This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Bernanke Talks His Book
Bernanke Talks His Book
Bernanke’s testimony to the House last week and to the Senate yesterday held no surprises. Ben has promised to maintain monetary policy at DEFCON 4 levels for as far into the future as we can see.
The prepared remarks were identical for both presentations. I reviewed Bernanke's 10/4/2011 testimony before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (Link). There is something missing in the 2012 reports to Congress that was included in Ben's statement just a few months ago. Here’s what he said in October 2011 about inflation:
Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable according to the five-year-forward measure of inflation compensation derived from yields on nominal and inflation-protected Treasury securities suggests that inflation expectations among investors may have moved lower recently.
So last October, Ben was touting up the TIPS/Bond spread as a confirmation that the broad expectation for inflation was very tame. In fact, when Ben made those comments in October he was right.
The five-year TIPs/Bond spread was at 1.60%, a very low rate of expected inflation. That's no longer true.
In his testimony to the Senate this week, Ben did not bother to mention that the TIPS spread has blown out since October. He eliminated any reference to the TIPS spread altogether. The reason? Simple, the TIPS spread is no longer telling Bernanke what he wants to hear, so he ignores it.
The following are some charts on the TIPS spreads. First the five-year:
Now the Ten-year:
At this juncture, I’m absolutely convinced that Bernanke is making a biblical mistake. Yes. it will cost Ben his job (and the Fed’s credibility) at some point. But the real consequence will be to Americans in general, and also a few billion people outside the borders.
There is zero evidence today that the US economy is in a crisis and that emergency monetary policies are justified. But Ben tells us differently. He omits critical information that would argue against his policies. I think his omission of the inflation information contained in the TIPs data is equivalent to lying, and he knows it. His disinformation makes all of his words to legislators (and the public) very suspect.
My conclusion is that Bernanke is prepared to manipulate data (and any other damn thing he can lie about) in an effort to make people believe he is doing the “right thing.” He’s not doing what is right for the country any longer. He's in the process of ruining it.
Ultimately, Bernanke will be proven wrong. The longer Bernanke’s emergency measures are sustained, the harder it will be to unwind the mess he has created. Another two years of ZIRP, Twist and QE will bring long-term economic problems to America. The history books will not look kindly on Bernanke and his speeches the past week. I expect they will say:
“The first weeks of February 2012 were the last chance the Federal Reserve Bank had to alter its stance. As of this date, the die was cast; the Fed committed to irreversible steps. The only variable left was time. Twenty-four months later the US economy lost its footings. And when it fell, it took a decade to find a bottom.”
Some say Bernanke is a hero, that he saved the global economy from collapse in 2009. I say that he is a goat, one that will bring us a generation’s worth of trouble. That he ignored ample evidence in 2012 that the economy had long since passed the Emergency Stage will be Ben’s undoing. He's so pregnant with his monetary policy that he can’t see (or just chooses to ignore) that the fire is out, the emergency is over, and his monetary policy should be in the process of normalization. That failure, will cost everyone, big time.
»
- advertisements -
Tip auctions started trading at negative yields last fall but it has more to do with the Feds buying than market pricing. By way of this activity the value of existing TIPS has gone up nicely. So far the market in consumer inflation has functioned pretty well, meaning there is no or even negative pricing power in food and energy. Some inflation is desirable, (targeted inflation) so explain why Bernanke isn't proud of this number as proof that economic activity is picking up? Deflation is still the problem especially in assets. The real crime here is the hefty premium investors pay for TIPs because of the Feds backdoor price controls. And we all know the economic activity lie isn't being supported by things like money velocity, or natural gas demand. So it's just a little white lie, and not even the one you suggest.
To say that Bernanke made a "biblical mistake" in his testimony is putting it mildly. Bearing false witness, perjury, lying .... whatever term you use, carries a penalty. Judgment is coming. This is the way that a society, a corporation and a nation sows the seeds of it's demise.
http://georgesblogforum.wordpress.com/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/08/will-iran-be-attacked/
OK, Here is a bit from Paul Craig Roberts, a retired DC insider. It is germane to this discussion because it asserts that a substantial amount of foreign support for U.S. foreign policy (such as the "coalition of the willing") is due to bribery, bribery with U.S. dollars. Given Bernanke's relentless attack on bucky, what happens when he succeeds and bucky is worth about one Mexican peso? Bernanke is playing with fire.
