> Aside from these core issues, I'd also speculate that a tremendous quantity of money is trapped in financial instruments.
Wasn't one of the lessons of the downturn that companies weren't keeping enough cash on hand to meet the demands of their financial shenanigans? Isn't that the point of the stress tests? Everyone can't just hedge ad infinitum. At some point, someone has to have the cash to pay the bills.
Sure, there's more cash on hand than in 2007, but how is that not healthy? What is a healthy level of cash?
You're correct. Keeping cash on hand and paying down debt is healthy. A high savings rate encourages investment, which encourages productivity increases, which increases quality of life.
It's hard to think clearly against the blizzard of noise which says savings are bad, consumer spending is good and economies only grow when everyone is in debt. But the opposite of all these things is true, you've just got to ignore all the talking heads that want you out of your house and wasting your saving on consumer trash.
Wasn't one of the lessons of the downturn that companies weren't keeping enough cash on hand to meet the demands of their financial shenanigans? Isn't that the point of the stress tests? Everyone can't just hedge ad infinitum. At some point, someone has to have the cash to pay the bills.
Sure, there's more cash on hand than in 2007, but how is that not healthy? What is a healthy level of cash?