The federal reserve: enemy of the people

[Chew Toy McCoy]

They’ve made it crystal clear nothing is going to derail their interest hikes until they crush the lower classes and the workers’ rights movement.

Here’s something nobody seems to be talking about. Credit card debt is at an all-time high. That means a lot of people making interest payments on preexisting purchases while the interest rates on the cards are going up. This is just shifting inflation from new purchases to making banks richer from past purchases. But hey, I guess gas prices have gone down (which has zero to do with the fed’s actions).

 

[Renzatic]

It's either rate hikes, or inflation. We're going to be screwed either way, so we may as well use the one we can control to offset the one we can't.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

It's either rate hikes, or inflation. We're going to be screwed either way, so we may as well use the one we can control to offset the one we can't.

That's one tool. The fed also has the ability to regulate executive compensation. Another tool is price caps, especially on industries proven to be gouging people.

 

[Renzatic]

That's one tool. The fed also has the ability to regulate executive compensation. Another tool is price caps, especially on industries proven to be gouging people.

Price caps would require an act of congress, wouldn't they? I've always been under the impression that the reserve could regulate the overall flow of money, but couldn't interact with the economy at such a granular level.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Price caps would require an act of congress, wouldn't they? I've always been under the impression that the reserve could regulate the overall flow of money, but couldn't interact with the economy at such a granular level.

Correct, and I realize that's a bigger process, but I also think screwing people with interest hikes should also be a bigger process. From economics to war we seem to accept that screwing over the people at the bottom is always acceptable and then tinker away from their stopping just short of screwing those at the top.

Ever noticed how "professional" economists never get called to task no matter how many times they are flat-out wrong? They are probably the biggest thinking inside the box profession that there is and they are brainwashed to think that way the minute they start studying it.

 

[Renzatic]

Ever noticed how "professional" economists never get called to task no matter how many times they are flat-out wrong? They are probably the biggest thinking inside the box profession that there is and they are brainwashed to think that way the minute they start studying it.

From what I understand of the issue, to get congress to act, and seeing any benefit from their policies when they finally do, would probably take years and years before we'd finally see any progress. Inflation would still be scaling upwards in the meanwhile, hurting working class America.

There might be a more benign solution to the problem, but I can't think of one. The best established means to control inflation is to spike the economy for a short term. Rate hikes keep people from spending as much, doing as much, and saving more. This allows supply to catch up to finally catch up to demand, leading to an drop in prices since there's more goods on the shelf, and the needs to spur on demand again.

It's really having to choose between two bad choices. The tried and true solution offers us pain in the short term, but provides relatively quick results. A potentially better solution would require congress to get their act together to vote on the issue, have it slowly propagate across the market, all for difficult to guarantee results.

Also, given that we're working with a system that's a 2 to 4 year popularity contest, we're not likely to reward our elected officials for a longer term solution when we're suffering now, preventing them from wanting to make the attempt when they're more likely to get bragging right results with the tried and true.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

From what I understand of the issue, to get congress to act, and seeing any benefit from their policies when they finally do, would probably take years and years before we'd finally see any progress. Inflation would still be scaling upwards in the meanwhile, hurting working class America.

There might be a more benign solution to the problem, but I can't think of one. The best established means to control inflation is to spike the economy for a short term. Rate hikes keep people from spending as much, doing as much, and saving more. This allows supply to catch up to finally catch up to demand, leading to an drop in prices since there's more goods on the shelf, and the needs to spur on demand again.

It's really having to choose between two bad choices. The tried and true solution offers us pain in the short term, but provides relatively quick results. A potentially better solution would require congress to get their act together to vote on the issue, have it slowly propagate across the market, all for difficult to guarantee results.

Also, given that we're working with a system that's a 2 to 4 year popularity contest, we're not likely to reward our elected officials for a longer term solution when we're suffering now, preventing them from wanting to make the attempt when they're more likely to get bragging right results with the tried and true.

When people are paying more in interest rates they are not saving more money. They are handing more money to banks for zero gain. And as I said in the OP, the premise insinuates people will just stop buying new big ticket items and doesn't address increased interest on things they are currently paying for before the fed decided to stick it to them. How many collective millions or billions of dollars are people flushing down the toilet to prop up banks with this sledgehammer solution?

