The Center of the Universe

St Croix, United States Virgin Islands

MOSLER'S LAW: There is no financial crisis so deep that a sufficiently large tax cut or spending increase cannot deal with it.

Contact

If you are interested in having Warren B speak or any other inquiries, please contact the managing editor.

People who work on the site:

SADA MOSLER
Managing Editor
5000 ESTATE SOUTHGATE
CHRISTIANSTED, USVI 00820

Email: smosler@valance.us

 
Michael Pede
Editor
5000 ESTATE SOUTHGATE
CHRISTIANSTED, USVI 00820

Email: mpede@valance.us

90 Responses to “Contact”

  1. Peter Karpen Says:

    Sada:

    How’s Warren doing?

    We’re thinking of him and wishing him a speedy recovery.

    Peter and Kiki Karpen

    Reply

  2. hooverprintingpresses Says:

    Sada what has it been like living in hurrican alley? I never realized you lived in such isolation. I used to live in palm beach but insurance rates were too prohibitive and the carrying costs were unbelievable. How much does an 8 oz steak and gallon of milk cost? Thanks.

    Reply

  3. warren mosler Says:

    Hi,

    Yes, prices are higher here, maybe 25% on most things apart from gasoline which is relatively cheap as we have an oil refinery on island.

    Power goes off quite a bit, so we have generators. Travel is complicated by limited flights, and merchandise and food in the shops are limited as well.

    These all are weighted against the weather, scenery, clear blue seas, and a marginal US income tax rate under 4%.

    Reply

  4. hooverprintingpresses Says:

    4% taxes?!? I could live off my vanguard mutual funds and gubbment pensions with such low taxes. With the gubbment primed to raise our taxes soon I am selling all my continental US real estate and moving to your paradise. Thanks! I lived in Hawaii for 3 years and I love island life, but it was just becoming too crowded on Oahu and the other islands were so expensive.

    Reply

  5. warren mosler Says:

    YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ELIGIBLE BUSINESS, MOVE IT HERE, KEEP A MIN OF 10 EMPLOYEES, LIVE HERE 183 DAYS A YEAR

    AND PORTFOLIO INCOME DOESN’T COUNT

    Reply

  6. hooverprintingpresses Says:

    Warren do you have 10 employees working for you? I thought it was just you and Sada? How do you qualify then?

    Reply

  7. warren mosler Says:

    I have a total of 10 or more Valance employees. Busy office! Sada does the blog.

    Reply

  8. Joe Baiera Says:

    Hey warrent just thought I’d put up a post. A few things. First Seda I do actually enjoy feeding the fish on the main page, it’s more fun than it sounds. Secondly, Warren I don’t understand alot of the lingo in this blog.. would you be able to suggest a book that i could give a good reading so that i may be able to understand the economic language. finally warren send me an email so i can save your email address and get in touch with you about this property.

    Reply

  9. warren mosler Says:

    Hi Joe!

    Start with ‘Understanding Modern Money’ by Prof. Randall Wray. If you can’t find it on line email me at warren.mosler@gmail.com and I’ll find one for you.

    Still in normal rhythm although it did seem to fall out Friday am, but by the time I got to the cardiologist’s office it was normal again. Pulse up in the 80’s but the doc’s say that’s ok. Other than that, walking a mile with ease, going out on the boat, etc.

    Reply

  10. hooverprintingpresses Says:

    Warren: I talked to my travel agent today - they say I can take a cruise with Carnival from cocoa beach to st. maarten for about 500 dollars for a 7 day cruise exterior cabin. Is that the best island to see or should I look at another?

    Do you know of a cheaper way for me to come visit your island or does that sound reasonable? As to the 10 employees - humm, I know I listened to a jimmy buffet record once about employing the local island people to comply with certain tax laws, I am retired and live off my vangaurd mutual fund returns, but perhaps there is some business I could start and employ some locals. I would need a maid, a cook, a driver, a landscaper, a pool boy, a tennis coach, a massuese etc etc I am sure I can find 10 employees.

