Ben Is Your Friend

Our friend Ben is looking after us. Not only did he take a pass on taper, but now Dudley has suggested that it may be November or even later before taper begins. You can pretty well take that to the bank given his role at the Fed. The more there is a continuation of Cruz playing stupid games for his own benefit, and the more Obama refuses to act like a adult president and says he will not even discuss any compromises, the longer it is likely that taper is on hold. It is pretty certain there will be a continuing resolution to drag out the playtime of all these children in the sandbox, which will just force the Fed to continue to keep the economy and the capital markets from crashing. Cruz will be crushed by the leadership and he will be left looking the fool that he is. The real problem is Obama and Patty Murray and Harry Reid thin k they can do similar stupid games to get another tax and spending increase. Pelosi even said in an interview “there is nothing left to cut in the Federal budget.” If one of us said something similar in our business we would be thrown out of the room. I have been told by a friend who has known her for over 20 years that Nancy will say anything no matter how stupid it is, if she thinks it advances whatever it is she is pushing at the moment. When I listen to all of this I reach several conclusions: 1. There is no intelligent or adult person in Washington who can get anything accomplished, 2. It is very likely the US economy will limp along for another 18 months until after the election and the next Congress is seated. Then it depends on whether Cruz has completely destroyed the Republican chances of winning the Senate, or has completely blown it for the party to ever get control in the next decade. Right now he is the best thing saving Obama. The Republicans should have just let Obamacare go forward, presented an alternative program, let the Dems vote that down, and then let Obamacare go ahead fully funded to crash and burn and let the unions scream for revisions to it. Had they done that they would have swept the 2014 election and looked like grown ups. Cruz has single handedly done irreparable damage to the economic outlook by pushing his own personal agenda to run for president. Ego has such a powerful ability to overcome common sense.