Can you see the sky from where you are sitting? If not, go outside and look directly above you. Are there any $100 bills wafting your way? We didn't think so. So much for the theory that 'Helicopter Ben' would shower America with printing press money if something ever went seriously wrong with the economy. And no one could doubt right now that the economy is indeed in serious trouble -- so serious, apparently, that even the optimists are starting to admit that they see no end to falling real estate prices, one of our bigger problems. So the question naturally arises, why is the Fed letting this happen? Haven't we always been told that the central bank would never, ever let the economy collapse ' that it would pull out all the stops to prevent it? Well, the fact is, the Fed has been pulling out all of the stops ' most recently yesterday, when its chairman admitted that no policy other than more easing is being contemplated in an effort to reverse the country's steepening plunge into recession. My Neighbor's House But if the Fed's efforts are supposed to be preventing this, they have not noticeably helped my next-door neighbor Jim, who just lowered the asking price on the home he listed for sale less than a month ago. If that is the best that Helicopter Ben can do for Jim -- and for the neighborhood, with its excellent schools, lush golf courses, fabulous shopping, and easy access to good highways -- then how many other homes on the market right now are sinking in value even faster? Like the inflationists, we have never doubted the Fed would attempt everything in its power to prevent a financial disaster like the one that is currently unfolding. Where we long ago
LATEST TRADES
