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I think the doc was pretty fair. Not anti-business at all. Most of the interviewees were flaming capitalists, many of them former Fed board members from the W. Bush years and 1st Obama term. Economists like Nouriel Roubini and Mohamed El Erian featured prominently. A lot of monetary hawks were interviewed. Not too many that defended loose fiscal policy.
It was from a left of center perspective as I'd expect from PBS...but almost a back to the future paleo-right wing fiscal moderate perspective.
It was a bit critical of Republicans. It didn't straight up say it, but there was a message throughout the film that the Fed has done what it's done on monetary policy because Congress is incapable of fiscal policy. It didn't directly name names but it was clear which party the filmmaker blames more for that. But it was critical of both parties, saying fairly bluntly that the Biden administration overstimulated in the wake of the pandemic and so did the Fed at the same time. That's why things are bad with inflation now. But the political message was a Paul Krugman-esque one: "we should have done a New Deal in the first Obama term immediately after the 2008 crisis." The message was that Congress should pay for building stuff instead of the Fed trying to stimulate via a version of trickle down which is QE. Fairly standard liberal perspective there.
The filmmaker was toughest on Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed. Exposed him on 3 flip flops. 1) That there would be little inflationary consequence to QE and near zero rates, 2) that post Covid inflation was transitory, and 3) that the Fed would not intervene in the economy anymore becquse of any market hiccups and was committed to lowering inflation even if there's pain. Well 5 months after he said that in an interview for the movie, the Fed is bailing out banks with gusto.
Kashkari is a real tool and flip flops a lot. Clearly he is afraid of stock market drops and unemployment more than anything else and will do anything to prop up employment and the markets. He's probably the loudest voice inside the Fed this week arguing for no more rate increases.
Basic takeaway is that the whole economy since 2008 is badly addicted to cheap money and low rates. The Fed can't fix this without messing up the system pretty harshly, the way an addict will resist being cut off and go into withdrawals if they are.
Last edited by redguard57; 03-21-2023 at 05:43 AM..
I think the doc was pretty fair. Not anti-business at all. Most of the interviewees were flaming capitalists, many of them former Fed board members from the W. Bush years and 1st Obama term. Economists like Nouriel Roubini and Mohamed El Erian featured prominently. A lot of monetary hawks were interviewed. Not too many that defended loose fiscal policy.
It was from a left of center perspective as I'd expect from PBS...but almost a back to the future paleo-right wing fiscal moderate perspective.
It was a bit critical of Republicans. It didn't straight up say it, but there was a message throughout the film that the Fed has done what it's done on monetary policy because Congress is incapable of fiscal policy. It didn't directly name names but it was clear which party the filmmaker blames more for that. But it was critical of both parties, saying fairly bluntly that the Biden administration overstimulated in the wake of the pandemic and so did the Fed at the same time. That's why things are bad with inflation now. But the political message was a Paul Krugman-esque one: "we should have done a New Deal in the first Obama term immediately after the 2008 crisis." The message was that Congress should pay for building stuff instead of the Fed trying to stimulate via a version of trickle down which is QE. Fairly standard liberal perspective there.
The filmmaker was toughest on Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed. Exposed him on 3 flip flops. 1) That there would be little inflationary consequence to QE and near zero rates, 2) that post Covid inflation was transitory, and 3) that the Fed would not intervene in the economy anymore becquse of any market hiccups and was committed to lowering inflation even if there's pain. Well 5 months after he said that in an interview for the movie, the Fed is bailing out banks with gusto.
Kashkari is a real tool and flip flops a lot. Clearly he is afraid of stock market drops and unemployment more than anything else and will do anything to prop up employment and the markets. He's probably the loudest voice inside the Fed this week arguing for no more rate increases.
Basic takeaway is that the whole economy since 2008 is badly addicted to cheap money and low rates. The Fed can't fix this without messing up the system pretty harshly, the way an addict will resist being cut off and go into withdrawals if they are.
I hope my attempt at bolding your comment comes through. I also believe that Obama wasted his brief control of Congress by focusing on passing the ACA rather than taking care of the economy. He saw an opportunity to pass major health care legislation and put his efforts behind that, rather than getting the economy going. Although despite his failure, he did retain Ben Bernanke as fed chair, an excellent decision. The section on the Frontline piece that was critical of Ben rang hollow with me. He had extensively studied The Great Depression and he helped prevent another one.
Last edited by wizrap; 03-21-2023 at 07:08 AM..
Reason: Typo
I hope my attempt at bolding your comment comes through. I also believe that Obama wasted his brief control of Congress by focusing on passing the ACA rather than taking care of the economy. He saw an opportunity to pass major health care legislation and put his efforts behind that, rather than getting the economy going. Although despite his failure, he did retain Ben Bernanke as fed chair, an excellent decision. The section on the Frontline piece that was critical of Ben rang hollow with me. He had extensively studied The Great Depression and he helped prevent another one.
