Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Fed's Option: Hyperinflate

The Fed likes to think that it has options to help the economy, which is true up to a point:

One option advanced at its last meeting in January is buying long-term Treasury securities. Doing so would help further drive down mortgage rates and help the crippled housing market, economists said.

Another option put forward in January is expanding a Fed program aimed at bolstering the mortgage market. The Fed could boost its purchases of debt issued or guaranteed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since that program was announced late last year, mortgage rates have fallen.


The point is that any of these options, once implemented, will destroy the value of the U.S. dollar by multiplying the amount of currency in circulation (yes, electronically created dollars count). This is great news for borrowers and bad news for savers.

It's terrific news for gold investors, like yours truly.