by Graham Summers at Phoenix Capital Research:
We just hit another milestone in insanity.
I’ve written before that thanks to its QE lite and QE 2 programs, the Fed is now officially the single, largest owner of US debt. However, even that nonsense pales in comparison to the Fed’s latest accomplishment, that of owning over $1 TRILLION in US debt.
That’s right, as of yesterday afternoon the Fed now owns over $1 trillion in US debt. This amounts of over 7% of the US’s total debt, own by our central bank.
Now, many commentators have pointed out the various ways in which this policy has endangered the US’s balance sheet, economic clout, and currency. However, there’s one element that NO ONE seems to have picked up on. That is…
You, me, and everyone else in the US, is now PAYING the Fed for its insane, anti-Middle class policies.
Remember, we are continually paying the debt via interest payments drawn up from tax receipts. Thus, by buying up US Treasuries, the Federal Reserve is in effect reaping interest payments from the US populace.
Now, consider that none of us had any say in the Fed’s policies, nor the appointment of our esteemed Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke. None of us voted for him. None of us influenced his policies. And, at this point, virtually none of us approve of what he’s doing.
But ALL of us are NOW paying him and the Fed for doing it. In fact, because the Fed is officially the single, largest owner of US debt, the Fed is, in effect, raking in more money from our debt situation than ANYONE else on the planet.
Thus, we are paying LITERALLY for the insane policies of the US Federal Reserve. Never mind abstract arguments of “paying” for the Fed’s mistakes in the sense of the US Dollar collapsing or the US’s economy imploding. We are LITERALLY paying BILLIONS in interest payments to the Fed.
This in turn means we are:
1) Helping the Fed to continue destroying the US Dollar
2) Funding the Fed’s bubble-blowing efforts
3) Financing the very same policies that have eviscerated the Middle class and retirees
Given that we have no vote or say in the Fed’s actions, I know of only one way to deal with this situation and that’s to buy assets that will maintain their purchasing power and produce REAL returns to counteract the Fed’s anti-Dollar policies.
Good Investing!
Graham Summers
