Why Are People Surprised?
Let’s see, Wall Street dropped about 3% today, along with the major world markets.
The Treasury auctioned $24 billion in 10-year bonds and $73 billion was trying to get in.
Krugman notes that “…the real interest rate on 5-year inflation-protected securities is now negative.” [08/10/10 -0.02%].
With all of the major markets under the thrall of austerians there is no demand because everyone is trying to stuff their money under their mattress.
The world is awash in money with no place for it to go, and this will eventually lead to another bubble.
You can’t have a recovery unless there are jobs, because without jobs there is no demand. Welcome to the painful world of deflation.
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Truly. BTW, have you seen the news below? Is this a sample of what we have to look forward to for the next few years? Thousands Crowd Housing Authority for Section 8 Housing
You know, the government seems perplexed that people aren’t taking advantage of these low mortgage rates to buy houses. It doesn’t matter how low you get the rate, if people have no money, they can’t make any sort of payment.
In other great news, jobs claims just went up again…
But… but… bond vigilantes! Inflation! Austerity (for other people) is necessary in order to protect our economy from these imaginary things that aren’t happening! And if you don’t agree, you’re not one of the Serious People who run this country, nya nya nya!
– Badtux the Snarky Penguin
I truly find hilarious the argument that the top 2% (hell, even 10%) of the wealthy are the ones who stimulate the economy etc, because, you know… they have the most money to spend!
Ummm… The reason they HAVE so much money, is because… THEY DON’T SPEND!! And when they do, it’s generally on things overseas, or expensive imports! They keep their million and billions of paper money to back up their gambling habit (stocks and trading, and casino’s, which many of them own anyway).
The math is pretty simple, even a moron *could* (but obviously doesn’t) understand it.
Yeah… most people are as smart as lemmings! Meanwhile, the small percentage of the others, can just:
PS. (Just thought I’d try out some different smiles for hipparchia! Hope she’s OK.) 😀
The headline is misleading, all they were trying to get was the application. The crowd knew that they weren’t going to get any immediate help, but you need to have an application on file to ever get help.
The whole problem is the lack of jobs, and the people in charge just don’t get it.
Badtux, if they want to see “bond vigilantes” just have the Fed buy all of the T-bills for a few rounds.
Kryten, who do you think is buying the T-bills? That’s how they avoid lumpy mattresses and the stock market. They aren’t going to do anything risky with their money. and investing in business is very risky at the moment.
Yes, the headline really is misleading. It got me to thinking about how people behave under stress. If things are so bad that people will go to these extremes just to get an application, I have serious concerns about their behavior when things get worse. And if more isn’t done, it’s going to get worse.
Bryan, in keeping with your thoughts posted above, my late grandfather-in-law called himself a “Hoover Democrat”. One time when he was about 91, he was sitting on his front porch in West Virginia and told me his philosophy on being a Democrat for 70 years:
All the politicians steal your money. The difference is that the Democrats spend it, so it spreads around, and you have a chance to get some of it back. The problem with Republicans is that when they get it, they take it and then bury it in their own back yards, and you never see any of it anymore. That’s why I’m a Democrat.
If you were around for the Great Depression you figured it out.
Too many people bought into Reagan’s vision and didn’t look at what was really happening. They don’t remember their own history, the life that they lived, and continue to vote against their own best interests.
People don’t want a hand out, or even a hand, they want jobs so they can do it on their own.
People don’t want a hand out, or even a hand, they want jobs so they can do it on their own.
Well, I’m sure it’s not too dissimilar there, but here, would amend that to read “People from my generation…”. Watching the nightly news here, it seems that a free ride is all the current generation want! They wouldn’t work in an iron lung (as my mother used to say!) 😉
Actually, the kids are victims of being told how great things were going to be for them by their parents, and then they met the reality of their first job. It will take them a bit to accept that, yeah, this really is as good as it is going to get until you retire, so suck it up and survive.
Nothing really prepares you for your first recession, and this one is a real pain. After the first one people keep thinking that it won’t happen against and they got through the worst, but it always does. They can complain that their parents never mentioned how bad things could become because of a group of jerks in financial centers around the world get greedy, and too many of them have been living under the delusion that live was fair.
The Real World will grab you and shake you like a terrier every so often just to remind you that you really aren’t “in charge of your destiny”, no matter that git at your graduation ceremony told you.