tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758330678390419129.post5896934519923146824..comments2024-02-13T02:39:22.756-05:00Comments on EconomicPolicyJournal.com: My Exchange With an Austrian-LiteRobert Wenzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14296920597416905488noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758330678390419129.post-62005704014506758952016-08-23T19:48:09.336-04:002016-08-23T19:48:09.336-04:00@Danger Pioneer - What would the natural interest ...@Danger Pioneer - What would the natural interest rate be if there were no central bank? When companies borrow money to buy back stock or hedge funds borrow to fund leveraged bets , do you really think they care about the "rate of increase in money supply"? Do you really think 5.25% vs. 0.05% rates is a meaningless comparison? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758330678390419129.post-42426429630228976972016-08-23T18:17:12.379-04:002016-08-23T18:17:12.379-04:00@Neil - the absolute interest rate is mostly irrel...@Neil - the absolute interest rate is mostly irrelevant - the interest rate only matters in context of what it is relative to what the natural interest rate would be if there were no central bank ... what matters far more is the rate of increase in money supply (which Mr. Wenzel does not at all ignore) ... looking at the Fed-set interest rate in a vacuum is mostly uselessDanger Pioneerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15978715863845118886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758330678390419129.post-11499585621274875212016-08-23T15:26:20.766-04:002016-08-23T15:26:20.766-04:00What I think Robert is ignoring, or at least not a...What I think Robert is ignoring, or at least not addressing to the public at large, is the extraordinarily easy monetary policy that persists at the Fed in the face of these booming asset prices and low unemployment numbers. The last time the capital goods sector looked like this, in 2007, the Fed funds rate was at 5.25%. Now it's under 0.5%. This is not your fathers' or your Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01380636832924052375noreply@blogger.com