“The only bad thing about stealing from poor people is that you have to steal from tens of millions of them to make it worthwhile.”
— Ben Bernanke*
* You know, it might have been another bank executive that said this, and not Bernanke. But if the fake quote fits . . . .
Robert Gore
April 17, 2016 6:56 pm
Never have so many gotten so little for the benefit of so few.
Backtable
April 17, 2016 7:12 pm
The Biggest Scam In The History of Mankind
llpoh
April 17, 2016 7:26 pm
Low interest rates are so the govt can keep paying the vig on the national debt. If the rate was say 7%, it would add like a trillion ($1,000,000,000,000) a year onto the cost of the yearly debt payment. Oops. Granny is collateral damage.
durangodan
April 17, 2016 8:00 pm
I like to generally provide a thoughtful response but in this case: “FUCKERS! May they burn in hell after swinging from a lamp post.”
Mark
April 17, 2016 8:42 pm
Well, honestly it looks like a mistake. Quantitative easing that is.
The Fed actually believed that buying long term bonds to push interest rates down would endice more economic activity.
What we had is a windfall for big money. Namely the Chinese . Who swapped long term bonds at above par in a stated purpose to drive the long term down. ( you get more for your higher interest rate long term bond as the interest lowers for new issuances) For short term bonds .
The Government lost its ability to tax through inflation. If the reverse were the case the Chinese would have lost money. Now they can only lose a little money because they and others are in short term paper.
The government can no longer reap much through devaluation. Because the smart money which is the big money is out of the long term. The government must roll over their debt faster and faster.
Sorry, this is an honest dumb mistake not a policy to help the bankers.
Gator
April 17, 2016 10:32 pm
Mark, that’s cute, you think they genuinely believed this was going to help the little guy. How naive. QE has been nothing but another bank bailout. Don’t forget, half that 85 bil a month was used to buy garbage mortgage backed securities AT FACE VALUE when it was really worth pennies on the dollar. Of they were forced to mark to market, they would have been wiped out and required a second over the table bailout.
And llpoh is also correct. If the govt was forced to pay the historical average interest rates, they be back to running deficits of well over a trillion dollars
Mark
April 18, 2016 2:57 am
Gator, How do you think Banks actually make money ?
Lending money or having already loaned money getting a larger spread on the difference ?
If on the latter, how long can that last once the loans expire or get refinanced at the lower rate. Which incidentally , is what your arguing wether you know it or not.
And technically the Fed bought repos to provide liquity. Those MBS are supposed to go back.
P.S. It’s never about helping the little guy. It’s about helping the guy who takes risk and intiative to get new things that create jobs going. That’s not the little guy.
TJF
April 18, 2016 9:48 am
I have some money sitting in a savings account. The interest doesn’t amount to much and I run the risk of the money being used for some sort of bail in or other confiscation, but they seem to like to arrest people who have a pile of cash, so I just leave it in there. It is essentially a rainy day fund – not a system wide rainy day, but a personal rainy day such as losing my job and needing to have money for 6 months or so.
Ed
April 18, 2016 10:19 am
“Sorry, this is an honest dumb mistake not a policy to help the bankers.”
Dear, Mark, please get somebody to hold your hand if you cross the street. I fear you might get runned over.
Love, Ed
Fiatman60
April 18, 2016 12:35 pm
I often times wonder how much money I would earn in interest, if I won the Powerball lottery.
Truth is that under negative rates, even if it were .01%, I would steadily lose, EVERY month!!
Chances of winning the Powerball?? snuggled up to 0%
Chances of interest paid on my 401K or savings accounts? Nadda……
It is and would be in negative territory because of price inflation which is running north of 10% despite what my government and Federal Reserve tells me. Add negative rates and it’s a double whammy. I lose yearly as well as monthly.
Grandma and Grampa (me) get screwed and there’s nothin we can do about it……
Thinker
April 18, 2016 2:09 pm
Funny… as I was doing taxes this year, that was the EXACT question I had. I had tax documents for all of my various mortgages, etc. but I realized I was missing one from my primary checking/saving institution. So, I log in to download it… on the Tax Document screen was the message:
We do not provide tax documents for interest amounts under $10.
