john maddente | midwestern clarity

C olumnist Jeff Sommer published a piece called , " Dealing With the Dark Side of Low Interest Rates " in the May 17 edition of the New York Times . Mr. Sommer’s take is refreshing.  Monetary Doves and Pols on both sides of the aisle typically ignore the ill effects of low interest rates on conservative investors and senior citizens who receive abysmally low returns from their fixed income investments.   Mr. Sommer  points out that i n an ultra low rate world,  retirees and those approaching retirement, are left with three poor choices...  “Live on less, dip deeply into savings or take on more risk…”.   A steady trough of cheap money and easy credit induces bad decisions that impact all of us .     As mentioned in this space over five years ago , a perennial ultra-low rate environment coupled with lax credit standards, was one of the factors that enabled the masses to over leverage and buy homes they couldn't afford befor...