You Can't Print Production and Prosperity - Doug French - Mises Institute

You Can't Print Production and Prosperity - Doug French - Mises Institute: "Now the word is that zero-percent interest rates are just too darn high. That's why we haven't seen a reinflation of bubble America. The Financial Times reports the existence of a Federal Reserve staff memorandum that makes the case for a negative-five-percent federal-funds rate. Meanwhile, Japanese authorities are toying with the idea of outlawing cash in their country. Despite using every fiscal trick in the book and keeping interest rates at zero percent for a decade, that economy has been mired in a postbubble depression. So the current theory 'would suggest that nominal interest rates of [negative four] percent might be closer to what is required to rescue the economy from another deflationary spiral,' reported the Times Online."

'But as economist Frank Shostak explains, it is savings — not demand — that enables the expansion of production of goods and services. "In short, no effective demand can take place without prior production," Shostak writes. "If it were otherwise, then poverty in the world would have been eradicated a long time ago." In other words, you can't print production and prosperity, much as the Fed may try. And Ben Bernanke is trying.

For those not familiar with Krugman's policy suggestions, he wrote back in August 2002 that "[t]o fight this recession, the Fed needs more than a snapback; it needs soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. And to do that, as Paul McCulley of Pimco put it, Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble."

Sir Alan followed Krugman's advice, and look where we are now. More of the same will only create more financial pain.'