Oh, my...

FRED lists several number series for reserves. I wanted to look at total debt relative to total reserves for yesterday's 4 o'clock post. I ended up using required reserves, which I think was more relevant for that post. But I also looked at the "Board of Governors Total Reserves, Not Adjusted for Changes in Reserve Requirements." I looked at total credit market debt owed, relative to that:

The thing increases relentlessly for more than half a century. Then it drops almost overnight, and it ends up in 2010 right back where it was 50 years before.

One has to wonder if policy is based on anything more than trying to make the current numbers match some numbers from long ago.


Come to think of it, I have exactly that objective for the debt-per-dollar graph.

See also: FYGFD: Repetition