Wednesday, October 7, 2015

"Low interest rates have failed to stimulate the economy"


 - by New Deal democrat

There's a persistent Doomer meme that "low interest rates/quantitative easing have failed to stimulate the economy."

It's utter bunk.

Let me show you a period of really low interest rates:



We see Fed rates between 0.5% and 1.5% and long term rates generally between 2% and 2.5%.

Growth must have been pathetic, right?

Now let's add in real, inflation adjusted gross domestic product, and the dates:



That's some real pathetic, errr, umm, 10% and 15%+ growth!

Now let's take a look at how the Fed's low rates and quantitative easing since the Great Recession have played out:



Unsurprisingly, lower long term interest rates as helped along by quantitative easing sparked lots of purchase and refinance mortgage applications. The "taper tantrum" of let 2013 caused both to crater.  

So, yeah, low interest rates and quantitative easing have failed to stimulate the economy, as long as you ignore, you know, history.