    Right now I come under the capital gains tax laws and that takes the biggest chunk of my dollars of all my expenses, but I fear very soon that Obama is talking maybe 30% of my cut with new taxes and then my quality of life will go way down and all those people I spend big money on at the restaurants and trips and travel agencies and businesses will not get as much money from me, so I want to do the right thing and keep as much as I can to spend on the locals, I hope to visit your island in the next month or so. Is that a good time?

    Joe: I also like feeding the virtual fish - I have spent hours and hours just making the fish move around, I think they are beta fish, in real life my pet store owner friend say beta fish attack each other if you put them too close, but maybe they are not beta fish.

    Reply

  11. warren mosler Says:

    st martin is about 100 miles away. st thomas is about 40 miles. there are supposed to be some cruise ships stopping here next year but don’t know which ones.

    drop in any time!

    book a room at the tamarind reef hotel, 340 773 4455

    Reply

  12. Rob K. Says:

    Sada,

    My new computer runs Windows “Vista” premium.

    When I log onto your site with it, the screen goes black and says the pages aren’t compatible with it and it switches to Windows “basic”. Works just fine once it comes back on. You might want to check on that…never saw that before.

    Thanks,

    Rob K.

    Reply

  13. Joe Baiera Says:

    So how do we relay the info to congress that 700 billion to save the banks is actually counter productive? this whole issue is making me kind of nervous… good thing i have job security.

    Reply

  14. warren mosler Says:

    Hi Joe, I’m trying, but no one’s listening. The program won’t do any harm that I can think of, but not much, if any, good either.

    the biggest risk is the let down after it’s in place and nothing much is happening

    and now oil is going up again. just what we need!

    Reply

  15. Vipul Says:

    From our friend Dr. Galbraith in todays Washington Post:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092403033.html?hpid%3Dopinionsbox1&sub=new

    I emailed the Mosler Plan to my Senators and Congressman (with appropriate edits in the case of the 2 republicans :p, I figured they wouldn’t be too enthusiastic about the full employment program)

    Only the Democrat (Sherrod Brown) replied:

    Thank you for expressing your concerns with the problems in the financial sector and proposals to address them.

    A lot of Ohioans, including me, are angry at the thought of bailing out people who made a lot of money making bad business decisions that created problems in neighborhoods across Ohio.

    I agree that we need to avoid rewarding excessive risk taking. These institutions made unwise decisions, and taxpayers should not be expected to simply cover their losses.

    Treasury Secretary Paulson this weekend sent a proposal to Congress that would give him almost unfettered authority to spend $700 billion purchasing troubled assets from financial institutions. On Tuesday, my colleagues on the Banking Committee and I held a hearing at which Secretary Paulson,Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, and others testified.

    They made a strong case for the need to act quickly to prevent further damage to our economy. The turmoil in the credit markets has the potential to do great damage to a lot of innocent bystanders. I am afraid that if we do not act, the economic instability could affect thousands of American jobs and the savings of countless middle class families.

    But Secretary Paulson’s proposal is not the right answer. No Secretary should be given a $700 billion blank check. Taxpayers must be given an opportunity to recover their money, and assurances their tax dollars will not fund lavish pay and golden parachutes. We need strong rules to guard against abuse, and to ensure all types of institutions and regions are helped.

    In the days ahead, we need to focus on containing the damage to middle class families and local businesses as much as possible. In the months ahead, we need to take a hard look at how financial markets are regulated so we never find ourselves in this situation again.

    Thank you again for contacting me. I will certainly keep your views in mind as the Senate debates ways to help restore strength to our economy.

    Sincerely,

    Sherrod Brown

    Reply

  16. warren mosler Says:

    Thanks!

    It reads like he didn’t even read it.

    Reply

  17. Jim Baird Says:

    That tears it. As much as I’m leary about Obama’s background, and particularly the prospect of a piling on of affirmative action at every level of society (look at SA to see how that’s working out), I have to vote for him just on the off chance he’ll actually listen when Jamie Galbraith’s in the room.

    Reply

  18. JIMB Says:

    Warren,

    Care to elaborate how the payment of interest on reserves changes your work on money? The Fed can presumably buy up any quantity of financial assets and maintain the Fed Funds rate … of course that might completely shut down all lending.

    Reply

  19. Rob K. Says:

    Warren,

    Overall question:

    Have we hit bottom?

    Thanks!

