FIAF – QE Edition

WSJ on Obama’s monetary policies, how it affects commodities, and who (doesn’t) benefit:

People who pay $4 for gasoline, or $30 more for groceries, have less money to spend on other goods. They also tend to feel poorer, which can influence their overall confidence in the economy.

One big difference is who feels these effects. The wealth effects have helped everyone but especially the affluent. The income effects have been felt most acutely by the poor and middle classes for whom food and energy are a much higher proportion of income. QE2 and near-zero interest rates have been a boon for bankers and hedge funds. They haven’t been so great for suburban families who commute to work and haul their kids to football and music practice. The monetary policy so favored by liberal economists and the White House has actively favored the wealthy over the middle class.

Oops. I’m confused. I thought Obama was looking out for the little guy and those bankers and hedge fund managers could go to hell?

In other news, what the hell was Obama thinking when he decided now was a good time to tap the strategic reserves of oil? What is the strategy? Oh. Right.

The White House says it is taking this action because of “supply disruptions” in Libya and other countries which pose a threat to global economic recovery. But the Libyan conflict is now four months old, so Mr. Obama’s falling approval ratings no doubt also provided motivation.

In the book section of today’s FIAF poat, Mona Charen gives us a taste of the new book “Reckless Endagerment” and who was behind our most recent financial meltdown:

But the greatest responsibility for the collapse of the housing market and the near “Armageddon” of the American economy belongs to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to the politicians who created and protected them. With a couple of prominent exceptions, the politicians were Democrats claiming to do good for the poor. Along the way, they enriched themselves and their friends, stuffed their campaign coffers, and resisted all attempts to enforce market discipline. When the inevitable collapse arrived, the entire economy suffered, but no one more than the poor.

Jim Johnson, advisor to Walter Mondale and John Kerry, amassed a personal fortune estimated at $100 million during his nine years as CEO of Fannie Mae. “Under Johnson,” Morgenson and Rosner write, “Fannie Mae led the way in encouraging loose lending practices among the banks whose loans the company bought. A Pied Piper of the financial sector, Johnson led both the private and public sectors down a path that led directly to the credit crisis of 2008.”

Government distortions of the market. I’ll have to get this book for my kindle.

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Last night at dinner, I brought up the issue regarding Obama scheduling a visit with the troops to coincide with a few fundraisers so “we” could foot the bill. I was told that I was nitpicking.

Well, apparently, I’m not the only one bothered by this:

It turns out the Fort Drum, N.Y. meeting is the only official event on the schedule, and so the solemn affair will defray the costs to the DNC of Obama’s travel to New York City.

Meetings with military members and their families should be meetings with military members and their families. And nothing more.

It’s just like Michelle’s “official” visit to Africa. The meetings with diplomats are merely cover so Michelle can take her mom and the girls on a vacation. There is NOTHING pressing- no political need for the first lady to go to Africa. Especially given our dire financial condition.

The Root (along with the rest of the MSM) attempts to explain why the trip matters:

When I have gone to places where Mrs. Obama has visited, I have shared, as Michelle Obama did this week, the triumph of my generation in the U.S. over similar kinds of adversity, brought on by white lawmakers and their brutal enforcers, who did everything in their power to diminish us and to turn our dreams into nightmares.

Oh. got it.

Politico attempts to explain it to me:

Washington is now confronting hard decisions about a range of issues relating to Africa — including security, trade and, particularly, global health. Millions of lives may be affected as a result.

So this visit can help the American people better understand why the U.S. must continue to engage with South Africa and Botswana — as well as other African countries.

Yea, except South African President Jacob Zuma SNUBBED Michelle Obama and sent prison officials to meet with her instead. Oh, and a third wife.

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Someone explain to me why we put up with this bullshit?

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