ACA was a big deal, but yeah we needed people to have jobs. In general I think the doc downplayed the seriousness of 2008, particularly the high unemployment , and the risk of banks going under.
Kashkari's perspective seemed to be that jobs trump everything, and he sees the most important mandate of the Fed to be maintaining low unemployment.
It didn't explain why we DIDN'T have high general inflation until 2021. We did have asset inflation though.
I watched the whole documentary and I was surprised at how unbiased it was. I expect criticism of the Fed from libertarians, but not from liberals. And the documentary does not make the Fed look very smart. Fair and accurate and balanced criticism.
I watched the whole documentary and I was surprised at how unbiased it was. I expect criticism of the Fed from libertarians, but not from liberals. And the documentary does not make the Fed look very smart. Fair and accurate and balanced criticism.
You must live in a bubble if you don't think liberals criticize the Fed and other government agencies. Just because liberals tend to be more pro-government, doesn't mean they don't hold them accountable.
I think the doc was pretty fair. Not anti-business at all. Most of the interviewees were flaming capitalists, many of them former Fed board members from the W. Bush years and 1st Obama term. Economists like Nouriel Roubini and Mohamed El Erian featured prominently. A lot of monetary hawks were interviewed. Not too many that defended loose fiscal policy.
It was from a left of center perspective as I'd expect from PBS...but almost a back to the future paleo-right wing fiscal moderate perspective.
It was a bit critical of Republicans. It didn't straight up say it, but there was a message throughout the film that the Fed has done what it's done on monetary policy because Congress is incapable of fiscal policy. It didn't directly name names but it was clear which party the filmmaker blames more for that. But it was critical of both parties, saying fairly bluntly that the Biden administration overstimulated in the wake of the pandemic and so did the Fed at the same time. That's why things are bad with inflation now. But the political message was a Paul Krugman-esque one: "we should have done a New Deal in the first Obama term immediately after the 2008 crisis." The message was that Congress should pay for building stuff instead of the Fed trying to stimulate via a version of trickle down which is QE. Fairly standard liberal perspective there.
The filmmaker was toughest on Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed. Exposed him on 3 flip flops. 1) That there would be little inflationary consequence to QE and near zero rates, 2) that post Covid inflation was transitory, and 3) that the Fed would not intervene in the economy anymore becquse of any market hiccups and was committed to lowering inflation even if there's pain. Well 5 months after he said that in an interview for the movie, the Fed is bailing out banks with gusto.
Kashkari is a real tool and flip flops a lot. Clearly he is afraid of stock market drops and unemployment more than anything else and will do anything to prop up employment and the markets. He's probably the loudest voice inside the Fed this week arguing for no more rate increases.
Basic takeaway is that the whole economy since 2008 is badly addicted to cheap money and low rates. The Fed can't fix this without messing up the system pretty harshly, the way an addict will resist being cut off and go into withdrawals if they are.
I haven't watched it but I can guess. The Fed can't fix it NOW because it's too messed up. They waited too long to pull the punch bowl (until after the midterms). But unless people are honest about the many reasons that inflation is skyrocketing, there can be no discussion. The energy policies were the igniter and the stimulus was the accelerant. And the people who said 'inflation is transitory' are just partisan hacks who are more interested in a political outcome than doing their jobs.
I am not saying I won't watch it. Just don't have time now.
The calamity that would unfold had the Feds not saved the bank was probably worse than doing it. Now the program asked why they only gave the money to the banks that didn't lend money instead used it to reduce jobs and generate profits by rinsing and repeating it by buying their own bonds with the cheap money.
Lack of oversight and too much hush money being doughed out between the banks and politicians. When banks can give out no show jobs to Fed workers after the bailout was handed out. The voters are too dumb to hold the government accountable.
I'm hesitant to listen to it cause that's already been my stance and don't want confirmation bias lol.
Yes there were upsides to the easy money, but the system was TOO easy.
We're dealing with a lot of turbulence now from the fallout of this; from the FED trying to make up time on their missed hikes. Would you say ANY of the meme stock boom or SPAC boom was healthy for the economy? The covid housing boom wasn't healthy, people scrambling around freaking out trying to lock in fed directed rates at the same time there was shortages for construction rather than more naturally purchasing when the time is right - and now we're on the freeze side. How about the metaverse? How about all this overhiring by tech firms then layoffs? All LIRPs (Low Interest Rate Phenomenons) that created enormous inefficiencies...
Just looking at metrics like U3 (which some say is too low) is how we whipsaw and contribute to short term thinking. In recent times, more and more things are moving online. Even casinos can now be found on the internet. This vast world of the internet has expanded so much that you can now find various no deposit bonuses in online casinos, like the grand rush no deposit bonus, and it's really nice.
Business expansion then contraction so quick is a sign that there were policy problems.
I'm really concerned about this and don't know what to expect in the future!
Last edited by jawkinshere; 05-16-2024 at 01:03 PM..
IMHO the easy money started when they repealed Glass-Steagall.
Legalizing stock buybacks didn't help. At all.
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