Bruce,
Most people will unquestioningly follow their own beliefs even to the point where it leads them over a cliff. Bernanke's belief was that he could prevent the inevitable collapse of a global economic system. He now has a larger, sycophantic chorus on the FOMC. He MUST be right - in his own mind. The alternative is to accept that he has done evil on a scale that puts Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot into the shadows. Like the three aforementioned tyrants, he believed his initial plan would be for the "greatest good". Like the three of them, he also never questioned if his plan was morally comprimised.
barliman
in process ???......i think that process has been completed
Sure, the emergency is over. The tornado came through and tore the roof off the house. Unfortunately, we now live in a house with no roof. As long as it stays sunny, no problem. It never stays sunny, though. We just act as though it will.
P.S. -- Fixing the roof is too expensive as we spent all the money on LCD TV's, sectional sofas, jacuzzi tubs, and iphones. When it rains again, all that shit will get wet.
Bruce, Bernanke is trapped. The Fed is leveraged 60:1 with treasuries, MBS and agency paper. He can't raise rates. If he raised rates to his stated long term goal of 4%, the Fed would ba bankrupt in a year, funding needs of the US Treasury aside. This is why I found it so hilarious that the market reacted so hard to the "surprise" statement that ZIRP will continue to 2014. Really? This is a surprise? Who doesn't know this already?
The Fed can never raise rates until it destroys the currency without testing the waters of operating under technical insolvency.
Soooo much worse than a goat. You would have to add horns and a tail to him if you wanted a more accurate picture. He and his cronies are not incompetent, wrong or stupid as most believe. He has usurped tremendous power from the 330 + million people and continues to do so every single day.
Pot, meet kettle.
Bernanke has less credibility than the BLS and Obama. I know, you didnt think it was possible.
Nice article, again, Bruce.
Bernanke is a disaster.
His policy errors have done and will continue to do long-term structural damage to the economy and markets:
Just one example (of many) where Bernanke completely swung and missed (why he has an ounce of credibility amongst anyone - even amongst those he aids, as in the Goldmans & JMPs of the world - is beyond me):
Bernanke: A Brief Sampler of Him Making Predictions [Ultimately Massively Incorrect Ones At That] from 2005 to 2007But the Senate LOVES him.
Bernanke has enabled the looting of the Treasury, for that he deserves a life sentence.
Bernanke has less credibility than the BLS and Obama.
Yet 1 billion times the power.
When will people figure out that DC doesn't really control shit? They are NOT gatekeepers; all they are is the people who clean the shit at the zoo.
Great catch, Bruce.
Some dare call it treason.
how much longer can the emperor continue his nakedness?
I dont know if we can assume that the emergency is over. Unless the spigot is left open to at the very least buy government debt and keep the debt from vastly expanding due to interest costs, government bills won't get paid. Not an option. Besides, he has to make sure all his buddies are kept in the manner they have been kept.
What does he care wether he will be judged harshly for what he is doing now at some future time, if at all? He's been wrong in his asessments of what is going on pretty much since he took over from Sir Greenspan, besides since when have any of his ilk been held accountable for anything?? For example I understand tha same Sir is now living comfortably in Switzerland with I'm sure a fallout shelter comfortably stocked with plenty of loot enjoying the good life being exuberant at having pulled it all off and being largely revered for it.
Ben, The Treasury, and the US Government can't afford to let rates go up....sure he says the economy is weak....but the debt load is so large any rise in rates would cost the government billions if not trillions.
A 1% rise in the 10 year would add $1 trillion to the US debt.
If rates were to rise back to where they were in the early 80's (I know its unlikely-for illustration purposes only), interest on the debt would eat the entire Federal Budget...3 TIMES!!
So he may say he is keeping rates low because the economy is weak....but I beleive he knows that financing costs will blow through the roof if rates were allowed to rise on their own
Discuss........
[...]
1) Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the workers by the capitalists.
2) After the collapse of the former USSR, all the workers of the Soviet block + the Chinese workers were intergraded into the labor marker that truly became global.
3) Capitalists off-shored production to Asia, as the workers of those countries could be exploited much more so than the workers of the West (as the Western workers had achieved some important victories through a century of labor struggles, that inhibited the capitalists ability to exploit them).
