by Dan Mitchell | Dec 11, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending
Europe is in the midst of a fiscal crisis caused by too much government spending, yet many of the continent’s politicians want the European Central Bank to purchase the dodgy debt of reckless welfare states such as Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal in order to prop...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 30, 2011 | Bailouts, Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending
In hopes of stopping investor panic about Europe’s fiscal crisis, the world’s major central banks just announced that they will do whatever is needed to ensure financial markets don’t freeze up. This could be an appropriate and relatively benign use of the...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 22, 2011 | Blogs, Economics, Monetary Policy
In a move that some are calling QE3, the Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it will engage in a policy called “the twist” – selling short-term bonds and buying long-term bonds in hopes of artificially reducing long-term interest rates. If successful, this policy...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 28, 2011 | Blogs, Economics, Monetary Policy
I generally try to avoid commenting on monetary policy. Not because I don’t have opinions, but for the simple reason that I don’t follow the issue closely enough to feel fully confident about what I say. This doesn’t mean I’m happy with Fed Chairman Bernanke. But I’m...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 21, 2011 | Blogs, Economics, Monetary Policy
To put it mildly, the Federal Reserve has a dismal track record. It bears significant responsibility for almost every major economic upheaval of the past 100 years, including the Great Depression, the 1970s stagflation, and the recent financial crisis. Perhaps the...
