Does anyone think the FED won't start raising rates the second a Democrat becomes President?

[Bandit]

They did that with Clinton and he outsmarted them by sensible economic policies but this time the dollar is under such pressure that I'm not sure what anyone can do when they pull that crap again. The very second Bush* took office Greenspan lowered rates as compared to the very second Clinton took office he raised them and kept raising them saying Clinton had created an "overheated economy" something Bush* can never be accused of. An overheated economy means people have money to spend and they spend it causing shortages of goods and more hiring..Something by the way Chavez is being accused of as well.

[leftofthedial]

1. the Fed is a repuke institution

how else do you suppose a crime syndicate representing the interests of no more than a couple hundred thousand people in the US could have remained in existence?

[MikeNearMcChord]

2. I think it won't matter who is in the White House

Outside investors are not going to by bulls**t treasuries, it is going to get ugly over here. I'm surprised OPEC has converted to Euros yet.

[Warpy]

3. They need to raise them NOW

in order to keep US debt afloat and preserve what little value the dollar still has.

Trust me, it will be a blessing if they try to "sabotage" a Democratic presidency with rate hikes.

Cutting the rates all the way down to 0% DOES NOT WORK. It's been done by other countries in the mess we're in now.

It's not working NOW. Banks are not lending, they've gotten gunshy because they know how many tens of billions they're having to write off due to the hedge funds collapse.

Collapses like this one always go from the top down. We're only seeing about a tenth of what is actually happening. Cutting rates is just a feel good measure for a bunch of jittery investors. The market will fall because it has to. Rate cuts will only result in short sucker rallies then more inflation.

The only thing that will work is rate hikes to shore up the dollar, wage hikes to shore up the consumer market, and rolling back the reckless GOP tax cuts, at the minimum.

[Nay]

7. Agreed, Warpy--rates need to be raised, tax cuts repealed, 0%

rate was tried in Japan, and they had a 10-yr recession.

Wage hikes are necessary, as are tariffs on many imported goods. Also need reform of lending institutions of all types to eliminate funky loan instruments, payday loans, and repeal of any lending law that allows homeowners to use their house equity for frivolous reasons, like buying vacations or crap at the mall. Equity loans to refab the house? Sure, within reason. But that's all.

[ThomWV]

4. They could raise rates this morning and it wouldn't be soon enough

For god sakes, our money is worthless because it floods the world.

[Bandit]

5. I think our dollar has become worthless because America is no longer trusted.

In all sense of the word. It isn't trusted to make sou8nd decisions on policy, it isn't trusted to stay within the Law, it isn't trusted to tell the fucking truth..We have always flooded the world with dollars but we were a country people aspired to come to. America was looked up to around the world because we were a competent nation. That no longer holds true..

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. They SHOULD raise the rates

they should have raised the rates a long time ago. Low rates depress saving and encourage spending. We have a credit freeze going on anyway.

Americans need to learn once more how to SAVE and spend less than they earn.

And then wages need to rise to meet the real rate of inflation, not the fake rate that doesn't count food and energy.

[DBoon]

8. That's what did Carter in

They raised rates so as to ensure a recession right when he was up for re-election

[PDJane]

9. Yeah, they should raise the rates.

The banks aren't lending because they don't have the assets to lend. The ship of state is floating on a sea of red ink. This is the main problem; there aren't enough real assets to cover the paper money. It's a shell game, and has been a shell game for a long time. Unrestrained capitalism is a REALLY bad idea.

There have to be rules. Raise the rates. Reinstate the rules. Remove the Fed from private hands. Why the hell would you want to leave the money supply in the hands of non-government institutions with no responsibility to the people?

Enough.