4) As the industrial base of the West was diminishing, capitalism became more "leveraged" and credit-based, as it needed more and more "banking loans" to keep the system going:
-If a factory was closed down, either because the owner off-shored production to Asia or because it just couldn't compete against the cheaper goods that were made in China, the workers of that factory could still get a job, or start a business themselves, by getting a loan from the banks.
-The workers wages have stagnated for a long time (link), but they could still "afford" a new house, by getting a mortgage. And they could also afford rising tuition fees for their children's education, by getting a student loan. And they could even a new plasma TV set, by getting another "consumer's loan". And the list goes on and on.
-This meant that the construction workers could find a job (thanks to all these mortgages), and the companies that produce this plasma TV set and the merchants who sell this TV would make a profit. So, there would be a job for those who make these TV sets, or sell them.
5) The problem with all this is that the houses that the people live in are not "their" houses, they belong to the bank. And if you can't make your payment on your mortgage, then the bank kicks you out. Can all these debts be repaid? No, of course not.
6) So, the Western workers earn relatively low wages, and are deeply in debt, as they had to keep the system going by "overconsuming" for a very long time. And it's not just the workers, entire states are heavily indebted and cannot possibly repay their debts.
7) As the people cannot get any more loans, capitalism can't keep growing. No jobs for the construction workers, factories close down as noone can consume all the good that they produce, etc.
8) But as these debts cannot be repaid, the banks are also in trouble, as they have to write down heavy losses. This is a very heavy blow for them, as they are ALL bankrupt, just like Lehman Brothers.
9) The difference is that, unlike Lehman (and a lot of smaller banks), the rest of the banks were saves through endless bailouts. Let's not forget that the banks have become bigger than ever, as capitalism needed more and more credit. So, the bankers have the politicians in their pockets, and they managed to get the money they needed (from us). After all, they are "too big to fail", whereas we are not, we are "replaceable". So, all the wealth of our societies is being redirected to the banks, in order to cover their losses, leaving the rest of us to starve.
10) But the banks need a lot of dollars. Trillions and trillions of them. So, this "money" is being "created out of thin air" (quantitative easing - money printing). This process of money printing has being going on for many decades now, ever since Nixon abolished the gold standard. The system needed more credit, and so it became more leveraged. The gold standard was interfering with capitalism's need for increased leverage, so they abolished it. And now that the banks have to be bailed out, they are printing even more money than before
11) All this newly created "money" (currency) goes to the banks, so that they won't have to face another "Lehman-type" moment, or even a global collapse of the entire banking sector. But this newly created 'money' isn't based on newly created wealth (new products/services), nor on wealth's"monetary counterpart", gold (gold, as we have already explained, is the "monetary representation" of wealth, as capitalism has a tendency to monetize everything, and so all goods and services have a value that can now be expressed through gold, in order for the people to be able to exchange them in the market (buying/selling).
12) As all this newly created "money" is not based on new wealth/gold, it is simply a way to debase the currency and redistribute wealth:
The banks get bailed out, by getting all the newly created "money", and the workers get paid less (as the value of the currency in which they are getting paid is being diminished). This is necessary for the capitalists, who get to save the banks, and improve the "competitiveness" of the working class. The destruction the currencies is a sacrifice that they have to make, in order to save the banking sector from collapsing, and at the same time to reduce the wages of the wokers, so that they become "more competitive", thus attracting capital investments.
13) One of the greatest "side-effects" of this process of "money printing" is that fewer and fewer people want to own/use the various currencies, as they can easily understand that these currencies will lose a lot of their current value in the future. More and more capitalists turn to gold for protection of their wealth, as they realize that gold is the one thing that will always remain constant. So, China, Russia, the oil states (and many other rich "players") are buying gold, and they are trying to dump the dollar when they trade with each other. The oil states have a "special role" to play in all this, because if and when they reject the dollar as a means of payment, the world will experience a great "oil crisis", much bigger than the 1973 oil crisis (which was the first time the oil states publickly rejected the dollar and demanded to be paid in gold, as they obviously didn't like America's decision to abolish the gold standard in order to print as many dollars as the USA wanted).