    Rob K.

    Reply

  20. Rob K. Says:

    yes, though no one answered, I think this morning was the bottom!
    can anyone confirm margin calls sent out in the last week caused funds and hedgie’s to reduce leverage caused the decline?

    thanks!

    Reply

  21. warren mosler Says:

    functionally, a tsy sec is an interest bearing deposit at the fed, so functionally paying interest on reserves means the fed doesn’t need collateral to do ‘matched sales’ / reserve drains.

    so yes, they can now buy collateral without having the ‘extra work’ of doing some kind of reserve drain to keep the ff rate on target.

    Not sure about this being a bottom. might want to wait for the eurozone to shut down. unless it’s going to survive as is and be pulled up by exports. hard to see how that can happen, but agreed it theoretically possible.

    Reply

  22. JKH Says:

    Warren,

    You left a comment on Brad Setser’s blog post this morning referring to a “totally confused” discussion following my comment there on the “money multiplier”. I wouldn’t disagree.

    I’ve scanned your “Required readings – Soft Currency Economics” on the subject, which looks very impressive. If you have time to respond, I’d be interested in knowing if you took exception to anything in particular in my comment on the Setser post (reference below). My first impression is that it is fairly in synch with your paper.

    (I did include an overly general point on capital at the conclusion of my comment, which may well have led to some of the ensuring confusion, and would have been better left out.)

    Thanks.

    My comment at Setser’s:

    October 14, 2008 9:59 p.m. JKH

    http://blogs.cfr.org/setser/2008/10/13/an-unlimited-guarantee-requires-unlimited-access-to-financing/

    Reply

  23. Rob K. Says:

    Sada,

    The new format is interesting but a little annoying. Is there a way to display on the home page the date/time of the recent post? It’s a little cumbersome to find the ‘new’ posts, or am I just missing something?

    Rob K.

    Reply

  24. sada mosler Says:

    Hi Rob,

    I noticed that you have just registered for the site. Make sure that you are on the website and not looking at the dashboard. There is a ‘View Site’ button on the top.

    The only change on the website is the ‘Recent Comments’ format; the rest is the same as before. The newer posts are listed on the left sidebar under the category ‘Recent Posts’.

    Email me if you have any more questions!

    -s

    Reply

  25. hooverprintingpresses Says:

    Rob I agree with you, is annoying. The way the comments show now, you don’t just get the new comments, but new comments mixed in with old comments too. IE comments no longer sorted by time posted. I liked the old way better, quicker access to new posts. As Obama says though, time for change eh? Sada - what is up with this registration stuff? My granpappy said rich elitists that started requiring registration were like those bankers who made prices really high so us common folk couldn’t encroach - encroachment by common folk who don’t do as you like really bother some of you folks don’t it? Don’t be like that, Obama gonna be our first black prez - encroachment is a good thing - expands your horizons - censorship and control through registration is for losers that killed socrates - don’t be like that!! Before you know it you will want to be charging for access to this stuff, I can see the $$$ signs rolling in your eyes now! How much money and low USVI taxes is enough?!?!?

    Reply

  26. sada mosler Says:

    Registration is optional.

    The new comments are still on top.

    Latest 50 are on the left, grouped first by recency, then by post.

    Email me if you have any subsequent problems.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  27. Rob K. Says:

    Sada,

    A BIG THANKS for dating each post.
    Problem SOLVED!

    Thanks!

    Rob K.

    Reply

  28. Mike Sankowski Says:

    Hi Warren,

    I am leaving comments across the web about the payroll tax holiday.

    As long as people are talking about it, why not try to influence the direction of the debate?

    http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/10/stimulate_me.html#comments

    http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2008/10/pocketfull_of_m.html#comments

    Reply

  29. warren mosler Says:

    thanks! hope to get on it tonight. been way too busy!

    Reply

  30. Kent Kelley Says:

    Pleased to come upon your site and sounds like there are a few heads screwed on right. I’m USA in Ukraine and have an idea, now that the US national elections are over. Keep and eye on third party Bob Barr. If he picks up on Richard Gage AIA movement and hammers Bush for creating the problem and stalemates Obama & Pelosi in calling for new independent commission with subpoena powers in September 11, 2001 WTC then there will be some fur flying for the next four years. GOTO Gage url Structural Engineers point out that there was a controlled implosion and that building fires don’t melt steel. The 911 movement has spread across Europe - they are apolitical and I’m just a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Science watching the federal reserve note dance its way into oblivion. Добрый вечер!

