Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Our policymakers admit to problems we don't have



Just heard Geithner at a press conference in Europe "admit" that, "The US has a lot of work to do on fiscal reform." Of course this is code for cutting the deficit.

Since Geithner's been at Treasury we've seen:

10yr Treasury yields go from 3.8% to 2%
5yr Treasury yields go from 2.8% to 0.9%
30yr Treasury yields go from 4.5% to 3.0%
The Dow has gone from 6400 to 12000.
US GDP has gone from $13.8T to $15.2T.

Yes, the debt has increased.
The deficit went from $450 bln to $1.5T.
The debt has gone from $12T to $15T.

But if there were really a crisis, then wouldn't we see it manifest in the markets somewhere?

I am sick and tired of our policymakers "admitting" to problems we don't have.

1 comment:

John Zelnicker said...

Mike -- I am too. Wish they could figure it out, but I think it will take "blood in the streets" for real change to occur.

A slightly off-topic request: Could you update the weekly (I think) cash flow figures from the Treasury? You published them a couple of times around the debt-ceiling debates. They showed the actual cash deficits flowing into the economy. Thanks very much.