In a very well-written and thought-provoking piece, Gary Gordon has argued that the Federal Reserve deliberately stokes asset bubbles to spur economic growth and, in doing, creates a boom-and-bust asset value cycle which has caused the last two recessions. He inherently - though not explicitly - implies the Fed should raise rates to stave off that possibility. Here, I will argue that the asset bubbles are a side-effect, not a deliberate result, of recent Fed activity. Instead, Fed action is constrained by macroeconomic developments that prevent the solution inherent in Mr. Gordon's essay.
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