The Federal Reserve Bank has raised rates 9 times since jb oval office

a reply to: putnam6

The irony is we owe most of the interest to ourselves. I'm practical when it comes to the budget and spending. Also the same for regulations.

However, keeping interest rates artificially low creates higher cost of living for seniors/retirees, possible asset bubbles and most importantly low short-term rates create rampant speculation because, in the end, **** it, the money was cheap, so who cares?

a reply to: musicismagic

Biden has his share of blunders.

But it was known when the interest rates came down that they’d have to go back up.

Keeping them low is dangerous in a time like this.

Why would someone put money into savings if the interest rate is below 2%, which is the planned inflation in a normal year?

So people and businesses spent money or invested it frivolously, and they didn’t plan for when rates would go higher.

We’re seeing the aftermath of that. And rates are still far lower now than they were mere decades ago.

We shouldn’t have deployed all the measures we did as quick as we did. We all knew it would create a lot of blowback at the time, but people were scared. They got bribed by a few 1,200 dollar checks while a vast majority went into the stock market and bailout like packages.

I’m honestly surprised we’re not in a worse situation right now. But it very well deteriorate more. We’ve been kicking a can down the road every economic crisis. We just spend and bailout and never address the systematic causes. Many businesses get to stay open after gross negligence, and the CEOs keep their job after they rob tax payers and share holders.

We merely blame it on any political opponent that we don’t like when in reality they’re all complicit.

a reply to: SRPrime

Very good post SR in Prime-Time,

Even though many of the supposedly richest folks could fund a space-program : they would never do it.

All of the big Investments™ like those are done by getting Subsidies™.
Our beloved Politicians™ sign-over the sweat from our backs and brows, for the would-be Elitists™ to play with.

The key to being Wealthy™ : is never risk your own Wealth™, and they rarely do.
Our common wealth however ?
Sure : waste-away !!