Quantative Easing

[Dagenham Rover]

IT IS a slow day in a dusty little Irish town. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted.

Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

On this particular day a rich tourist is driving through the town, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the pub.

The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him \"services\" on credit.

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the stimulus package works

[River Don]

The government gives the banks €100 in electronic form.

The bank keep half of it to help make their balance sheet look better, the other half they try invest, in Brazil in an effort to find better returns.

The Brazilain government gets very upset as their economy is pumped up with foreign funny money triggering inflation while the value of the Euro is slashed and consider introducing various forms of economic protectionism.

The banks continue to turn away small Irish businesses who come to them for loans.

The banks announce new record bonuses.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the stimulus package actually appears to be working.

[Filo]

The poor hotelier is still €100 down so everyone is happy but the hotelier

[The L J Monk]

Filo wrote:

The poor hotelier is still €100 down so everyone is happy but the hotelier

Is he? He was previously owed 100 but he himself owed 100. He is now owed 0 but he himself owes 0.

[Filo]

The L J Monk wrote:

Filo wrote:

The poor hotelier is still €100 down so everyone is happy but the hotelier

Is he? He was previously owed 100 but he himself owed 100. He is now owed 0 but he himself owes 0.

Correct        

[Dagenham Rover]

makes you wonder though doesn't it

[Glyn_Wigley]

Dagenham.Rover wrote:

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the stimulus package works

From an accountancy point of view, they weren't in debt as they all had creditors to the same amount as that they owed.

[bobjimwilly]

Glyn_Wigley wrote:

Dagenham.Rover wrote:

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the stimulus package works

From an accountancy point of view, they weren't in debt as they all had creditors to the same amount as that they owed.

touche  B)

[donnyjay]

Do the rooms have free Wi-Fi?

[River Don]

From the BBC today:

At a G20 press conference, Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega criticised the US central bank's latest QE programme, saying it would not boost production or create jobs in the US.
Instead, he said, it would push money into countries with higher interest rates and cause inflation.
Accused of forcing the dollar down to trade its way back to prosperity, Mr Obama is due to hold one-on-one talks with two of the strongest critics of his administration's economic direction - Chinese President Hu Jintao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned that the consequences of relying on exports would be severe.
\"If [rich nations] don't consume, and they just bet on exports, the world will go into bankruptcy,\" he said.

[BobG]

Well if that analysis is right - and I wouldn't know - then it's a pretty typical response isn't it? Apart from the Marshall Plan - which was a magnificent thing - the response of just about every country has always been selfishness first. Trouble is, when the Yanks are selfish everyone else starves. 1930's anyone? In their self appointed role as world leader they ought to be able to rise above that to set a wholly different agenda.

BobG

[River Don]

Trouble is Bob, the US is in a very different position now, it has no wealth and no industry. It can't afford a Marshall Plan.

Unfortunately it may well be China that we have to look to for a new Marshall Plan.

[BobG]

What a scary thought.........!

BobG