The Great Recession Continues (and will continue)

I haven't posted in nearly a year. But Charles Krauthammer's comments on Ben Bernanke’s testimony on Capitol Hill have caused me to speak out:


In a decade and a half we’ve gone from "irrational exuberance" to "unusual uncertainty.” And to translate from Federal Reserv-ese, what was heard on Wall Street was him saying:

I don't have a clue what’s happening in the markets. I don't know what our economy is doing, [and] if it’s going to expand -- at what rate. But I stand ready to do anything I need to do -- although I have no idea what that’s going to be and whether I really have any arrows left in my quiver.


Now look at what Steve Wynn said about the Obama administration:




Lesson: The man (or woman) who says, "Fiscal, monetary, regulatory, and tax policy will be henceforth be 'X', and will remain 'X' for the foreseeable future; and of course, 'X' is reasonably business-friendly" will be able to end the recession and usher in a new era of prosperity. (Wynn gaffed the Tocqueville quote in the video, but no matter).

Otherwise, who in his right mind will invest in this climate of uncertainty?

Of course, the Fed can still do some things on the monetary side, but for Heaven's sake, what is so difficult to understand about the idea that nobody is going to invest for growth when fiscal, monetary, regulatory, tax policy is in perpetual flux?

We're asking investors: "Invest your money. We need your money invested in order to grow the economy. But, of course, you won't know how much we'll tax you, or what regulations we'll impose on you. But put your precious and limited assets at risk anyway."

I certainly hope the knaves (or fools, depending on their level of scienter) currently in charge, get their heads handed to them on November 2.