    Reply

    Dave Begotka Reply:

    Simple, Physics do not change even on 911!

    Just think we killed so many on a LIE! And the American Public watches Survivor and eats Cheezy Poofs!

    What happens when they wake up? What happens when they get rid of the fed?

    What happens to the security markets?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7kGZ3XPEm4

    Reply

  31. Kent Kelley Says:

    Sorry but wisdom of website didn’t print Richard Gage AIA’s website but if you’d care to have Google search I’d recommend that you enter his name plus “911″. There’s over 500 structural engineers, and registered architects calling for a new look at the controlled demolition of twin towers and their questions about the same in the 47 storied WTC-Bldg 7 which didn’t get any debris fall on it or an airplane crash into it.

    Reply

  32. Mike Sankowski Says:

    Hi Warren,

    My copy of “Understanding Modern Money” arrived yesterday. It is excellent so far.

    “…it is not the issue, but the acceptation, which is decisive.”

    I’ve reached page 25, as you can see.

    regards,

    Mike

    Reply

    RichW Reply:

    Got mine this weekend. I’m finding I have to reread parts and then let it sink in for a while before continuing.

    Reply

  33. David Pettey Says:

    More mainstream mentions of payroll tax holidays. As well as money to the states.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111515309852563.html
    Barry Eichengreen (from wsj):
    “I would like to see mainly payroll-tax cuts and block grants for states”
    “Infrastructure means bridges to nowhere.”

    Cheers, learned a good deal from following your site and associated references.

    David

    Reply

  34. warren mosler Says:

    Glad Barry is coming around. Maybe he reads this blog or talks to people who do.

    Reply

  35. Jim Baird Says:

    Meanwhile, Krugman is once again worried that household balance sheets might be improved too much:

    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/is-obama-relying-too-much-on-tax-cuts/

    Reply

  36. zanon Says:

    JIM: You got it! Krugman is so pro Government he really does not care what happens to households. God forbid the deficit grows through tax cuts that people might save! It must all happen through higher Government spending, and if people lose their jobs, the lose their jobs.

    Reply

  37. Russ Says:

    Hi Guys,

    Where did you find the song/band Ledge/Cave? do they have a web page?

    Wish I was there!

    Thanks!

    Russ

    Reply

  38. warren mosler Says:

    I own the tune- know someone famous who wants to do a cover?

    Reply

    Russ Reply:

    Unfortunately I don’t. Thought it was catchy.

    Reply

  39. Mike Sankowski Says:

    Warren,

    If you have not seen it, there is a huge explosion of talk about the money creation process - by some of the heavy hitters in the blogs.

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html

    http://www.interfluidity.com/posts/1233118501.shtml#comments

    Your ideas are taking root.

    Reply

  40. warren mosler Says:

    Good to see it, thanks!

    Reply

  41. Scott Fullwiler Says:

    Whoever Winterspeak is, he/she has the flex fx paradigm down pretty good. Well done!

    Reply

    Roger Reply:

    Thanks for the links. I’ve read Steve Keen’s website, and he seems to be partially in paradigm, but he also seems to outline that the private debt profile will inevitably lead to either a moderate (best case) or severe (base case) depression. Granted, he makes that case in a flowchart about why the original Paulson plan would be ineffective, but I think it is representative of his paradigm.

    His analysis emphasizes the reduction in aggregate demand caused by the private sector repeating its path from high debt obligations to all-time low debt obligations, mirroring the 1930’s-1950’s path.

    It appears that the difference between his moderate and severe depression cases is based on whether the govt diverts enough of the income generated from its giant “asset swap” back into aggregate demand.

    I’m not enough in paradigm to recognize the strength and weaknesses in his approach. He definitely emphasizes the debt-deflation concerns, but gives little attention to the effect of large fiscal stimulus.

    I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts, if you are familiar with his work.

