The problem is that you are not Alan Greenspan. It is his "spin" that counts and that of his colleagues. Not Treasury. Not the President of the United States. Not the People's elected representatives. It is an independent agency with a very narrow mindset. The sovereignty you speak of resides at the Fed not Treasury.
The Fed does more than simply announce a target and that target is automatically achieved as if by magic. It aggressively churns by simultaneously purchasing and selling securities (mostly derivatives). Whether that churning is actually necessary to determine what happens is another matter entirely. If the target is lower than the existing rate, it purchases slightly more than it sells. If it is higher, it sells slightly more than it purchases. They actually state that's what they are doing at their own website. Yes, not me but the narrow mindset of the Fed thinks in terms of a gold-like standard where gold has been replaced by HPM. It seems that US Fed money has become the gold reserves for the world. So the mindset is quite pervasive. It comes down to the philosophy of those in charge. I am all for sovereign nations acting as if they are sovereign nations. Most nations are too small to be sovereign in this respect. But Argentina is a continental nation with abundant natural resources and a talented population like the United States. They could declare their financial independence and make it stick. But it is also a matter of competence. What can be said for the competence of those in charge in Argentina, to allow an even worse repeat in their country of the Great Depression--that disgracefully lingers still, seventy years after the fact? Pompous and bombastic "leaders" they have in plenitude. Off to the guillotine should be marched every one of them. What will replace them, another Peron? It is the peronist party now in charge. I think a great deal of work will have to be done before we will see change for the better. The extreme conservatism of the Fed has something to say for it, for it guarantees relative stability in the most important economy in the world. Which buys us time to accomplish the work. --------- Original Message --------- DATE: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 09:34:26 From: "Wray, Randall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: >bill >you've got it wrong both ways, in any case. >to raise the overnight rate, the fed announces what the new target is. to lower it, >it announces a lower target. > >it may or may not buy/sell securities--depends on whether there are excess or >insufficient reserves. but that is entirely separate from changing the overnight rate. > >again, you've got the wrong spin. you seem to be thinking of a gold standard??? >randy > ____________________________________________________________ Get advanced SPAM filtering on Webmail or POP Mail ... Get Lycos Mail! http://login.mail.lycos.com/r/referral?aid=27005 --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84IaC.bcVIgP.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html --^----------------------------------------------------------------
