Monday, April 27, 2009
Banks?
Just a definitional thought...
I've written often about the basic difference between a bank and a casino. Last night I was pointlessly raising my blood pressure, imagining how I would question one of those Wall Street Mafia dons if I were somehow in a position to ask questions. "Sir, you claim to be running a bank. No, you're not. Let me explain something to you. A bank is a business that attracts depositors by paying them interest to hold their money, and then uses the deposits to make loans at a higher interest rate. We have quite a few actual banks in this country........"
... At that point I realized something.
No, we don't have any banks in this country.
Even the "real banks" get deposits without paying any interest, and make loans without charging any interest.
When inflation is 8%, the traditional interest rate should be about 12%, to make it worth your while to tie up your money for a few years.
Our "real banks" pay at most 2% interest, which is really NEGATIVE 6% after accounting for inflation. So they're not really paying depositors to rent their money; they are only taking advantage of price controls and securitization. They know that customers have no other safe choices. The Federal Reserve has basically eliminated genuine banks, channeling nearly all money into the Wall Street Casino, by placing price controls on interest for the last few decades. ¶ 4:47 PM
I've written often about the basic difference between a bank and a casino. Last night I was pointlessly raising my blood pressure, imagining how I would question one of those Wall Street Mafia dons if I were somehow in a position to ask questions. "Sir, you claim to be running a bank. No, you're not. Let me explain something to you. A bank is a business that attracts depositors by paying them interest to hold their money, and then uses the deposits to make loans at a higher interest rate. We have quite a few actual banks in this country........"
... At that point I realized something.
No, we don't have any banks in this country.
Even the "real banks" get deposits without paying any interest, and make loans without charging any interest.
When inflation is 8%, the traditional interest rate should be about 12%, to make it worth your while to tie up your money for a few years.
Our "real banks" pay at most 2% interest, which is really NEGATIVE 6% after accounting for inflation. So they're not really paying depositors to rent their money; they are only taking advantage of price controls and securitization. They know that customers have no other safe choices. The Federal Reserve has basically eliminated genuine banks, channeling nearly all money into the Wall Street Casino, by placing price controls on interest for the last few decades. ¶ 4:47 PM