13) The West is obviously caught between a rock and a hard place. But saving the banks and impoverishing the workers are the top priorities, so this process of "money-printing" will continue, despite the various obstacles, twists and turns. Money printing is today a "systemic necessity" for capitalism, and there is not much point in putting the blame solely on Bernanke, Obama, Bush, the FED or their English/Japanese/European counterparts (The Europeans are also printing money, although Germany does not need the same amounts of "money-printing" as the rest of Europe, as the German workers are already very competitive, thanks to their high productivity. But Germany also accepts the need for money-printing, as it is the only way to save the banks from their "toxic loan situation". And they are VERY WELL PREPARED for the coming destruction of the dollar (hyperinflation), as the euro-system has combined the European nation's gold, making it the "least bad" option in a world of fiat currencies that are being massively debased).
14) But gold is not just an inflation hedge or a deflation hedge - it is a measure of trust in the system: The reason why gold was considered to be a "fringe investment", or even "a thing of the past" is because there was a lot of trust the system's ability to grow. The capitalists don't really like gold's stability, because capitalism wants to constantly expand. So, the capitalists prefer investments that return a profit for them, like starting a business, or investing in stocks, etc.. If and when the economy is doing well, then businesses make profits, investing on stocks is also profitable, etc. So why buy gold? Why would anyone want to save his capital for another day, when he can invest his capital today, and make a lot of money?
15) Things change however, and today the capitalists are not very confident that the economy will grow in the future (there is no trust in the system). There is enough capital concentrated in the hands of a few oligarchs, and there are many cheap workers in Asia - and yet the capitalists are NOT willing to make a lot of investments (especially in the West, where the workers are "too expensive"). As the workers lack the necessary "purchasing power" to buy things, it is obvious that a lot of products will not be consumed (because the people are too poor to buy them).
16) But the capitalists prefer to let the workers starve to death, even if this aggrevates the crisis on the short-term. The more desperate the workers become, the more inclined they will be to accept serfdom (or "increased competitiveness", as the capitalists see it). So even if a few capitalists get killed in the process ("coladeral damage"), the end result will be great for the rulling class, as they will have created an "ultra-competitive" world, where a few oligarchs own almost everything, and the workers work for scraps (->more profits for the capitalists). It is only then that they will start investing again (especially in the West). Until thw workers accept working for scraps, the capitalists will not invest.
17) In order to achieve this goal, the capitalists need a safe place to store their capital: GOLD. Once the workers have become "desperate enough" to accept serfdom, the "business cycle" can start again, and they will invest some of their gold in productive investments. But until they feel confident that they will make a profit, they choose to save their capital for the future - and gold is the only thing that will not lose value when everything else is collapsing.
[...]
http://whataboutmarx.blogspot.com/2012/02/modern-serfdom-for-workers-and...
It's some weird mutation of capitalism, though, isn't it?
Proper capitalism would have meant the banks would have been allowed to fail. When states use taxpayers money to bail out private financial corporations, is that proper capitalism or more some kind of weird fascist economics?
This really does seem like socialism for the elite - they seem to have state protection while ordinary people get fucked.
Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell....Kyle Bass
"Proper capitalism would have meant the banks would have been allowed to fail"
But the banks are powerful, very powerful cartels, and they have the politicians in their pockets...
Here's another good read on the subject:
[...]
Half a century ago, when Marx was writing Capital, free competition appeared to the overwhelming majority of economists to be a “natural law”. Official science tried, by a conspiracy of silence, to kill the works of Marx, who by a theoretical and historical analysis of capitalism had proved that free competition gives rise to the concentration of production, which, in turn, at a certain stage of development, leads to monopoly.
[...]
Competition becomes transformed into monopoly. The result is immense progress in the socialisation of production. In particular, the process of technical invention and improvement becomes socialised.
This is something quite different from the old free competition between manufacturers, scattered and out of touch with one another, and producing for an unknown market. Concentration has reached the point at which it is possible to make an approximate estimate of all sources of raw materials (for example, the iron ore deposits) of a country and even, as we shall see, of several countries, or of the whole world. Not only are such estimates made, but these sources are captured by gigantic monopolist associations. An approximate estimate of the capacity of markets is also made, and the associations “divide” them up amongst themselves by agreement. Skilled labour is monopolised, the best engineers are engaged; the means of transport are captured—railways in America, shipping companies in Europe and America. Capitalism in its imperialist stage leads directly to the most comprehensive socialisation of production; it, so to speak, drags the capitalists, against their will and consciousness, into some sort of a new social order, a transitional one from complete free competition to complete socialisation.
Production becomes social, but appropriation remains private. The social means of production remain the private property of a few. The general framework of formally recognised free competition remains, and the yoke of a few monopolists on the rest of the population becomes a hundred times heavier, more burdensome and intolerable.
