Reisun.org

Well today the Federal Reserve unexpectedly lowered the benchmark interest rate it controls by a whopping .75 percent, from 4.25% to 3.5%. A lot of people are happy, but I am just left scratching my head. If the subprime mortgage crisis that we are still feeling the effects of was caused by artificially low interest rates and too much borrowing, how is lowering the interest rates drastically going to help? It will encourage more risky behavior, and we’ll just be going deeper in debt. It is like a drug addict trying to quit but who keeps on needing a “fix,” in this case cheap money.

Meanwhile my savings accounts are continuing to give lower and lower interest on balances.

My trip went well, I’ll post up some pics later. Tomorrow is the State Department’s Foreign Service Officer oral exam, starting at 0700. Unlike a lot of people who are literally cramming for the test, I haven’t really studied or prepared. We’ll see how it goes!