The low interest rates and thus negative incentive to save is an effort by the Federal Reserve to maintain the consumer economy.  In recent years the American consumer has been about 70% of GDP. But, the ingredients for a consumer economy are not there anymore. The main ingredient is credit and applicants owe too much already. People cannot qualify for credit by by any reasonable and prudent standards. Another ingredient is net worth. Baby boomers and their heirs do not have assets. The other ingredient is high unemployment. If you don’t have a job you are automatically unqualified. The consumer era is over. Transitioning out of the consumer age will still keep unemployment high for a long time. We don’t have the right stuff for consumerism anymore. Wonder when the Fed will pick up on that?

The Federal Reserve is engaged in a high stake gamble in keeping interest rates at zero. Free money is an old medicine and the American economy has a new illiness. If we were positioned to maintain a consumer economy it might work, but those days are long gone.

Fragmentation!

  Tuesday nights results was early evidence of the demise of the partisan culture of politics. But, it will be a long and hard road to remove the stench of selfishness in American politics. But, it is revealing to see the leadership crisis is so bad in Washington that it is finally getting the public attention.

  Everybody wants to be  an independent. Hence, fragmentation!

  We could end up having independent conservatives, independent Democrats, independent progressives, independent populists, independent liberals, independent Republicans, and even independent independents.

  Fragmentation of political expression might be the only way to go for now. Rule could be by consensus, which could vary greatly.

  The party system of today is dysfunctional. To belong to a traditional party, and stay in good standing means to forfeit intellectual independence. Also, you would be expected to engage in all kinds of demeaning and personalized scratch-fights. We see this on a day to day basis.

  In New York’s 23rd Congressional District and independent showed up very late and almost won.

  It is hard to see how all these transitions will end up, but it is not hard to see that fiscal conservatism and populism is on the ascendancy.