ideology is hard, being really angry is easy
― iatee, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:10 (twelve years ago) link
think you guys might be giving taibbi too much credit though to think he's actually in any way thought his monetary philosophy out xpost lol
― balls, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:11 (twelve years ago) link
There is a lot of stuff to be angry about tbqf.
― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:14 (twelve years ago) link
hey man free country
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:14 (twelve years ago) link
it's definitely true that monetary expansion will "benefit wall street" but just about any economic improvement would. if your position is that anything that makes bank balance sheets healthier is p much evil at this point, then a looser central bank is going to look like not giving the vampire quids (tm) their punishment.
― goole, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:16 (twelve years ago) link
its kind of like saying hit records are evil because they prevent the major labels from collapsing
taibbi is pretty irritating and has an awful rhetorical style but i don't think a guy who favors breaking up monopolies and tighter bank regulations can fairly be called a 'libertarian,' no matter how many vague worries about 'fake money' they express.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
you can’t just print money and get yourself out of economic trouble that way. There is a tremendous inflationary danger here...
I have a hard time believing Taibbi hasn't figured out this whole "printing money" thing, but if this is an accurate quote, then he hasn't learned much from his last four years of interviewing and writing.
In a nutshell: during the boom years before 2008, vast boatloads of money were created out of nothing, and by this I mean many trillions of dollars. Except this money wasn't created out of nothing by the Federal Reserve. Instead, it was banks that did it. This is what banks do, even when they are operating properly -- as they were not during the boom. Creating money out of "nothing" is their business model.
In 2008, when the credit bubble built by the banks collapsed, many, many trillions of dollars of money vanished. They reverted back to thin air. But the economy was still built around the reality that this money once had, and that reality persisted in the form of contracts. Except there wasn't enough money in the whole world to fullfill those contracts. That is why the Fed has printed so much money lately. It isn't dangerously inflationary. It is profoundly necessary.
The worst part of this is that Congress should have been the agent for the Fed's easing. Congress should have authorized the spending and the Fed should have monetized the debt by buying up a few trillions of T-bonds and T-bills. Instead, the Congress went batshit and balked at doing its plain duty to the country and the Fed has been pumping all this largesse directly into the banks instead, where it does much less good.
Taibbi ought to know this. Apparently he doesn't.
― Aimless, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 19:31 (twelve years ago) link
he was just labeled a libertarian re monetary policy xp
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:17 (twelve years ago) link
confusion about QE is pretty widespread among radical populist types in general. But that said, it is sort of a big juicy target, and the main effect (insofar as it has had any) has been to shove some money to people who don't need it. It's just that inflation doesn't really enter the picture.
― s.clover, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:26 (twelve years ago) link
taibbi's written about this more cogently elsewhere actually.
― s.clover, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:27 (twelve years ago) link
and the main effect (insofar as it has had any) has been to shove some money to people who don't need it.
― s.clover, Wednesday, September 26, 2012 4:26 PM (59 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
well that and avoid total economic calamity
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:29 (twelve years ago) link
brb writing dystopian novel re mccain presidency
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:31 (twelve years ago) link
Chabon or Lethem beating you to it
― taking tiger mountain (up the butt) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
curses
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
Chapter 1: McCain Dies, Palin becomes President
― Mr. Que, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:38 (twelve years ago) link
dun dun DUN
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:39 (twelve years ago) link
"I can see Williamsburg from my house!"
― taking tiger mountain (up the butt) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:40 (twelve years ago) link
― s.clover, Wednesday, September 26, 2012 3:27 PM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
taibbi admits that his source for knowledge on monetary policy is zerohedge
http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2010/02/19/on-the-bailout-hustle/
― iatee, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:58 (twelve years ago) link
it's not exactly godwin's law but come one, you need to be very leery of anyone who calls himself 'tyler durden' on the internet
― goole, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:00 (twelve years ago) link
ha er 'come on'
― goole, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:01 (twelve years ago) link
Matt Taibbi @mtaibbi
If you or someone you know has had a very bad experience in jail after being convicted of a relatively minor offense, pls write to meExpand
Reply Retweet Favorite
― iatee, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:04 (twelve years ago) link
― lag∞n, Wednesday, September 26, 2012 4:29 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I think we did this discussion elsewhere, like a year ago. but yeah, I don't think QE mattered that much. Never saw any research that showed it moved markets more than a smidge. Ironically, ZH and similar types are the ones who have insisted that it's had the most impact. There's so much money in play at such volumes that QE never amounted to much, huge as it seems. And the end of QE didn't matter that much either, which helps bear this out. Lots more money than QE was doled out at the peak of the crisis in much more direct ways too, remember. And rates were hitting zero regardless, so...