[...]
The German economist, Kestner, has written a book especially devoted to “the struggle between the cartels and outsiders”, i.e., the capitalists outside the cartels.
[...]
Here we no longer have competition between small and large, between technically developed and backward enterprises. We see here the monopolists throttling those who do not submit to them, to their yoke, to their dictation.
[...]
the development of capitalism has arrived at a stage when, although commodity production still “reigns” and continues to be regarded as the basis of economic life, it has in reality been undermined and the bulk of the profits go to the “geniuses” of financial manipulation. At the basis of these manipulations and swindles lies socialised production; but the immense progress of mankind, which achieved this socialisation, goes to benefit . . . the speculators. We shall see later how “on these grounds” reactionary, petty-bourgeois critics of capitalist imperialism dream of going back to “free”, “peaceful”, and “honest” competition.
[...]
Domination, and the violence that is associated with it, such are the relationships that are typical of the “latest phase of capitalist development”; this is what inevitably had to result, and has resulted, from the formation of all-powerful economic monopolies.
[...]
capitalism only became capitalist imperialism at a definite and very high stage of its development, when certain of its fundamental characteristics began to change into their opposites, when the features of the epoch of transition from capitalism to a higher social and economic system had taken shape and revealed themselves in all spheres. Economically, the main thing in this process is the displacement of capitalist free competition by capitalist monopoly. Free competition is the basic feature of capitalism, and of commodity production generally; monopoly is the exact opposite of free competition, but we have seen the latter being transformed into monopoly before our eyes, creating large-scale industry and forcing out small industry, replacing large-scale by still larger-scale industry, and carrying concentration of production and capital to the point where out of it has grown and is growing monopoly: cartels, syndicates and trusts, and merging with them, the capital of a dozen or so banks, which manipulate thousands of millions. At the same time the monopolies, which have grown out of free competition, do not eliminate the latter, but exist above it and alongside it, and thereby give rise to a number of very acute, intense antagonisms, frictions and conflicts. Monopoly is the transition from capitalism to a higher system.
If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism.
Lenin - Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism (yes, i know that most people think of Lenin the "Devil", but is his analysis right or wrong?)
...but corrupt, crony capitalism is not proper capitalism.
Isn't this an issue of corruption, nepotism and fraud, rather than capitalism?
Communism tends to fuck up because of a corrupt elite, too.
Is capitalism really the disease here?
And who said that very thing, just the other day? Our good friend Alan Greenspan.
"...but corrupt, crony capitalism is not proper capitalism"
Any system, INCLUDING your precious capitalism, that consentrates wealth and power in the hands of a small oligarchy, is bad for us. And yes, that INCLUDES soviet-style "communism", that also consentrated wealth and power in the hands of a small oligarchy
It isn't "my precious capitalism". I don't know if capitalism is the best system or whether there is a better way.
I was just wondering whether this isn't more of a criminality issue. Just because the criminals may call themselves capitalists doesn't mean that capitalism is automatically criminal.
Now you're right there. It's the same as saying it's the Jews.
It's not the Jews. It's the criminals. Maybe they're Jewish? Who cares. They're still criminals.
except i've seen over and over that one can't accuse jewish criminals of their criminality for fear of the dreaded accusation of *anti-semitism*. i've had isreali friends reflect that criticism of israel / zionism is much more common there, and virtually verboten here.
and just try to get jews in general to agree to prosecute their fellow jews who've behaved criminally. and remember, its behavior i'm speaking of here, and how membership in some elect connected group allows immunity from consequences.
so i care, because as individuals, i insist we be treated fairly, but when there is a cabal with any unifying feature that permits effective immunity, whether it be mafia, talmudists, zionists, politicians, members of the world bank or bis, etc., i call bs.
CONCENTRATION is the problem: of wealth in the hands of the economic class, power in the hands of the political class. Was Lenin "wrong"? 70,000,000 people murdered to go from capitalism...back to capitalism. Apparently so. Free enterprise Capitalism creates real wealth, whatever its flaws in distribution. State Capitalism (Marx, Trotsky, Lenin...Blankfein, Bernanke...and other Jews) universalizes poverty. And then stays in power through sheer violence. Put it another way: I'd rather have the market setting prices than the Politburo.
