Federal Reserve Chairman “Helicopter” Ben Bernanke indicated that the U.S. economy is at a crossroads this morning, telling Congress the central bank is prepared to provide further stimulus. Investors reacted by dumping dollars, buying stocks and pushing gold to a new all-time high of $1,585. Silver, while still significantly below its 2011 high near $50, has advanced nearly 6% thus far today. “The Bernank” commented:
“The central bank will continue to reinvest the original $600 billion into new Treasury securities and not reel the funds in as long as economic growth remains tepid. The possibility remains that the recent economic weakness may prove more persistent than expected and that deflationary risks might reemerge, implying the need for additional policy support.”
The truth is that the stimulus money was spent incredibly inefficiently and pumped into the wrong sectors of the economy, helping Wall Street immensely, but providing little relief for Main Street. It helped to boost stocks in the short term, but the effect has already run its course and unemployment is climbing again, back above 9.2% officially and at a new record high of 22.7% using honest calculations.
The law of diminishing returns further complicates the issue, necessitating an ever-increasing amount of new stimulus injection in order to provide the desired effect. Furthermore, this is coming at a time when the country is faced with the potential of defaulting on its exploding debt, while passing the milestone 100% debt-to-GDP ratio that most economist believe is the point of no return. A slippery slope indeed. A more accurate estimate, when including unfunded liabilities, is closer to 500% debt-to-GDP ratio. And we are pointing fingers at Greece and Italy?
Bernanke also changed his tune on the threat of inflation this morning. He had previously argued that higher consumer prices are merely “transitory,” but seemed