    Thanks,
    Roger

    Reply

  42. warren mosler Says:

    the govt buying financial assets doesn’t add demand unless it somehow increases non govt borrowing to spend.

    worse, it takes interest income out of the economy. the fed’s 2 trillion portfolio nets them maybe 60 billion a year which is income lost by the private sectors.

    they need a fiscal adjustment to directly alter demand

    Reply

  43. winterspeak Says:

    Hi all:

    I dig Mosler! Try to give you lots of credit too, Warren, and am working on spreading your ideas.

    Must admit, they are *hard* to understand at first. Keen’s PK piece, which made it to Naked Capitalism, helped though.

    Reply

    RichW Reply:

    Winterspeak, nice to see you here.

    Reply

    warren mosler Reply:

    good to hear it thanks! read ‘understanding modern money’ if you haven’t yet

    Reply

  44. Jim baird Says:

    Winterspeak -

    I’ve been following your latest movements “into paradigm”. It’s always refreshing to see someone who might not be idealogically predisposed to “big government”allow themselves to see how finance really works. Of course, now the problem becomes that reading the financial pages becomes even more infuriating than before…

    Reply

  45. winterspeak Says:

    “understanding modern money” is on my list. Not the easiest tome to get ahold of, though!

    And yes, while I am not ideologically “big government” I do believe that government has several jobs to do, and that it should do those jobs well. Managing money is one of its most important jobs.

    Reply

  46. warren mosler Says:

    Right, I don’t promote ‘big government’ per se either, though many read that into some of what i write. And yes, getting the monetary system right would go a long way to promote stability, useful output, and employment in general.

    Reply

  47. Jim baird Says:

    I didn’t mean to imply that Warren is for “big govrnment” - only that many of a more libertarian persuasion rebel viscerally against the “state money” approach, no matter what evidence they are presented with…

    Reply

  48. warren mosler Says:

    Agreed. They are a ‘love money / hate taxes’ group and can’t deal with the fact there is no money as they know it without taxes.

    Reply

  49. Mike Sankowski Says:

    Hi Winterspeak,

    Glad to see you here. Trying to get the word out on these ideas is not easy, as most people look at you like you’ve sprouted horns once you start saying things like “taxes drive demand for money”, or “government surpluses are bad”. My dad literally could not repeat what I said, it was so far from his usual thoughts.

    I found Steve K’s treatment to be very good. I was looking at it all last night. I like the matrix he creates, it does very much simplify the understanding. Also, his take on ODE is spot on. Money is best looked at as a flow, and should be modeled as such.

    He is a horizontalist, in Basil Moore’s reading, and I think he is really missing out on the vertical component. I will try to expand his matrix model with the vertical component.

    I am much more of a big government person, simply because I think markets can be bad allocators of assets for long time horizons, but our society and civilization need long term allocation in some cases. For example, market forces have driven us to a point where we are in an energy trap, where most of our potential GDP will be spent on maintaining our energy. We would have been much better off wasting a trillion dollars on energy research over the last 3 decades. But we did not do that, so we are stuck in a position where we may not be able to grow due to energy constraints.

    Plus, I have a soft spot for waste as I look around and see people doing stuff that is wasteful all the time. When I hear libertarians talk about government waste, for some reason I always think of Robert Fripp (an incredible guitar player) who said: “What you call feeling, I call mistakes.” I walked around the Chicago Bean all day Sunday, which was a huge waste on my and Chicago’s part, and loved every second of it, surrounded by hundreds of smiling people who were also enjoying this wasteful public expense that will never recoup the costs of installation. And I think Steve Keen is right when he said that pure profit maximizing behavior would be called sociopathic by a psychologist.

    Reply

    Scott Fullwiler Reply:

    Mike . . . agreed regarding SK and vertical component. He got a very chilly reception a few years ago from us chartalists when he presented a previous version of the simulations in KC largely for that reason. There were also several problems with definitions of terms such as deposits, reserves, and profits . . . the positive response I’m hearing from several in the blogging world suggests these appear to be fixed.

    Reply

    warren mosler Reply:

    Very good!

    Last time I saw Basil (Moore) I said something and he asked whether I was a horizontalist or verticalist and he gave me a very perplexed look when I said ‘both, of course.’