― s.clover, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:07 (twelve years ago) link
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/07/24/1094601/the-academics-on-qe-for-now/
― iatee, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:11 (twelve years ago) link
my reading of that post tends to support my point, but you know, who cares.
― s.clover, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:21 (twelve years ago) link
otm
― iatee, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:21 (twelve years ago) link
Fact schmacts.
― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:28 (twelve years ago) link
― goole, Wednesday, September 26, 2012 5:00 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
there are multiple posters who call themselves tyler durden on that site lol
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 23:56 (twelve years ago) link
they all do, it's their thing
― goole, Thursday, 27 September 2012 00:41 (twelve years ago) link
what if there are multiple Ezra kleins
― lag∞n, Thursday, 27 September 2012 00:43 (twelve years ago) link
all this debate abt a RS journalist while Madonna endorsing Obama as a Muslim goes unobserved; you people.
― kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 27 September 2012 00:45 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't know Madonna was a muslim.
― Aimless, Thursday, 27 September 2012 01:15 (twelve years ago) link
I'm glad Madonna explained herself to the Washington Post today. Otherwise millions of undecided voters who base their views on Madonna's onstage comments would have been confused. I am sure Taibbi will find a way to work this in.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 27 September 2012 14:50 (twelve years ago) link
Madonna in concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YIq5Q15L1o
― Ham Lushbaugh (Eric H.), Thursday, 27 September 2012 14:51 (twelve years ago) link
Otherwise millions of undecided voters who base their views on Madonna's onstage comments would have been confused.
Are you familiar with the Human Rights Campaign?
― kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 27 September 2012 14:53 (twelve years ago) link
^^ I laughed
― taking tiger mountain (up the butt) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 27 September 2012 14:54 (twelve years ago) link
haha
― goole, Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:00 (twelve years ago) link
"Undecided" aside, well played.
― Ham Lushbaugh (Eric H.), Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:03 (twelve years ago) link
it's true, bitches who give money to that sinkhole are only undecided about what belt to wear to brunch.
― kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:07 (twelve years ago) link
That and whether they feel comfortable admitting they have a thing for Rep. Aaron Schock.
― Ham Lushbaugh (Eric H.), Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:09 (twelve years ago) link
Morbs, I was kidding, as was Madonna
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:13 (twelve years ago) link
"sinkhole"
*hanky panky*
― taking tiger mountain (up the butt) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:17 (twelve years ago) link
idt matt taibbi's sense of humour is that different from like, dan perry's, or whiney's even, i guess a bit more macho but it's got the same basic structure ito, like, these enraged long incongruous expletive laden analogies
― flopson, Thursday, 27 September 2012 16:23 (twelve years ago) link
Comments here are comedy gold:http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/rewrite-thomas-friedmans-syria-column-win-a-free-hand-grenade-20121114
― schwantz, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 19:25 (twelve years ago) link
this is hilarious http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/no-evidence-he-was-stoned-but-bank-of-america-ceo-brian-moynihan-apparently-doesn-t-remember-much-of-the-last-four-years-20121127
― s.clover, Monday, 3 December 2012 23:38 (eleven years ago) link
"a Being There-esque cipher who was placed in charge of a Too-Big-To-Fail global banking giant by some kind of historical accident beyond his control, and appears to know little to nothing at all about the business he is running." <-- A+
― s.clover, Monday, 3 December 2012 23:39 (eleven years ago) link
So I guess Matt Taibbi has never read a deposition transcript before?
― drunk 'n' white's elements of style (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 4 December 2012 01:19 (eleven years ago) link
Because in my experience, it's generally true that if you remember the financial crisis, you weren't there.
― drunk 'n' white's elements of style (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 4 December 2012 01:20 (eleven years ago) link
"attorney Peter Calamari"
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 4 December 2012 03:09 (eleven years ago) link