As far as action by Congress, think of all the state trigger laws that were in place for the instant Roe v Wade got overturned, just sitting there waiting. There should be similar trigger laws in place for essential product industries who profiteer off a crisis.

I'm not a pure isolationist, but there is something seriously fucked up when you have to pay more at the grocery store because there is a shipping or crop issue in China for the exact same crop that is growing down the street from the grocery store.

 

[NT1440]

$20+ in “quantitative easing” since the end of the last recession, but even a peep of labor gaining crumbs and power and they deliberately set up the next recession.

Of course they are the enemy of the people, they exist solely to keep this asinine corporate system afloat, that’s literally their mandate.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

$20+ in “quantitative easing” since the end of the last recession, but even a peep of labor gaining crumbs and power and they deliberately set up the next recession.

Of course they are the enemy of the people, they exist solely to keep this asinine corporate system afloat, that’s literally their mandate.

There’s a lot of resentment from those who have spent decades chiseling away at worker rights, social safety nets, Wall St and bank regulation, and anti-trust enforcement towards this new generation who thinks they can just undo all that hard work. It serves their interests and wealth and their head is lodged fully up their ass refusing to believe they are wrong about anything. They also seem to be preoccupied with historical references to how much they were able to cause people to suffer just short of triggering a violent revolution. “Things were pretty bleak under [insert administration here] and we survived it.”

 

[NT1440]

There’s a lot of resentment from those who have spent decades chiseling away at worker rights, social safety nets, Wall St and bank regulation, and anti-trust enforcement towards this new generation who thinks they can just undo all that hard work. It serves their interests and wealth and their head is lodged fully up their ass refusing to believe they are wrong about anything. They also seem to be preoccupied with historical references to how much they were able to cause people to suffer just short of triggering a violent revolution. “Things were pretty bleak under [insert administration here] and we survived it.”

The only pushback I’d provide to this is that they’re not “wrong”. They KNOW that their power is predicated on exploitation of the working class and their gains over the last 40 decades has been directly from their actions. Reaganomics is still the economic consensus, regardless of what party is in power.

The shift of wealth to the top IS their project.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

The only pushback I’d provide to this is that they’re not “wrong”. They KNOW that their power is predicated on exploitation of the working class and their gains over the last 40 decades has been directly from their actions. Reaganomics is still the economic consensus, regardless of what party is in power.

The shift of wealth to the top IS their project.

Agreed. It’s by design. I’d just add that they know there is a certain floor level they won’t look below. They know it’s probably ugly down there. They just don’t care to know how. That’s not their concern, but without those lower levels existing their system would crumble. Their conservative voter goal keepers believe it’s 100% the individuals fault they exist on those lower levels and they don’t question if those lower levels should even exist.

The system is also built on a serious diet of precariousness. Everybody needs to believe they are constantly in danger of falling to the next level down and need to take any shit job or remain a cog in the machine to keep it from happening.

 

[Yoused]

There should be similar trigger laws in place for essential product industries who profiteer off a crisis.

It is a little complicated, at least in terms of the way our system is structured. For some 18~20 months in 2020-21, business revenue streams were at trickle levels relative to sustenance limits. Businesses lost a lot of money. Hence, this "inflation" is those businesses trying to claw back their losses (and cover the usury on nearly two years of payday loans). In context, it is not actual inflation and it is not genuinely beyond the pale.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

It is a little complicated, at least in terms of the way our system is structured. For some 18~20 months in 2020-21, business revenue streams were at trickle levels relative to sustenance limits. Businesses lost a lot of money. Hence, this "inflation" is those businesses trying to claw back their losses (and cover the usury on nearly two years of payday loans). In context, it is not actual inflation and it is not genuinely beyond the pale.

Clearly this is part of it but the "experts" want to minimalize that fact as much as possible in public opinion. Basically the fed is hammering the workers/consumers with high interest rates until they can't afford to be price gouged anymore.

And let's not forget that both the fossil fuel and agriculture industries are heavily subsidized by our tax dollars. So this is like a double dip screwing.

