Posted by
Andrews on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 1:22:12 PM
Is it wrong when find yourself hoping for hyperinflation?
Now don't get me wrong. I do not wish on my fellow man all the ills that come from inflationary crises. I hope nothing but good for my fellow citizens, but I have to say that recent "good" economic news has made me a bit concerned.
Earlier, when we were watching a rather anemic stock market and seeing no growth despite all the cash being printed, I was a bit more optimistic. I knew times would be rough for a while, but I also knew that, given the lack of growth eventually some politician would find the nerve to push through measures to reduce spending, slow monetary growth, resorting to borrowing for financing rather than the printing press, and eventually the money supply would correct itself and, as in the early 80's, we would come out of a deflationary crisis with a relatively strong economy.
But now we hear that the recession is officially over and I see the Dow beginning to rise. And all I can do is hope that it ends soon, or, barring that, that it is but the first sign of a worse hyperinflationary crisis.
Why?
Not from partisanship. Were it McCain in the White House I would be wishing the same. You see, both parties are equally to blame in this ill, as both Bush and Clinton have, in past administrations, had recourse to the printing press in an effort to stave off the deflation which is the inevitable consequence of our efforts at money management.
No, not partisanship, but realism drives me to hope for a crisis. You see, if Obama's trillion dollar boondoggle is followed by even the most paltry of economic gains, just enough to cause us to think the economy recovered, then we have a very real problem. After that success, politicians will be even more convinced that the solution to any deflationary crisis is to print more money. And, so long as they continue doing so, they will keep pushing the collapse farther into the future, but in so doing will make the postponed crisis worse and worse. Our current crisis is bad enough, imagine it three four times worse, and lasting years. That is the eventual outcome if politicians keep trying to inflate us out of every crisis. And, though they might not believe it, the collapse cannot be postponed forever.
Well, then again, perhaps I am worrying over nothing. It has been only a day of stock gains, and the recession ending growth is pretty minute. It is far more likely that the market is simply responding to good news and will soon drop back into the doldrums. Despite the brief burst of pro-growth news, the market seems much more Carter-like than Clinton-like. So perhaps I am concerned over nothing at all.
Which makes me ask another question, is it wrong to be hoping for stagflation?