- “It’s an old American custom,” the sign says.
We’re not tough enough to take the pain.
That’s why it’s come down to this, citizens — the Fed priming more QE, doing “whatever it takes” to alleviate the hardship. The ceaseless efforts to artificially prop up asset prices. The extraordinary amount of Americans’ monthly personal income now derived directly from Uncle Sam.
It should be much more expedient and ultimately less costly for the government to simply step back and let the economic chips fall where they may. But it’ll hurt, and the nation’s leadership doesn’t think we citizens can handle the sting.
Indeed, we often come across like a society of coddled whiners who can’t stand to even be the slightest bit inconvenienced, never mind subjected to any degree of physical or psychological travail. We can’t handle bad reception on our iPhones, why should the government expect us to deal with the hardship that would come with allowing home prices to reach their natural level, to finally unleash market-clearing prices and probably the failure of more big banks and other institutions? Continue reading…
