From Forbes
Negative Real Interest Rates Are Just Income Redistribution Disguised As Monetary Policy
Jeffrey Dorfman | Contributor 8/28/2014
As Keynesian economists and Democrats continue to fret about the imagined lack of demand in the economy, describing our current situation as “secular stagnation,” many are calling for even more extraordinary monetary policies. We already have negative real interest rates at the short end of the yield curve, but some want to consider even negative nominal rates. However, such policies will not stimulate the economy, but are just a backdoor way to accomplish even more income redistribution.
Interest rates have been pushed down to historic lows by the Federal Reserve. Nominal interest rates are economic jargon for the actual interest rates people face. For short term deposits and bonds, they are already approximately equal to zero. Real interest rates are economist-speak for interest rates minus the inflation rate. Most savers have been stuck with negative real interest rates on their CDs, savings, money market, and checking accounts for five years now and even many short and medium-term bonds are paying negative real interest rates.
What negative real interest rates do is steal wealth from people who are savers. People with money in the banks or bonds paying them negative real interest rates are really losing money over time in terms of the purchasing power of their savings. In contrast, negative real interest rates essentially provide borrowers with partial loan forgiveness. They are paying back a loan with less money (in purchasing power) than they originally borrowed.
These historically low interest rates are not stimulating the economy because while they may encourage people and businesses to borrow money, they discourage those same people and businesses from saving money. Money can only be borrowed after somebody saves it, and low interest rates encourage spending, not saving. While savers around the world are sending their money to the U.S. for safety, offsetting the negative effect of low interest rates on saving, all that foreign money and more would have come to the U.S. if interest rates had been higher.
The federal government currently redistributes seven dollars for every three it spends. Income redistribution is now the main purpose of our federal government, not the provision of public goods and promotion of the general welfare. Negative real interest rates are just another way to expand the amount of income redistribution. It is creative in that it won’t show up in any budget document and no politicians have to cast a vote on the matter.
Read more from Forbes >>
Negative Real Interest Rates Are Just Income Redistribution Disguised As Monetary Policy
Jeffrey Dorfman | Contributor 8/28/2014
As Keynesian economists and Democrats continue to fret about the imagined lack of demand in the economy, describing our current situation as “secular stagnation,” many are calling for even more extraordinary monetary policies. We already have negative real interest rates at the short end of the yield curve, but some want to consider even negative nominal rates. However, such policies will not stimulate the economy, but are just a backdoor way to accomplish even more income redistribution.
Interest rates have been pushed down to historic lows by the Federal Reserve. Nominal interest rates are economic jargon for the actual interest rates people face. For short term deposits and bonds, they are already approximately equal to zero. Real interest rates are economist-speak for interest rates minus the inflation rate. Most savers have been stuck with negative real interest rates on their CDs, savings, money market, and checking accounts for five years now and even many short and medium-term bonds are paying negative real interest rates.
What negative real interest rates do is steal wealth from people who are savers. People with money in the banks or bonds paying them negative real interest rates are really losing money over time in terms of the purchasing power of their savings. In contrast, negative real interest rates essentially provide borrowers with partial loan forgiveness. They are paying back a loan with less money (in purchasing power) than they originally borrowed.
These historically low interest rates are not stimulating the economy because while they may encourage people and businesses to borrow money, they discourage those same people and businesses from saving money. Money can only be borrowed after somebody saves it, and low interest rates encourage spending, not saving. While savers around the world are sending their money to the U.S. for safety, offsetting the negative effect of low interest rates on saving, all that foreign money and more would have come to the U.S. if interest rates had been higher.
The federal government currently redistributes seven dollars for every three it spends. Income redistribution is now the main purpose of our federal government, not the provision of public goods and promotion of the general welfare. Negative real interest rates are just another way to expand the amount of income redistribution. It is creative in that it won’t show up in any budget document and no politicians have to cast a vote on the matter.
Read more from Forbes >>
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