<blockquote>
'Well, panic the Fed did, and sooner rather than later.'- Mike "Mish" Shedlock, September 13, 2012</blockquote>
'..If we are lucky, the interventionist policy will end up discredited faster than hitherto expected.'<blockquote>'In other words, we'll inflate you back to prosperity, no matter how much money printing it takes.
This could have been said by any old member of the first French constitutional assembly when it pondered whether to give France's economy 'a shot in the arm' by issuing assignats.
..
..The end result was the second huge financial and economic catastrophe in France since John Law's earlier ill-fated experiment went awry.
What makes all of this so interesting and still relevant today is that these were not just a bunch of fools rushing into an ill-conceived experiment unthinkingly. There were very well considered and intense debates by evidently knowledgeable men. What characterized the supporters of the paper money issuance was their hubris: they thought they would always have things under control.
..
The [Bernanke] press conference – as usual, mostly soft-ball questions were lobbed at the chairman. One apparently unscripted question as to why the Fed takes credit for rising stock prices but refuses to acknowledge responsibility for rising commodity prices was simply ignored by Bernanke. That's one way of dealing with that pesky subject.
..
We know that a number of the Fed's doves clearly believe in the Philips curve trade-off between 'inflation' (i.e., rising prices) and unemployment, most prominent among them Charles Evans and Eric Rosengren. The FOMC seems to finally have fully adopted their views this time around.
..
One thing is certain: should there at some point be an extended decline in the stock market in spite of an open-ended 'QE' program, the faith in the Fed's approach will take quite a hit.
Bernanke and his colleagues have clearly put the credibility of the central bank on the line by going 'all in' at this point in time. If we are lucky, the interventionist policy will end up discredited faster than hitherto expected.'
- Acting Man,
The Big Helicopter Money Drop, September 14, 2012</blockquote>
'..The democracy of the marketplace, where consumers vote every day with their wallets, is the ultimate test of every entrepreneur..'<blockquote>'Once again we see that European style 'austerity' never really entails a shrinking of the State. It always is heavily weighted toward squeezing more blood from the already reeling private sector (note that the tax hikes fall primarily on businesses). Wait, don't those earning €1 million 'deserve' to be squeezed for the 'good of the nation'? What politicians of Hollande's type always overlook when they introduce such populist and shortsighted measures is that they not only create a major disincentive for those already earning a lot of money, but also for every single person that has the dream of one day making it big.
The only way entrepreneurs or independent professionals can earn big profits or command high salaries in the market economy is by serving consumers in a manner that meets with their approval. Their earnings are not somehow 'undeserved' –
they are proof that they are enriching the lives of others. No-one can force consumers to buy anyone's product or service. The democracy of the marketplace, where consumers vote every day with their wallets, is the ultimate test of every entrepreneur. His profits express how well he has succeeded in satisfying consumers.
The State by contrast is the only organization in society – apart from the protection rackets of organized crime – that obtains its revenues not by voluntary exchange but by means of coercion. It is no big secret that decades of statist propaganda have made the majority of productive citizens meekly submit to the ever escalating demands of this voracious Moloch. However, as Mr. Hollande will find, if the government pressures them too much, they can and will 'vote with their feet'. The real question is if France can actually afford the economic policies of Mr. Hollande's administration.'
- Acting Man,
Cat, Bag, Hollande, September 11, 2012</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
House Approves Sweeping, Warrantless Electronic Spy Powers; "The Program"; Are Your Emails Being Monitored? Mine Likely Are, September 14, 2012
'Those not in the labor force rose by 2,723,000 to yet another record high 88,921,000.' September 14, 2012
Reader Comments on Italy's Insane Labor Rules, September 14, 2012</blockquote>