Quote:Listen kiddo.  The interest rate being as low as it is does nothing but artificially pump up business as well as consumer spending.  If The Fed raises interest rates .25% (1/4%) and it destroys a business, then that business deserves to fail.  If it makes it harder for someone to get a loan, then that person probably really has no business taking out the loan in the first place.


 

Look at it this way.  After the dot-com bubble burst and the attacks on 9/11, what did The Fed do to strengthen the economy?  They dropped interest rates dramatically to encourage spending.
 Our society as a whole has become addicted to spending while far too many people don't actually save or invest.  Just ask people if they contribute to their 401k (if their company or job offers one).  The number of people that don't contribute at all may surprise you.  The ones that do contribute, ask them how much and I'll bet that the number that say less than 10% of their income is very high.
 Ask people that don't have a 401k as part of their job benefits if they have an IRA or other savings.  The number that don't will shock you.

 

Taxes are an entirely different issue that I won't get into.

 

I realize that you get your information from your college indoctrination education as well as Rachel Maddow and the rest of NBC news.  However, the bottom line is that an individual, business or a country spending artificial wealth (loans) is an unsustainable train wreck waiting to happen.

Not only that but many businesses use more credit that people realize...many companies use a line of credit for payroll, cell phone/ipad/tablet etc. bills, and so on...

 

That's the Feds favorite tool...Lower the interest rate when the economy is stagnant or poor, raise during a good economy because people won't think about a higher rate...

 

My company has "less than a handful" of people who contribute to their 401k according to HR.The company contributes their portion and some who have been there 20 years or more who do not contribute anything have around $50k in their 401k and no outside retirement plan and just a couple grand in the bank

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