TPS

Some of it is going, and probably more needs to be done. I mentioned a program in Philly (I believe) that gets lenders and borrowers together in bankrucptcy court to re-work the financing--both sides give a little. A fiscal stimulus will be targeted at the middle class, so that's no different than a "bailout" is it?

The monetary base, which essentially represents the amount of (paper) currency available in the economy, has increased by $600 billion since August, which is exactly the amount of excess reserves held by the banking system. So "team Bush" has already flooded "the banking system with paper." Why is "team obama" getting the blame for that?

It's now only "partially the root of the problem." The other side of the policy coin needs to kick-in in a big way now. Job creation and tax cuts for those making < $100K are necessary. Need to limit credit card defaults, student loan defaults, and business bankruptcies. In other words, there are a lot of other assets that could go bad in a bad economy. While I think Paulson has !@#$ things up more often than not, the FED continues to do whatever is necessary. Fiscal policy kicks in early next year. I expect continued negative news and surprises (who will we bailout next?) until June.

Gee thanks for the ppp news posting. No comment yerself?

You mean to say, "anyone who disagrees with me."

What do you mean around the picture, Hell it's uncle karl!

The key is that money has to be put into the hands of people who will spend it. You don't get inflation because the FED has injected $1.5 trillion into the banking system. In addition, once things "settle down" (if they ever do), the FED can always take the liquidity back. It is true that inflation occurs because there is too much demand relative to supply, and with businesses and consumers cutting back spending, there is no danger of that at the moment. As to your second point, if a dollar sell off caused interest rates to increase, that would push the US further into recession, with a slight counter-effect that whatever we still produce will be cheaper to foreigners. Also, I don't know too many workers who can demand higher wages when unemployment is rising. The cause of hyperinflation has been governments spending on goods financed by printing money when resources (capital, raw materials, and labor) are scarce. We're currently in a situation where resources are becoming "more plentiful."

Thank you sir. My apology to criticizing you on this...

Curious to know your thoughts on how the current deflationary recession could become a "hyperinflationary depression"? Since demand for everything is falling, which is bringing prices down, how exactly can we "jump the shark"?

Not quite. I criticize the belief that 'tax cuts don't lead to deficits." Also, Bush proposed his tax cuts when the economy was slowing down; at that time, I argued for a cut in the payroll tax (again) vs. his cuts (mainly) targeted toward the top. That was a minor slowdown, this is the most severe economic crisis in 80 years. Any sane economist understands the need for expansionary fiscal policy in these times, deficits be damned! Btw, could you expand on this:

I like Gill When was the last time an OC for the Bills had faith in the O-line to run the ball in short yardage situations, let alone 4th and 1?

No soup for you! The most fiscally irresponsible "CEO" in history is threatening to veto an extension of unemployment benefits because it would be "fiscally irresponsible?" Ahhh...irony, Bush be thy name...

It's almost as if some one some where is trying to make us hate our own team... "Please take them away, to a richer city."

I try to be optimistic, but this was the worst coaching I've ever seen. First, I don't know what happened to Schonert. His play calling went from inventive to predictable. He found something that worked, then stayed with it 3 times in a row until it didn't. How many times does he call that play with no one in the backfield on 3rd and short? What happened to him? I am looking forward to hearing Jauron's excuse for that last set of downs. Sure Edwards is having a slump, but he's not the problem. Having a coach without the guts to stick with the run is the problem. Please bring in someone who is tough. I'm tired of so-called smart and fast defenses. It's all about the trenches. The good news is I don't have to watch this sh-- anymore...

I agree. The team wins the next three, then wins 2 of 3 in a rematch with the division to make the playoffs.

Hmmm...the mechanics of the bailout as dicussed here...vs. the actual use of it....as if paulson is reading ppp....

I thought his list of economic advisors was pretty impressive. Who else should he have included to reassure Wall/Main Streets?

Shows where my mind is...

Neil in his Amish period more wine: Lying in a field of grass... This will be my ruin... animals Not obscure and the live version didn't work, but it's a great song: joni Neil again: For the Dean, the original: Donald, Walter, Denny, Skunk, J.Hodder, and even David Palmer from the first album. The Dan Ok, I'm done.

Great thread. this isn't obscure, but I never get tired of it... A hooker smoking caterpillar ok, now it's a contribution: I love wine... wine

A few more points (since my late night posts are typically "fueled" by alcohol). - As everyone knows, people go to college because there is a relationship between income and education which is large enough so that there is a "positive return on the investment." However, not everyone has the qualifications to get in, and not everyone wants a degree. But let's assume the supply of qualified students is large enough to meet your underlying assumption. - As for subsidizing education, the economic rational is that there are positive externalities. There are benefits from having a more educated populace that can't be measured in any cost-benefit analysis (imagine this site populated with nothing but "wackas"... ). - The most important assumption about the impact of an increased demand for education: is there excess capacity? I would argue that there is; and if there is, then the marginal cost of educating one more student is near zero. And in most cases, an increase in enrollment is met with hiring an "adjunct" at an extremely low rate per course. Currently, as institutions reach "physical classroom capacity constraints," there are many ways to create flexibility. Teaching more courses in the evening, weekends, and various forms of online teaching (for example, meet face-2-face one day/week instead two, or go completely online). In fact, online learning essentially eliminates the physical constraint. Online unis like Phoenix don't need physical space at all. Begs the question, what factors influence costs then? I've run out of time--it's happy hour, but, again, for state institutions, its really a function of state support. Pataki significantly cut SUNY, so tuition went up to cover the cuts. I think one thing that your specific question ignores, is that the largest part of college costs is "room and board," and those costs have gone up significantly. They represent 60% of total costs, whereas 30% is tuition (remainder is fees). More later if you're interested.

Speaking from my experience in going to a state uni and teaching at one: tuition is a function of state support, which is a function of the state budget. When I attended a UC, I paid $176 per quarter. State budgets were fat, and there was a commitment to higher ed. For the past 20 years, there have been more lean times for states than fat years, and one way to compensate is to cut allocations to the state uni systems and raise tuitions--it has nothing to do with with student loans. In fact, more than likely, student loan levels increased to keep up with rising tuition; not the other way around. My experience in SUNY is similar: whenever state budgets take a hit, they cut our funding, and we either have to cut costs, raise tuition, or both. Since NYS' budget is so closely tied to Wall Street, we are currently taking cuts (our largest increases since I've been here came in 2006 and 2007 because NYS tax revenues were flush from wall street's bubble). There is talk of a tuition increase, but this is because the state will cut its allocation to SUNY due to the cut in state revenues typically generated by Wall street. 18 years ago our state allocation was 50%, it dropped to a low of 30% about 4 years ago, and last year reached 40% again. We're starting another down cycle. Answer: if there is a relationship, student loans increase to keep pace with tuition increases.

Tuition costs are not driven by the amount a student can borrow, especially true for publicly funded institutions.

I thought about adding that I knew KD was being sarcastic, but since he included the little smilie thing, I accepted it for what it was. In fact, my open invitation to who was "dumb" vs. dumber was just that, open...not meant for KD.

I was wondering who was going to try and link today's market to the election...I expected dumber...err...wacka to do it...