    Reply

    Mike Sankowski Reply:

    You know these guys personally! Of course you two do…

    I did not see that Steve K has addressed the vertical component, but I do have limited understanding which I am working diligently to correct, so I might have missed something.

    Something interesting that is different than the model presented here is that he has net money creation from horizontal component. To be clear, his horizontal component does not net to zero at the end of the cycle.

    I think this growth in money supply in his model is due to the combination of relending and the turnover of capital. I follow the logic of the model up to that point, but he loses me on that step. I do not see how the accounting identities can be reconciled with the flow equations.

    Reply

    Scott Fullwiler Reply:

    From what I recall of his earlier presentation, that sounds like its along the lines of the criticisms we were making regarding both H and V. So maybe not that much has changed?

    Scott Fullwiler Reply:

    Also . . . yes … know them both and they’re both very intelligent, very good people.

  50. Teresa Says:

    Warren, as “Deficit Spending for Dummies’ will be your first material presented by me, do you think we could elaborate a little bit on this introductory phrase to make it sound neutral,let’s say “Understanding Deficit Spending”, or something like that? What do you think?

    Reply

  51. warren mosler Says:

    Hi, feel free to call it anything you want, thanks!

    Reply

  52. Zaid Alasad Says:

    Hi Warren,

    I was wondering if you had a chance to read the newly released BIS Quarterly Review entitled: “The US dollar shortage in global banking.”

    http://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt0903f.pdf?noframes=1

    The thesis that the global dollar shortage was the result of maturity mismatches, as long-term dollar assets were funded by short-term dollar liabilities. The role of the Central Bank swap lines is also explained on pages 58-59.

    Also, in taking a glance at our counter-parties (national banking systems) in these swap lines, I noticed these counter-parties have a net long foreign position in US$, with the exception of Spanish, Belgian and French banks. So it looks like the Fed stepped in to fill the gap in short-term US$ funding with these swap lines.

    Would you be willing to comment on the data and conclusion presented in this report?

    Reply

  53. warren mosler Says:

    JUST GOT IT THE OTHER DAY AND HAVEN’T GONE THROUGH IT IN DETAIL YET.

    WHAT YOU SAY MAKES PERFECT SENSE AND IS SUPPORTED BY THE EVIDENCE IN THE MARKET PLACE.

    THANKS FOR THE LINK FOR THE READERS!

    Reply

  54. Mike S Says:

    Warren,

    Check out this discussion about private coinage.

    http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/05/george_selgin_o_1.html

    Reply

  55. bforneyiii Says:

    Warren, there is no direct link on your home page to view a list of categories in which you file each of your posts. I do realize that I can find the hyperlinks to the category folder(s) in which an individual post may be located, but I cannot view the list of all categories. They used to be located on the left-hand pane. Can you help me locate any category list you may have for easy reference? Thanks,
    bforneyiii

    Reply

  56. warren mosler Says:

    try the search function for now and over to Michael to figure out how to improve navigation thanks

    maybe we need a page that lists all the posts by title and by date

    Reply

  57. Russ Says:

    Warren,

    I’m still looking to move to STX but can’t find any work. I came down in March to interview with Stanford had my trip scheduled and ended up being a few days after they were shut down…..bummer! At least I didn’t jump the gun, move down and have no job. So I chartered a sailboat instead with the Rose Sail Inn. Any chance you know someone who is hiring? I have the series 7, 24, 55, 63, 3 and 4. I will take any job except cold-calling/stock broker. Also when are you adding more music from the Cave? Do they have a website?

    Thanks again, I enjoy your site.

    Russ

    Reply

    Russ Reply:

    So what’s up?

    Reply

  58. Andrew ODell Says:

    Sada,

    I have enjoyed the Mosler Economic website very much. After reading over most of the site I feel well educated in Federal Reserve banking in an academic sense. In a real world sense I have worked in automotive parts sales, branch banking and at a mortgage bank in the bond department where I priced and pooled mortgages for sale in the secondary market.

    I have been thinking a lot about the financial crisis / economic downturn and have come to the conclusion that most of it has to do with falling home prices. The primary banks, federal reserve even GMAC have all seen bad loans rise as a result of falling home prices. I also feel that prices of homes are set to rise again if the federal government enacts a program similar in nature to the GI bill that was passed after WWII.

