Confessions of a Liquidity Junkie

It is (at best) pathetic when we observe a hopelessly addicted junkie attempt to “justify” his/her addictive behavior. However, when that junkie wears very expensive suits and presides over (supposedly) one of the world's most prestigious institutions such behavior becomes both deplorable and intolerable.

Who could warrant such an ignominious introduction? In a 21^st century economy nearly decimated with the monetary depravity of Western bankers there is a long list of candidates. However, in this case I'm referring to the Bank of England's Chief Liquidity-Junkie, Mervyn King.

The actions of an addict are uniform and predictable.

1) When an addict has used-up his latest “fix” and begins to get the inevitable craving for more “junk” to feed the addiction, the addict never, ever acknowledges that his drug-use is the cause of the problem. Rather, the addict fixates on only a single thought: that getting another “fix” will temporary stop the withdrawal pains caused by that addiction.

2) During the addict's desperate quest for his next fix, the addict loses the capacity for rational thought. To the addict, “the future of the world” hinges on him getting more of his drug.

3) Lastly, the addict lives his life in perpetual denial. The addict never acknowledges that obtaining another fix never solves anything, but only makes the addiction worse. Most importantly, the addict absolutely refuses to ever consider the truth: that the only way to ever solve his problem is through weaning himself off of his drug.

Viewed through this prism, King's words and deeds are nothing more than the rationalizations of a hopelessly-addicted junkie. What was King's justification after injecting himself (and the global economy) with another $110 billion of money-printing?

“This is the most serious financial crisis we've seen, at least since the 1930's, if not ever. We're having to deal with very unusual circumstances, but to act calmly to this and to do the right thing.”

Let's concede King's point that this is “the most serious financial crisis…ever”, since it is something which I fully believe myself. The remarks in themselves are proof of King's addictive mentality. First of all, King (like all addicts) refuses to acknowledge that it was excessive liquidity (and debt) which has caused all of the current financial problems. It is the most trite of tautologies that you “cannot put out a fire with gasoline”.

This brings us to the second, glaring deficiency in King's pseudo-logic: the complete absence of any “end game”. While he is absolutely adamant that injecting himself with another fix was “the right thing” to do, he is utterly unable to identify a single way in which another fix will help to solve the problem in any way.