by Bill Singer
The Fed Speaks. Congress Dawdles
August 10, 2011
Whoa everyone, calm down! I hear you!!
The Fed just announced that life in America is going to be fairly iffy through mid-2013, or at least that's how many of you interpreted the announced low rates through then. Many of you have communicated to me your relief that the Fed didn't go much beyond what it said and did. You seem to like the blunt, candid, depressing language. Keepin' it real. You also seem happy that we're not launching upon another inflationary program of easing.
However, you're also urging me to re-post my recent call for an Economic Plebiscite, and several of you have asked me to once again publish my complaint about our do-nothing Congress and missing-in-action White House.
In a nutshell, the Fed spoke but will our political leaders act?
You tell me that the Fed has opened the door for Congress and President Obama to do their jobs and start passing legislation that will provide both tax relief to beleagured entrepreneurs and some motivation for job creation. Unfortunately, no one is at work. They're all either on vacation or packing. Geez, can you believe that? Is there no sense of urgency in Washington, DC?
Here are the links to the two recent articles that you asked me to re-post:
Economic Plebiscite and Presidential Candidates
The No Nothing Party and Woody Allen's Choice
Below is the excerpt that several of you want me to re-post.
No Political Urgency
Then there's the other anomaly.
Where the hell are our political and financial leaders? Where the hell are those folks who are charged with setting the economic policy of our nation? Hello . . . anybody home? Anybody there?
We elected Barack Obama as President of the United States a few years back, but, frankly, he's become more of a spectral presence that a political power. Last I heard, he was either celebrating his birthday or trying to raise campaign contributions for the upcoming election. What I haven't heard from him is his plan - or even a plan - for substantively and comprehensively getting folks back to work and restoring consumer confidence. Our President seems quite good at wagging a chastising finger or calling for 11th hour meetings, but I just haven't heard from his own mouth the four corners of anything that I can identify as the Obama Economic Recovery Plan.
Moreover, our economy remains on life support and Congress is on vacation. Seriously? On vacation? You folks don't think that you have a ton of work to tackle? You think that you just accomplished something with the deficit reduction vote? Let me clue you in: You kicked the damn can down the road and, in so doing, twisted the guts of your fellow Americans with disgraceful political brinkmanship.
What you didn't do is forge a plan to put millions of unemployed back to work. You didn't propose steps to unfreeze the frozen credit pipeline. You didn't do jack to restore the confidence of antsy consumers and unsure entrepreneurs.