 

[Yoused]

If I were king, any company that is at all involved in finance – banks, brokers, insurers, fund managers, etc – would be required to operate as a NfP business, allowed to take as much as 1% of their revenue stream for salaries and overhead, and not allowed to own any kind of property. Merely handling money for other people should not be gravy work.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Listened to an interview with an economist on the Jon Stewart podcast who believes inflation is caused by the money supply as has been proven by historical data from over 100 countries. This fed says they aren’t even paying attention to the money supply because there’s no evidence it has anything to do with inflation (as long as you don’t count the study of over 100 countries). In using the money supply model to keep inflation in check the money supply should be raised by about 5%. This fed has raised it around 15%. No evidence. OK.

 

[NT1440]

What an asinine system to rule the world.

We have to sacrifice people to keep “the economy” running.

 

[Yoused]

Listened to an interview with an economist on the Jon Stewart podcast who believes inflation is caused by the money supply as has been proven by historical data from over 100 countries. This fed says they aren’t even paying attention to the money supply because there’s no evidence it has anything to do with inflation (as long as you don’t count the study of over 100 countries). In using the money supply model to keep inflation in check the money supply should be raised by about 5%. This fed has raised it around 15%. No evidence. OK.

I think it may have been Heinlein who said, "For every problem there is a simple solution – and it's wrong." Or somebody earlier that Heinlein cribbed from.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

The Fed Is Bankrupt

"The most recent data show that the Fed owes the Treasury over $41 billion, which exceeds its total capital. The Fed, by common standards, is indeed insolvent." ~ Thomas L. Hogan

www.aier.org

 

[Yoused]

The Fed Is Bankrupt

"The most recent data show that the Fed owes the Treasury over $41 billion, which exceeds its total capital. The Fed, by common standards, is indeed insolvent." ~ Thomas L. Hogan

www.aier.org

Here is wiki thingy has to say about your source:

Policy positions
AIER statements and publications portray the risks of climate change as minor and manageable, with titles such as "What Greta Thunberg Forgets About Climate Change", "The Real Reason Nobody Takes Environmental Activists Seriously" and "Brazilians Should Keep Slashing Their Rainforest".
The institution has also funded research on the comparative benefits that sweatshops supplying multinationals bring to the people working in them.

COVID-19
AIER issued a statement in October 2020 called the Great Barrington Declaration that argued for a herd immunity strategy of "focused protection" to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was roundly condemned by many public health experts. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert appointed by the White House, called the declaration "total nonsense" and unscientific. Tyler Cowen, a libertarian economist at George Mason University, wrote that while he sympathized with a libertarian approach to deal with the pandemic, he considered the declaration to be dangerous and misguided. The declaration was also criticized by the Niskanen Foundation, a formerly libertarian think tank that now calls itself moderate.
AIER paid for ads on Facebook promoting its articles against government social distancing measures and mask mandates.
In October 2020, Twitter removed a tweet by White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas linking to an AIER article that argued against the effectiveness of masks.​

The neoliberal glibertarians have been trying to kill the Fed for nearly a century.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Here is wiki thingy has to say about your source:

Policy positions​

AIER statements and publications portray the risks of climate change as minor and manageable, with titles such as "What Greta Thunberg Forgets About Climate Change", "The Real Reason Nobody Takes Environmental Activists Seriously" and "Brazilians Should Keep Slashing Their Rainforest".​

The institution has also funded research on the comparative benefits that sweatshops supplying multinationals bring to the people working in them.​

​

COVID-19​

AIER issued a statement in October 2020 called the Great Barrington Declaration that argued for a herd immunity strategy of "focused protection" to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was roundly condemned by many public health experts. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert appointed by the White House, called the declaration "total nonsense" and unscientific. Tyler Cowen, a libertarian economist at George Mason University, wrote that while he sympathized with a libertarian approach to deal with the pandemic, he considered the declaration to be dangerous and misguided. The declaration was also criticized by the Niskanen Foundation, a formerly libertarian think tank that now calls itself moderate.​

AIER paid for ads on Facebook promoting its articles against government social distancing measures and mask mandates.​

In October 2020, Twitter removed a tweet by White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas linking to an AIER article that argued against the effectiveness of masks.​

The neoliberal glibertarians have been trying to kill the Fed for nearly a century.

Didn’t know or research the source.