10 lousy bucks. I used to have well over $100 in taxable interest from this account alone. Granted, I keep less and less in a bank as the years go by, but still…
Sorry Granny, the bankers needed MOAR!
“The only bad thing about stealing from poor people is that you have to steal from tens of millions of them to make it worthwhile.”
— Ben Bernanke*
* You know, it might have been another bank executive that said this, and not Bernanke. But if the fake quote fits . . . .
Never have so many gotten so little for the benefit of so few.
The Biggest Scam In The History of Mankind
Low interest rates are so the govt can keep paying the vig on the national debt. If the rate was say 7%, it would add like a trillion ($1,000,000,000,000) a year onto the cost of the yearly debt payment. Oops. Granny is collateral damage.
I like to generally provide a thoughtful response but in this case: “FUCKERS! May they burn in hell after swinging from a lamp post.”
Well, honestly it looks like a mistake. Quantitative easing that is.
The Fed actually believed that buying long term bonds to push interest rates down would endice more economic activity.
What we had is a windfall for big money. Namely the Chinese . Who swapped long term bonds at above par in a stated purpose to drive the long term down. ( you get more for your higher interest rate long term bond as the interest lowers for new issuances) For short term bonds .
The Government lost its ability to tax through inflation. If the reverse were the case the Chinese would have lost money. Now they can only lose a little money because they and others are in short term paper.
The government can no longer reap much through devaluation. Because the smart money which is the big money is out of the long term. The government must roll over their debt faster and faster.
Sorry, this is an honest dumb mistake not a policy to help the bankers.
Mark, that’s cute, you think they genuinely believed this was going to help the little guy. How naive. QE has been nothing but another bank bailout. Don’t forget, half that 85 bil a month was used to buy garbage mortgage backed securities AT FACE VALUE when it was really worth pennies on the dollar. Of they were forced to mark to market, they would have been wiped out and required a second over the table bailout.
And llpoh is also correct. If the govt was forced to pay the historical average interest rates, they be back to running deficits of well over a trillion dollars
Gator, How do you think Banks actually make money ?
Lending money or having already loaned money getting a larger spread on the difference ?
If on the latter, how long can that last once the loans expire or get refinanced at the lower rate. Which incidentally , is what your arguing wether you know it or not.
And technically the Fed bought repos to provide liquity. Those MBS are supposed to go back.
P.S. It’s never about helping the little guy. It’s about helping the guy who takes risk and intiative to get new things that create jobs going. That’s not the little guy.
I have some money sitting in a savings account. The interest doesn’t amount to much and I run the risk of the money being used for some sort of bail in or other confiscation, but they seem to like to arrest people who have a pile of cash, so I just leave it in there. It is essentially a rainy day fund – not a system wide rainy day, but a personal rainy day such as losing my job and needing to have money for 6 months or so.
“Sorry, this is an honest dumb mistake not a policy to help the bankers.”
Dear, Mark, please get somebody to hold your hand if you cross the street. I fear you might get runned over.
Love, Ed
I often times wonder how much money I would earn in interest, if I won the Powerball lottery.
Truth is that under negative rates, even if it were .01%, I would steadily lose, EVERY month!!
Chances of winning the Powerball?? snuggled up to 0%
Chances of interest paid on my 401K or savings accounts? Nadda……
It is and would be in negative territory because of price inflation which is running north of 10% despite what my government and Federal Reserve tells me. Add negative rates and it’s a double whammy. I lose yearly as well as monthly.
Grandma and Grampa (me) get screwed and there’s nothin we can do about it……
Funny… as I was doing taxes this year, that was the EXACT question I had. I had tax documents for all of my various mortgages, etc. but I realized I was missing one from my primary checking/saving institution. So, I log in to download it… on the Tax Document screen was the message:
We do not provide tax documents for interest amounts under $10.
10 lousy bucks. I used to have well over $100 in taxable interest from this account alone. Granted, I keep less and less in a bank as the years go by, but still…
Yep, going Galt is looking better all the time.