Booger, and Dio,
I don’t think there are any Either/Or’s left in our future. If you read Kunstler or McPherson, or Baker, or any thinking person then collapse is the scenario. The fraud and inertia are just features of the general landscape…
Diogenes,
No harm no foul.
Interesting question though – how is it that prices are REALLY determined?
Think it through.
the Fed, or any central bank or government, should stay away from manipulating the free markets they so favor but which are no longer free the moment the manipulation starts
but, but, b…b…but… Markets are NEVER free! The “free market” is a construct of a particular school of economics, and has never reflected anything like reality.
At the very bottom the market needs the government (the sovereign, the king or whatever) to defend property and create (the basis for) money. Property and Money are not natural laws – they are man-made and part and parcel of a particular social order – in our current case neo-liberal capitalism.
Inherently markets are gamed. In the recent past (1945-1980) the market was gamed to provide some sense of growth for the middle class. The current game is unfortunately set up to provide opportunities for looting by the rich and politically connected.
In AP Today on water wars in Mexico city…
https://bigstory.ap.org/article/mexico-city-residents-battle-police-over-water