What is QE and what it really means to me

Rocky’s read a lot of information and mis-information regarding Quantitative Easing.  This may be the best and clearest discussion of the issues and is worth a read:

http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/11/18/qe2/

[Disclosure: Rocky rarely agrees with  Professor Landsburg, and finds some of his philosophies to be morally objectionable. Nonetheless, the Professor does a good job explaining the pros and cons of QE2 in his article.]

Record plunge in consumer credit: so what?

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve reported that consumers reduced their debt by a remarkable $21.6 Billion during July.  Click here for the story:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=avvF5aNtrCfc

Bearish economists will seize upon this data to show that the consumer is retrenching; final demand will not grow;  and the economy may lurch back into a sink hole.

Bullish economists will seize upon this data to show that consumers are finally behaving prudently, their balance sheets are being repaired, and the seeds are being sowed for a more-balanced, sustainable expansion.

Rocky will seize upon the data and say, “If you extrapolate the acceleration of  this decline,  consumers will be entirely debt free in a couple of years. That seems pretty unlikely.”

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Outstanding Consumer Credit versus Gross National Product