I generally feel (and this is generally due to my Austrian economic leanings) that talking about easier access to capital (through artificially lowering interest rates) is confusing the symptoms with the disease. We need to build up the capital in this country through saving and investment in companies, but that is not accomplished by just wishing it (through economic manipulation). We are in the midst of a massive hangover and drinking more won't fix that, it'll just make us worse alcoholics.
Well I'm with you, but would just like to add the intention should not necessarily be full employment but full production.
We talk about jobs as the most important things, but in reality it is maximising production that is the most important thing. If every farm maximised production, then food becomes more plentiful. If every factory maxmises production, then goods become more plentiful.
The fascination with GDP (as a monetary figure) and Jobs, to me, is looking at the wrong metrics.
There is plenty of capital around. A lot more would come out from the shadows if it found productive uses. But trying to force capital out by lowering the price you can get on it (ie,lowering interest rates) is a bizarre way of going about things.
The key has to be on increasing productivity. This includes not wasting human and monetary capital on pointless schemes (ie, make work schemes and losing investments). The rest will fall into place once this is done.
Yes. I'm not speaking against this program, I was simply addressing the point made by hugh3. The larger problem is that we don't just need "investment" we need to avoid "malinvestment." But with economic manipulation, the market doesn't get the right signals for where capital should go.
That said, I'm all for attempts to invest as best we can in this environment, and I'm in favor of this program.
erm.. end rant