2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe Federal Reserve Board and the Presidential Candidates
Once again Bernie is the only one standing up against the Oligarchy and for the American People.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/the-federal-reserve-board_b_8858600.html
by Dean Baker
When it comes to the Federal Reserve Board and its importance to the economy, most of the candidates seem to be failing as badly as Donald Trump did on his nuclear triad test.
(snip)
This is important in the context of the presidential campaign because we have a large number of candidates for both parties' nominations, who say they want to increase growth and create more jobs. The Republicans mostly plan to boost growth and create jobs with tax cuts, while the Democrats want to spend more on infrastructure, education, and research and development. But regardless of their route for boosting growth, or the coherence of their strategy, no candidate will be able to accomplish their goal unless the Fed is on board.
This is why the reaction, or lack thereof, to the Fed's rate hike was so striking. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was the only presidential candidate who went on record with a comment on the Fed's action, criticizing the Fed for slowing the economy and preventing people from getting jobs. This raises the obvious question of whether the other candidates understand the importance of the Fed to the economy.
upaloopa
(11,417 posts)Neither repub or Dem should be telling the Federal reserve board what to do. People like Bernie and his cohorts who don't know shit about it and hate anyone with more than they have should keep their damn hands off!.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/544229.aspx
The rate hike of an quarter point hasn't effected mortgage rates at all
by: Matthew Graham
Mortgage Rates Slightly Lower Ahead of Holiday Week
Dec 18 2015, 4:44PM
Mortgage rates maintained their paradoxical descent following this week's Fed rate hike. The paradox can be accounted-for in several ways, but the easiest is to say that bond markets (which dictate mortgage rates) were erring on the side of caution leading up to the Fed announcement. Even though the hike was a given, the trading environment following the hike was not. Bonds were prepared for that environment to be more difficult than it has proven to be, and thus rates have managed to come back down to some extent.
The movement over the past 3 days is far from extreme. Most lenders continue quoting conventional 30yr fixed rates in a range from 4.0 to 4.125% with the improvements seen in the form of slightly lower closing costs. Next Friday is Christmas and bond markets will be closed for the weekend beginning Thursday afternoon (earlier than normal). Most of the personnel effort at mortgage companies will be directed toward closing loans that need to close this month. Staffing can be lighter, turn times can be longer, and rate sheets tend to be more conservative than they otherwise would be. Risk and reward are both lower than normal when it comes to locking/floating.
SCantiGOP
(13,856 posts)I was going to respond but you said it for me.
Politicizing the Fed, either from the left or right, would be a disaster.
Ferd Berfel
(3,687 posts)Fed should (at least) be under the Treasury Dept. But not run the the oligarchs it has to regulate.
ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...without evidence to support what those are.
I refer to this statement by you:
I am sick to death of people who insist that, if one complains about income equality and the development of an oligarchy in this country, then of course that only means that one is jealous of what others have.
No, that is not my motive and it isn't Bernie's motive either IMO. Rather than being jealous of what the super rich have, I am ANGRY at what the majority of the people in this country DON'T have.
Ferd Berfel
(3,687 posts)I think the point here is that Bernie is the ONLY viable candidate that has the guts to stand up to them