    My understanding of this bill was that it allowed returning veterans to purchase homes at a significant discount after they spent time in the armed forces. Let me explain the idea further. Right now a new enlisted soldier might make $10K per year for a 4 yr stint in the military plus they can get education credits toward college. What I propose would be an additional ‘government-owned home buyer credit’ of say $10K per year to buy government-owned homes that the federal government buys out of foreclosure.

    The federal government buying foreclosures would provide the banks a way to get bad loans off their books; reducing the need for bailout money. It would help the housing prices bottom. Right now it is assumed that one foreclosure on your street reduces prices on the entire street by an average of 5%. Falling home prices would be eliminated when the federal government buys the foreclosure and sells it to a veteran. It gives returning veterans a chance to buy a house or put down a significant down payment and start a family. This would decrease federal costs of unemployment and veteran related expenses.

    The result: bank stocks rally, veterans get the treatment they deserve after serving their country and deflationary pressure in the housing market ends. Ultimately higher housing prices would create jobs in construction, provide consumers with more money to draw on through HELOCs and end the banking crisis.

    The US dollar should hold steady on the passage of this bill as these houses have intrinsic value - they just lack a buyer who can afford them. The amazing natural resources this country has was converted into houses unlike any place else in the world. These homes are not worthless so the money the federal government spends to buy the houses is not wasted. The US dollar should be fine with a program like this. It would simply require coordination between veterans affairs and HUD and the federal government in passing a bill that enacts this into law. It would gain significant political clout behind whatever law makers back the plan as the military and banks would be forever grateful as would every homeowner.

    Please let me know what you think of this concept and also how I can post to the economic forum instead of the guest book in the future. I am going to send this idea to a few prominent law makers as well.

    I hope all is well with you.

    Andrew O’Dell
    B.A. International Business - Rollins College ‘04
    M.B.A. - Wayne State ‘11

    Reply

  59. warren mosler Says:

    Hi,

    My proposals are for the payroll tax holiday and 1000 per capita revenue sharing to the states which should instantly give working people sufficient increases in take home pay to afford to make their mortgage payments (and car payments, etc.) and thereby end the crisis.

    We’ve got the same goal with slightly different approaches.
    Mine might be considered ‘more equitable’ as it simply means stop taking funds away from all working people, rather than giving out funds only to home buyers.

    Reply

  60. Hd.Anjou Says:

    Might be good fo the students to know this: http://mixedink.com/OpenGov
    also twitter.com/OpenGov

    Reply

  61. Richard Bond from St.C living in Boston Says:

    If anyone is thinking of moving to St. Croix and does not know what business they could own and run from there do this. Go to the website bizbuysell.com and go to advanced search. M move the selection mark from All US to Alaska then to the right down the page mark include relocatable businesses. Every relocatable business on the website through out the U.S. will come up. Maybe there is a match between the businesses for sale, your skills and your budget you can find.

    Reply

  62. Richard Bond from St.C living in Boston Says:

    The deal with the Earl of L, Tom P owns one of the largest botanical gardens in Ireland and writes and consults on the subject. He would have contributed to the design not merely traveled as a guest.

    Reply

  63. Richard Bond from St.C living in Boston Says:

    Thought

    I wonder if perpetual hurricane insurance would be a viable idea.

    Reply

  64. Jim Says:

    http://www.moslereconomics.com/?page_id=32&cpage=1#comment-11601

    This link leads to a 404 page.

    Reply

  65. Sandy Says:

    Actually, several of your “mandatory reading” links lead to 404 pages.

    BTW, is there an online and downloadable edition of “Understanding Modern Money”–free or otherwise?

    Reply

    warren mosler Reply:

    Thanks, Michael will get on it!

    Reply

  66. Victor Says:

    Does anyone at the website ever actually read and answer people’s questions here?

    Reply

  67. Andrew ODell Says:

    Natural Gas Bottom?

    Could the Natural Gas price in Chicago be bottoming? I think Congress should look at supporting this industry as it is critical to infrastructure and energy security. The BTU price is at an all time low and industries, home building, and energy companies only have upside potential from these levels IMO.

