The Federal Reserve Bank of ‘Moneybagg Joe’ and my Denouncement of Racism and Misogyny

This post was originally made on 3/19/21

Welcome to The Bloch,

All eyes were on the Federal Reserve this week in financial markets as “Moneybagg Joe” was trending and stimulus checks were going out. On Wednesday the Fed announced a better than expected growth outlook for the year, and will continue to target higher inflation. They are also forecasting no increases in interest rates through the end of 2023, and they will continue purchasing bonds and mortgage-backed securities at a rate of $120 Billion per month. This means more increases in asset prices and commodity prices are coming.

Another shoe dropped in the world of crypto on Wednesday as well. Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit published a note that outlined the case for cryptocurrency as an emerging, INVESTIBLE, asset class. BOOM. Buckle up for more announcements like this coming from big banks, wealth management firms, S&P 500 companies, and more. The reason? Because these cryptocurrencies have codified monetary policies engrained which means governments and special interests cannot devalue them in the same way they can with fiat currencies like the US Dollar or the Japanese Yen.

The main thing I want to discuss today though is the shootings that happened in my hometown of Atlanta on Tuesday night. For those who aren’t aware, 8 people, the majority of them women, were left dead after a 21-year old sex addict shot up three massage parlors. Many of the victims were women of Asian descent — 4 of the 8 were confirmed by the South Korean Foreign Ministry as being of Korean descent. My heart goes out to my Asian brothers and sisters on this — I’m mourning with you. Many people are noting that the media and the Biden administration are not jumping to call this “senseless act of violence” hate crimes perpetrated by a domestic terrorist. Many are calling for the media and the administration to “call it what it is.” I’ll do that now: these misogynist, racially motivated hate crimes of domestic terrorism are absolutely abhorrent. #stopasianhate

I have spent time in Asia. I spent time living in Seoul, South Korea and I have visited Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. Memories from my time in Asia are some of my fondest. The welcoming spirit I felt from the people I met in Seoul, China, and across Asia stays with me still today. I believe traveling and exploring different places and cultures is the best antidote to curing bigotry and racism. In the end, we are all just individual nodes on the same interconnected network, each unique, yet hardly decipherable from each other if you back up far enough. As cliche as it may be, we are, actually, all in this together. Call somebody you love today, and let them know it.

Until next time.

Bloch