://pragcap.com/revisiting-richard-fishers-darkest-moments
- Expect to see this reflected at your local grocery store soon.
This video shows Ben Dandy in 2005 responding to questions asking if there is a housing bubble in the US. Ben Dandy's responses include "sound fundamentals are driving US housing prices" and "US housing prices never go down" and "I'm confident that the bank regulators are paying close attention to the type of loans being made" and "housing is a localized problem that's not going to effect the overall economy.' Basically, 5 minutes of wrong statements made by Ben Dandy over the 3 years leading to the financial meltdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QpD64GUoXwAfter watching that video, one has to wonder if the US has learned anything from the past. The re-appointment of Ben Dandy would suggest that the answer is no. Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach agrees:
"Morgan Stanley's Roach was quoted by the paper as saying QE2 is only "a dream" and will not have much more impact than what little QE1 did. Roach said the US has learned nothing from the past financial crisis, which originated from easy-to-get mortgages to fund property purchases by Americans"
Roach is correct in saying the US has learned nothing from the past financial crisis. The same banker overlord that was wrong all the way up to the crisis was re-appointed to his position. Ben Dandy was appointed by a republican, re-appointed by a democrat. Yet the American people continue to point their fingers at the other political party and blame them for the sorry state of affairs as both political parties cater to the wealthy elite, bribed, seduced by their massive wealth.
The US economy has been hollowed out. Hollowed out to the point that only artificial, imagined growth via the printing of dollars, the elevating of risk assets to levels higher than they would normally be is now called growth. A bubble, replacing a bubble, replacing a bubble, replacing a bubble. Ben Dandy to the rescue.