    Andrew ODell

    Reply

  68. Jeff Hodgson Says:

    Mr Mosler,

    Tom Greene of William Blair suggested that I contact you. He sends his best wishes to you.

    I founded Chicago Weather Brokerage and have worked with the CME to develop snowfall binary options that will begin trading on Monday, December 7th. I have quite an extensive customer base with snowfall exposure. Tom thought you of all people might have an interest in trading this product. I have a couple of existing market makers/speculators to help get the market going but I could use a few more participants. Please let me know if you have any interest as I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to talk with you in more detail.

    Best,

    Jeff Hodgson

    Reply

  69. Warren Molser Says:

    Hi to Tom!!!

    I haven’t been trading directly for many years, so can’t help you there, but call any time.

    Reply

  70. Matthew Sparks Says:

    I have

    Reply

  71. Matthew Sparks Says:

    Mr. Mosler,
    I have got a problem and need help. I think the USA government could partner with free and clear home owners, (no mortgages) to float a bond for enough money to be able to refinance all homes with better terms, and lower interest rates. Revenue from the loans could pay these home owners a dividend and cover all costs. The trick as I see it would be to balance the desire for lower rates, with the desire for larger dividends. This would rid us of the secondary mortgage market if enough people participated in this type of program would it not? I have been told this is impossible but not have gotten a good explanation why.

    Reply

  72. WILLIAM MCBRIDE Says:

    MR Mossler
    Do you have any recommendations when setting up an EDC company that will be trading stocks and options as a market maker. Any help would be greatly appreciated Happy New Year.

    Thanks
    Will

    Reply

  73. warren mosler Says:

    Sounds good! We have good bandwidth from what I’ve heard. And good weather.

    email me at warren.mosler@gmail.com anytime.

    Reply

  74. Charles St. Pierre Says:

    Warren.
    I’ve been trying to get it. I think what you’re saying is that the government should stop issuing bonds, and simply print the money to keep operating, and to pay off the outstanding bonds. This will eliminate the threat of interest on the national debt snowballing, which is really the root cause of hyperinflation.
    Thus the government (may) run a continuous deficit, yet never accumulate a debt. If there is too much money in the system,with too much inflation, it should raise taxes, to control demand, by sucking up excess cash. It can also cut back on expenditures. If there is not enough money in the system, it should lower taxes, or spend more, or some combination of these.

    Reply

  75. warren mosler Says:

    That’s pretty much it, very good!

    A few details-

    I wouldn’t use the term ‘printing money’ which comes from the gold standard. Govt can simply spend as it always does- by changing numbers up in our bank accounts- and simply not sell tsy secs. A ‘different’ kind of spending is not applicable.

    Then, when govt spends more than it taxes, that ‘extra’ spending will show up as extra balances in checking accounts the banks keep at the Fed. No problem there. And if the Fed decides to not pay interest on those balances, which is my preference, so be it.

    Some people will continue to call those balances ‘debt’
    I don’t much care what they call them.

    Reply

  76. Charles St. Pierre Says:

    Thanks, Warren.

    OK So the money ends up deposited with the FED.

    So the government has no need to borrow. In fact, spending borrowed money is useless in expanding the money supply. Any borrowed money is first taken out of the economy, before it is put back in. So there is no change in the money supply. So attempts by the government to stimulate the economy by spending borrowed money will have no net effect, except maybe where the money is not being lent in the first place. Of course, the government borrowing it takes away the motive for the banks to lend it to the privat sector.

    In an expanding real economy, for the government to limit itself to borrowing leads to a relative contraction in the money supply. So in general the government must run a deficit, and without borowing. To balance its budget, or even borrow, or worse run a surplus, restricts or contracts the money supply.

    Do I still have it, or did I lose it?

    Reply

  77. Jim Baird Says:

    “So attempts by the government to stimulate the economy by spending borrowed money will have no net effect”

    Not quite. The issue is not whether or not the government “borrows”. The effect of additional spending is on how much additional demand it injects into the economy. Spending adds demand, taxation withdraws it. “Borrowing” merely alters the term structure of interest rates - it has no effect on agg. demand at all (except inasmuch as it leads to additional spending on interest payments)

    Reply

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