Many of my IRL friends and acquaintances are pointing out that the United States is printing more money and using it to help alleviate our economic crisis. Other democracies like the UK and Japan are doing the same. So, does this mean we will go the way of Zimbabwe or post-WWI Germany? Isn’t printing new money always a bad idea? Well, there is a new economic practice (first used in Japan in about 2000) called “quantitative easing.” Sure, to me it just sounds like we are merely printing more money….and this makes me very frightened for our economy. However, here is an economist on CNN explaining the difference:
4 responses so far ↓
1
Julie Tevenan
// Feb 22, 2009 at 11:57 am
Over vacation I would sometimes watch the news and all I heard everyone talk about was the big stimulus package. I heard they printed billions of dollars and I too thought we were going to be the next Zimbabwe. After watching the video, I think I understand the difference between the two and I just hope this stimulus package can save our economy like Obama says it will.
2
jess heapes
// Feb 22, 2009 at 9:51 pm
i agree with julie, it would be horrible if we were in a situation like zimbabwe. i hope this stimulus package does what it’s supposed to do.
3
Belinda Bechold
// Feb 23, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Zimbabwe is in an aweful position for the time being, and i don’t like to think that America might end up the same way. I hope President Obama has thought long and hard on his decision to print more money and has tried to foresee the effects it could have on our economy, both positive and negative. We are putting our trust in the Obama administration by letting him decide our fate as a country, so he had better do a good job.
4
Zack L.
// Mar 1, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Hello Buell. I hadn’t blogged over vacation so I hope this makes up for it. I completely agree with Belinda 100%. We as a nation are putting our trust in President Obama and his staff and I personally hope that all this pressure doesn’t lead to him making a bad decision. Although he is new to this leadership position, he has proven that he is a competent person with the ability to make decisions under fire, and I put my faith in him. Plus, I think he’s a much better leader than George Bush could have ever been. (this statement could be withdrawn in the future, so don’t hold me to it forever.)
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