"ALL SOCIETIES ARE CAPITALISTIC. The ONLY difference is who owns/controls the Capital. You don’t really think Communists are trying to get rid of Capital do you? You're either going to live under a Monopolistic Capitalistic Oligarchy, or a Competitive Capitalistic Republic. There aren’t any others" - Sui Juris
Those people aren't Jews; they're Ashkenazi gangsters.
Nearly all governments attempt to remain in power through sheer violence. That's the reason the police and the military are armed and their subjects are normally not.
Eggactly. If they so damm set on handing out cash, fuck I only need 95k to be back to even, not trillions.
It always comes back to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A
As long as people keep thinking in terms of "individuals", instead of classes, the capitalists will keep winning ("divide and conquer").
If everyone looks out for his own personal interest in today's world, then he will sooner or later be destroyed by the capitalists, because they have consentrated so much wealth and power in their hands, that you just can't match them on an individual level (this is why they want you to think like an individual).
But if you think like a member of a class, then you can find other people of your class, and fight together, in order to accomplish your common interests.
like a collection of individuals living under a law as a republic?
damn statist, your solution is the one the tyrants always promote.
this current crop of tyrants is about to get its nose bloodied again by a bunch of irate individuals.
your kind of misguided thinking is pure insidious evil.
Banking is not the same thing as capitalism. Banks and their frauds existed long before modern capitalism. Crooks exist, and capitalism is not a method guaranteed to be void of crooks and thieves.
Blaming the 'system' is just a way to avoid finding the real crooks in the current mess of control frauds. Corzine would have been a crook in any system.
speaking strictly of USA banking crooks I would say they were held in check primarily by the existence of USSR...once collapsed our banking laws were liberalized, off-shorering of production and labor to include even major parts of the service sector were completed within 15 years decimating the middle class within 20 years.
planned destruction plain and simple.
patriotism? does that word still make panties drop? capitalism do it?
"Banking is not the same thing as capitalism. Banks and their frauds existed long before modern capitalism"
True - and the same goes for private property.
Capitalism was a step forward in its "youth", when it destroyed the feudal lords. But now the capitalists have become worse oligarchs than the ones they once overthrew with the help of the workers...
.
Unless Ben knows something that we do not...I just find imposible to believe that Ben doesn't know about the serious implications of his monetary policy.
If Bernank is indeed a student of the first depression, he knows that the failure of an obscure Austrian bank, Credit Anstaldt, set off the great 1930s bank failures in the US. The Eurozone remains one big forest of AIGs....hard for him to not notice that history is about to be imitated.
Hence unlimted swap lines with Europe (and anyone else who asks)
I disagree that the "fire is out, the emergency over".
It has not been solved...only delayed. In fact, your entire article implies this...which is why I cannot see how it is that you conclude that anything is solved.
As Rambo once declared: "Nothing is over!"
As far as I can tell, NOTHING is ever over.
Ask the Germans if WWI is over. Ask the Jews if WWII is over. Ask Ukraine if the Soviet Union is over. Ask Monica Lewinsky if the Clinton Years are over.
Ask Al Sharpton and Charlie Rangel if slavery is over. Ask Captain Schettino if he'll ever stop hearing "Vado a bordo, CAZZO!"
Could Bernanke's actions really stem from hubris and refusal to admit he is wrong?
Could he really just be a stubborn idiot?
It feels more like a huge, orchestrated evil is being perpetrated rather than simple stupidity.
Evil or just stupid? Evil and stupid?
Chairsatan is not stupid.Abysmally evil.
its evil, trust me - those people are not stupid - their short term planing horizon is 5-10 years ahead.
the owners plan generations ahead, and execute with flawless precision.
They did not plan for the Internet Reformation. http://thedailybell.com/2195/Internet-Reformation.html
So the plates are going to wobble for another two years before they come crashing down? I certainly hope it doesn't take that long because the longer it takes the worse it's gonna be.
Economic Jenga.
How many blocks can you push out before it all disintegrates and crashes into a pile of junk?
The tower stands. One final block causes the transition from rickety-but-standing to collapsed-and-fucked.
If Ben actually raised interest rates he would kill the stock market and make his friends at Goldman and JP Morgan angry. Sure he is decimating savers but what the hell, they are mostly little people. Also if he raised rates Little Timmy's negative interest bond would face some headwinds and they would not be able to impose that hidden tax/theft on to the public. He probably saw how good the BLS does with its fantasy numbers and thought "hey, why can't I do that too?"