In the early days after Obama's inauguration, there were many who saw the president as the new FDR. But is the Hoover reference an easier sell in the current climate? It is if you look through the prism of monetary affairs, according to one dismal scientist.
"Hoover wasn’t able to print gold, but can be blamed for supporting the Fed’s tight money policies," writes Scott Sumner. "Obama can’t print dollars, but can be blamed for not moving aggressively to put people at the Fed who understand the need for more dollars."
Alas, the clock is ticking. Bruce Bartlett reminds that the velocity of money supply (the ratio of quarterly nominal G.D.P. to the quarterly average of M2 money stock) is moving in the wrong direction again. The implications?
