Sunday, November 14, 2010

World has gotten way too complicated -- QE2?

In my first quarter of my first year in college, Economics 162 almost did me in. It was a required course of nearly every freshman -- a flunk-out course, if you will. And, boy, was it boring.

I'd like to say I could draw from that class in explaining to you QE2 which stands for "Son of Quantitative Easing" or something like that. But I can't.

In effect and as I understand it, Treasury Secretary Ben Bernanke said a couple of weeks ago he would print $600 billion and throw it at the economy in an effort to keep it all moving. Oh, it's not that simple, I know, and Bernanke never actually said he was firing up the printing press.

But I think that's what it means. You know, the bottom line.

Suffice it to say, that none of world's top tier economies -- known collectively as the G20 -- favor the U.S. QE2 move because it will fuel inflation, weaken the dollar and because it just might cause a global economic crisis. They're cool with whatever ideas they had to solve the world recession but are now taking aim at the U.S. for being, well, the U.S.

After reading pieces by a few economists, QE2 is the reason we're paying higher prices for gasoline and other commodities lately and why the stock market has ticked up over the last couple of weeks, although the market faltered somewhat in the latter part of last week. And QE2 could cause inflation, but maybe not. Depends who you listen to.

Until someone tells me otherwise, I'm not going to lose any sleep over QE2 even though the pundits at CNBC are all atwitter.

* * *
Congratulations to the Dover Tornadoes on their victory over Sheridan on Saturday. The Newark Advocate has a decent "gamer" on its website if you're looking for a story of some length on the game. You can access it here.

* * *
I exited I-77 via the new Dover interchange on Saturday and was quite pleased with the experience -- at least until I got stopped by the traffic lights on Schneider's Crossing Rd. By the time I got to N. Wooster Ave., it became unclear whether I actually saved time over if I had chosen the Strasburg or Dover-Sugarcreek exits. Entering the freeway from the new interchange was convenient.

By the way, I'd like to invite former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney to set the record straight on how the interchange came to be. There's been a lot of misinformation out there, including the infamous sign that touts the federal economic stimulus program.

* * *
My favorite LeBron/Miami Heat stories last week:

Can't Stand Heat? Avoid Miami -- Wall Street Journal

Heat folding under weight of season -- Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

Miami’s Big Three Stumble Along -- Lynn Zinser, New York Times


* * *
Amanda Wolfe, who cut her journalistic teeth as an intern for The Times-Reporter a few years ago, wrote a poignant story for this month's Ladies' Home Journal on her mother's battle with ovarian cancer.

Amanda is now a senior editor with the magazine and resides in New York City. Her mother, Janice Wolfe of Dover, died earlier this year and was well known throughout Tuscarawas County for her work as a physical therapist.

Janice used to call me regularly at The T-R to keep me updated on Amanda's career. My heart goes out to Amanda and her sister, Audrey, on the loss of their mother, who obviously loved them very much.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Another good column, many topics discussed, makes many of us in Tuscarawas County look back fondly on the good ol' days of the T-R