Saturday, March 31, 2012

Financial repression

Financial Repression Back to Stay: Carmen M. Reinhart

As they have before in the aftermath of financial crises or wars, governments and central banks are increasingly resorting to a form of “taxation” that helps liquidate the huge overhang of public and private debt and eases the burden of servicing that debt.
Such policies, known as financial repression, usually involve a strong connection between the government, the central bank and the financial sector. In the U.S., as in Europe, at present, this means consistent negative real interest rates (yielding less than the rate of inflation) that are equivalent to a tax on bondholders and, more generally, savers.
Comment: Sooner or later the repressed will strike back and we're closer to the sooner than the later.

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