By Charles Rotblut, writing at EconMatters
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continues to be the enemy of savers. On June 23, the Boston Red Sox fan reiterated his belief that interest rates should be kept at rock-bottom levels for an extended period of time. He views this as necessary in order to keep the economy growing.
Part of Bernanke’s problem has been his inability to accelerate the pace of money movement, or velocity. Velocity is an economic measure of how many times a dollar is used to purchase goods and services. For instance, if I give you a $100 bill and you put it into your dresser, there is no real velocity. However, if you use it to make a repair on your car and then your mechanic spends the cash on buying a replacement part, velocity accelerates. Thus, there are advantages to sustaining a certain level of velocity.
An example more applicable to the current environment is the housing market. The National Association of Realtors reported a 3.8% decline in existing home sales and a 4.6% drop in home prices on Tuesday. A homeowner who cannot sell his house, either because he is underwater on his mortgage or simply can’t find buyers for a price he wants to sell at, has capital that is stationary.
Read more here: U.S. Economy: Low Money Velocity Signals Troubles Ahead (Guest Post) | EconMatters.
