Investor: Let’s start off with a simple assertion from my side: I HAVE READ GRIFFIN’S BOOK. I have read those six pages. Griffin is a crank and he lacks a fundamental understanding of his subject, a fact that numerous authors have taken him to task for.
I made the point from the outset that I had read Griffin’s book. I also made the point that I disagreed with him and why, as well as my feelings about his background, which is entirely germane, especially given some of his political meanderings in the book, which were alarming, to say the least.
You come across here as though you’re on the side of the angels, but you frankly are loathe to admit that you suffer from confirmation bias, nor are you willing to answer questions or queries from intelligent posters, like SK, who have a strong background in Accounting and Finance. While I’m not a CPA, I did hold a corporate CFO position for a large insurance brokerage, and know my way around how banks function.
However, if it doesn’t correspond to what you hold as Revealed Truth, you don’t want to talk about. Yeah, I like a good argument, but this isn’t an argument, nor is it a debate. Its you simply refusing to acknowledge that the Fed isn’t some grand conspiracy as cooked up by a noted crackpot. I READ THE SIX PAGES. Griffin IS WRONG.
What more to say is there?[/quote]
I apologize in advance for butting in here, Allan (and yet I do so anyway!). In “investor’s” defense, he wants someone to explain exactly WHY and WHERE Griffin is wrong. And given where he’s coming from (that is, a conspiratorialist), I can actually understand why. My problem with this is twofold (to which I’ve alluded herein): (1) Reading 6 pages is one thing; rebutting 6 pages in a manner that all concerned can understand (and – sorry here – but “dumbing it down” so that a non-professional – as I presume “investor” to be – can understand it) is another issue entirely. I know I’m going to get a ration of “arrogance” grief for that statement, but it’s true nonetheless. I’ve taught a fair amount of finance in various professional capacities, so I know how this generally works. (2) The burden of proof should be on the original poster to make his point first. He wants someone ELSE to do all the work and I’m not biting. And he’s complaining about it. And that’s patently absurd.
Now… let’s try to get down to brass tacks here and bring this around to the REAL issue, as I see it, anyway. Griffin is a conspiratorialist regarding the Fed and thinks all manner of immoral and illegal things are going on at the Fed (again, admittedly, I haven’t read his book). Now, we can argue about what the role of the Fed should be, whether there should be a Fed, etc. etc. These are “policy” issues and are all debatable.
But “investor” seems to be trying to convince us that Griffin is saying that there’s some sort of illegal/immoral/conspiratorial issue with the “flow” of money into and out of the Fed and with and between the Fed and Treasury. And THIS is where I have a problem. Because for this to be true, the Fed would have to have fooled EVERY professor of Money and Banking (and, in fact, most professors of Economics, Finance and Banking, generally, in the world) regarding how the Fed “works.” That’s right – the ENTIRE profession is either (a) in the dark and doesn’t understand, or (b) part of the conspiracy. And that’s where it all breaks down for me. Again, from a “flow” – not a “policy” – perspective. (One could successfully argue from a “policy” perspective that the Fed is largely a tool of the Officialdom and Powers That Be. But, again, we’re discussing a “flow” argument, as “investor” has framed it.)
So, given that there appear to be zero PhD’s that support Certified Financial Planner Griffin’s conspiratorialist musings (again, I don’t like playing the “credentials” card, but…) regarding the Fed, yet there are many who have bothered to take him (and others) to task… I just don’t find myself compelled to spend the time to rebut him until “investor” has put in the time to make his case first. And, under the circumstances, I just don’t feel that this is an unreasonable position. But everyone’s got an opinion.
