03/31/2017 - Danielle DiMartino Booth: The Fed Is Bedeviled by Keynes’ Paradox
“The economist John Maynard Keynes warned that ultra-low interest rates would backfire on central banks seeking to spur borrowing and spending, yet they seemed surprised that the current recovery is the weakest in postwar history after cutting rates to near zero, or even below in some cases .. As Keynes’s paradox dictates, retirees have nothing but impossible choices to make. Either they sleep with one eye open, hoping they don’t outlive their prudently stashed savings which are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living. Or they sleep with the other eye open, with their principal at risk, the price they pay for being exposed to risky securities whose returns do outpace inflation. Paradox indeed.”
