Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

The Emperor’s Clothes Are In Plain Sight

By -


We all know the naked
truth that it's up to you, the politicians, to strengthen the weak/high-risk
fiscal and economic environment…the Fed really can't do your job ad
infinitum/ad nauseam as it can't fix the economy by monetary policy alone, as
re-iterated by Ben Bernanke today in his speech at Jackson Hole:

     "As I have discussed today, it is also true that
nontraditional policies are relatively more difficult to apply, at least given
the present state of our knowledge. Estimates of the effects of nontraditional
policies on economic activity and inflation are uncertain, and the use of
nontraditional policies involves costs beyond those generally associated with
more-standard policies. Consequently, the bar for the use of nontraditional
policies is higher than for traditional policies. In addition, in the present
context, nontraditional policies share the limitations of monetary policy more
generally: Monetary policy cannot achieve by itself what a broader and more
balanced set of economic policies might achieve; in particular, it cannot
neutralize the fiscal and financial risks that the country faces. It certainly
cannot fine-tune economic outcomes."

It's time for
politicians to wake up, get out of bed, get dressed, and own up to your
responsibilities by acting for the good of those whom you purportedly serve.