Waiting on Economists’ “Chants and Charms?” “A mighty good chant,” said the King, looking very pleased. Are you sure it will work?” All the magicians nodded together. “But,” said the King, looking puzzled, “How long will it take?” “Be calm, oh, Sire, and have no fears,” chanted the magicians. “Our charm will work in ten...Read More
Corporate Campaign Contributions In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court decided that corporations could spend as much as they wished at any time, assuming there was no direct coordination with the candidate. In doing so, the court overturned its own precedents and refused to distinguish the free speech rights of corporations and...Read More
Boon For Wall Street, Goose Egg for Savers Want to place a bet on how long the Federal Reserve’s current policy of zero percent interest rates (“ZIRP”) continues? Consider who it helps — and hurts: ZIRP Winners: –U.S. Treasury (debt service kept artificially low)— Wall Street (free money — how nice!)–Mega-Corp Borrowers (ditto. IBM just...Read More
Tapping Corporate America’s Cash Hoard to Reward Investors & Stimulate the Economy Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around. –Thornton Wilder Let’s see if I’ve got this right . . . The economy is decelerating now because the federal stimulus to date has run its course, and additional federal...Read More
The $64 Trillion Question What do rational savers and investors do in an environment of zero percent interest rates, where the daily headlines speculate how long major currencies (like the U.S. dollar) will hold their value as national debts mount? Switch (at least) a little of their holdings to gold. Even if that amount is...Read More
