Blogger's View of the Fed

The Kauffman Economic Outlook, a survey of economics bloggers, is out for Q2.  The survey had two interesting questions on the Fed, one of which I submitted.  Thanks to Tim Kane for including it in the survey.  Here is the question and the results:

I am not entirely surprised by these results.  Most popular accounts and thus the emerging narrative about this experience either downplay or ignore the studies that have shown the monetary policy was a major contributor.  I won't rehash them here, but will note that I am editing a book that does shift the focus back to the role the Fed played in the boom and the bust. Stay tuned for more news on the book.

I was very surprised to see the responses to the second Fed question.  It was submitted by Bryan Caplan and Steve Miller:

Wow.  Only 16% of the economic bloggers believe the Fed has had a net negative effect while 40% think the Fed has been good on balance.  This is surprising. These folks need to read the assessment of the Fed by George Selgin, William D. Lastrapes, and Larry H. White.

This Picture (Almost) Says it All

Dani Rodrik recently showed us the financial crisis in one picture. Well here is the financial crisis in one cartoon, complements of Slate. I only wish the cartoon had depicted the low interest environment in the early-to-mid 2000s under one of seven deadly sins. (Click on the figure to enlarge):

Calling the Bottom of the Market

NCAA Tournament-Style Brackets: Who Killed the Economy?

Take a look at this Portfolio.com NCAA tournament-style bracket where you pick who killed the economy. I might have added some brackets for certain mortgage lenders, the debt-addicted American consumer, and those prominent academic economists who gave credence to the Fed's low interest rate policy back in 2003. Still, it is a fun distraction to check out.

Double Trouble

Credit Addiction

Signs of the Times

Click on picture to enlarge.

What the Fed is Fighting

Perspective on the Dollar

Something to Think About as You Wait for Your Rebate Check

Structural Unemployment Anyone?

From the NY Times comes this figure depicting the geographic distribution of net employment gains for the 2000-2007 period. The Rusbelt, particularly Michigan, continues to bleed jobs...hello structural unemployment.

Where Goes the Oil?

As oil hovers near $100 a barrel, here are some interesting figures to mull over from a BBC report.

A Little Humor for the Weekend

Economic Cartoon Idea

Based on the discussion in my previous posting, I was thinking it would be great if some artist would draw a cartoon where Uncle Sam is in a cowboy hat pulling his two pistols out to shoot the recession outlaw. One pistol is labeled fiscal policy and the other one is labeled monetary policy. However, as Uncle Sam pulls the triggers he realizes he is out of ammunition in both guns. On the ground we see some empty shells with 'Bush budget deficits' and '2002-2005 low interest rate policy' written on them. You see panic set in on Uncle Sam's face as he realizes he is out of ammunition. I am hoping that some artist out there reads this request and draws up the cartoon. The artist can take full credit for the cartoon too. Just get me the picture so I can post it on my blog.

Update

Marmico in the comments sections points us to a hilarious cartoon that captures the spirit of my above posting:

Recession Humor

Recession Index

From the Economist:

"ALMOST six out of ten Americans believe that the country is already in a recession. Although most forecasters still expect a formal recession will be avoided (typically putting the odds at around 40%), not everyone agrees. The Economist’s informal R-word index is also sounding alarms. Our simple formula pinpointed the start of recession in 1981 and 1990 and 2001. Although the number of stories is still lower than before previous recessions, the recent jump—if sustained for a quarter—is similar to that which preceded the 2001 downturn."

Ouch!

The Bubble Man Song

Via the Big Picture ,we have a great song from Scott Pettersen about the bubble man. Sit back, relax, and enjoy some great music.

Ben Bernanke Has a Blog!

Do you want to know what Ben Bernanke is really thinking? Do you want know Fed actions before they occur? If so, then check out the Ben Bernanke Blog.

Superman Bernanke and Alan Greenspan

What do you make of these pictures?