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The Fed Is Flying America into an Economic Storm
The so-called “experts” at the central banks who are trying to lead the United States out of the current economic mess marked by persistent inflation – could be doing so without understanding where things truly are, nor in what direction they are truly headed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with a summary of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s opening remarks, summarizedby Barron’s:
The good news is inflation has eased a bit, Fed officials have realized it is still too high, and they plan to continue the inflation fight. Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. Powell went on to add a rather cliché statement during his speech: “The burdens of high inflation fall heaviest on those who are least able to bear them.” Well, obviously… When steak is too expensive, you buy hamburger. When hamburger’s too expensive, you buy lentils. When lentils are too expensive? You don’t eat. As always, the less money you have, the fewer choices you have. If only he would have realized a lot earlier that inflation wasn’t transitory, but instead was beginning to trend, those burdens he mentioned would probably be much lighter! As if increasing the money supply by 45% in a single year would have no effect on prices… In a later part of the speech, he summarized the danger that high inflation could become a “new normal”:
“Entrenched inflation expectations” is what central bankers call it when the public, you and I, finally catch on that high inflation is here to stay. When these expectations become “entrenched,” it means two things:
Of course, it’s patently obvious to everyone the Fed has failed. And it’s increasingly apparent that neither Chairman Powell nor the heads of the Fed’s banks have a firm grip on the situation at all… Inflation’s root cause is simple, but Powell still can’t admit it During his speech, Jerome Powell took aim at the Ukraine War, corporations, and even threw a light jab at consumers as conditions to blame for inflation. While those complexities have likely enhanced an already bad economic situation, the real blame for inflation since May 2021 is much simpler, and was summarized nicely in a recent Newsmax op-ed by Lance Roberts:
Roberts then commented on one potential reason why Powell appears so reluctant to point to the real reasons inflation has been more pervasive from May 2021 to today than at any other point in the last 45 years:
So, if true, that would mean the Fed’s blame game boils down to one thing: Politics. You thought the Federal Reserve was independent? Sorry, no – the institution that owns 20% of the federal government’s IOUscannot, by definition, be politically independent. The Fed is complicit in multi-trillion-dollar federal budget deficits, which fuel inflation, which the Fed is supposed to fight… Now, perhaps, you understand why Powell can’t publicly admit the real scope of the problem. Which leaves us wondering, does he really even understand the challenge we face? Does the Federal Reserve have a handle on things at all? You can tell by the lack of confidence and confusion in Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole that the answer is, “No.” For example, the Federal Reserve Chairman has a bad habit of leaving an answer to an economic problem at the whim of “uncertainty,” to avoid committing to a solution for that problem. In fact, a Barron’s piece captured this, and one aspect of Powell’s confusion, almost perfectly:
You don’t really need to understand the “neutral rate of interest” (details at the link) to understand the key takeaway: The Chairman of the Federal Reserve doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s lacking a central data point. Imagine the CEO of a Fortune 500 company admitting he wasn’t sure what the company’s breakeven profitability is. How can you run a company like that, let alone the world’s largest economy? Now, these things should be simple. What Powell is doing either works or it doesn’t. What he does should follow fundamentals, or something else – and if it’s something else, it should be a consistent metric. Instead? He’s “navigating by the stars under cloudy skies.” That means, not only is the destination uncertain, so is the distance. We’ll only know we’ve arrived when the landing gear hit the tarmac. Now, this may or may not be a matter of competence. Because Powell wasn’t alone. Other central bankers confessed to equal confusion. Even if you travel “across the pond,” the central bankers at the ECB like President Christine Lagarde don’t appear like they are faring any better. Here is a quote from her latest press release:
This comes across as though central bankers will be making things up as they go along. They seem to hope you won’t question their purpose while they appear to be failing to maintain price stability as their mandates state. When your destination is uncertain, pack accordingly The big takeaway here is central bankers don’t have any real idea what they’re doing. Where we’re going, or when we’ll arrive – or what conditions on the ground will be when we get there. That’s the kind of economic uncertainty that makes planning for the future challenging. The good news is, we all have the opportunity to pack accordingly. Consider diversifying into inflation-resistant investments, on the off-chance Powell can’t get inflation under control. You may want to own tangible, inflation-resistant assets like physical gold and silver as well. Sooner or later, you may decide that you’re just not interested on staying on this stormy flight all the way to its destination – when that time comes, you’ll want your own “golden parachute” to ensure you, at least, enjoy a soft landing. Learn more about the benefits of physical precious metals here.
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