This is exactly why Matt Yglesias makes his money, explaining what Explaining Quantitave and basic Fed monetary policy in clear language:

This is something most people don’t understand very well, but when you hear people talk about how the Fed “set” short-term interest rates at such-and-such a level, the people are being a bit inaccurate. What the Fed does is make decisions about how to target interest rates. Then it engages in a bunch of actual financial transactions—buying or selling of short-term bonds—to make the market prices move in line with the target. Ordinarily, you would fight a recession by lowering interest rates. Unfortunately, we’ve already lowered rates as far as they can go and yet there’s still a recession. Under such circumstances we turn to “quantitative easing” or “unconventional monetary policy” in which, basically, the Fed buys other stuff. In this case, long-term bonds, Fannie & Freddie securities, and some mortgage-backed securities. The goal here is to make interest rates on mortgages extremely low. That way homeowners will be able to refinance their loans at low rates and save on their monthly payments. That, in turn, will free up money that can be used to buy stuff, encouraging a return of production and retail jobs and a revival of business investment.

If you aren’t reading Matt Yglesias, you should.
Related Articles:

• Three Pieces Which Explain What Killed Our Economy
• Ground Zero Cleveland: What the Housing Crisis Has Wrought on Urbanity
• Repopulating Detroit With Artists

tequendama, originally uploaded by jf.mejia

My not-so-fanciful wish for New York City’s partition into its own state because the constant interference by Albany (listen also to last week’s podcast), Ryan points to an interesting article, How U.S. Metros Propel America’s Economy and Might Drive Its Recovery, which contains this interesting nugget:

Two other economically powerful states, Illinois and New York, are even more dependent on their metro powerhouses, with Chicago and New York each constituting more than three-quarters of their state’s GDP. (The New York metro actually powers two states: the portions of the metropolitan area in New York account for 75.7 percent of that state’s GDP, and the chunk of the metropolitan area across the river in New Jersey accounts for 77 percent of Jersey’s GDP). Texas and Florida likewise each get 80 percent of their economic heft from the handful of major metros within their borders.

If New York City was its own state then the structural incentives for Westchester and Putnam County politicians to block programs which are inherently good for New York City as a whole would be removed since their power base would shrink, especially in the new House (the Senate not so much, but the increase of Senators from the Five Boroughs would offset their power). Unless, if constitutional, the new state would chose a unicameral legislature or (to make live coverage more interesting) adopt a Parlimentary system.
Either way, stop fucking with us Albany.

Obsessed with the production design of "The President’s Analyst", originally uploaded by moleitau

Yet another data point stressing how much politics, urbanism and architecture is intertwined, LA Times writes about Who owns Colorado’s rainwater:

Every time it rains here, Kris Holstrom knowingly breaks the law.
Holstrom’s violation is the fancifully painted 55-gallon buckets underneath the gutters of her farmhouse on a mesa 15 miles from the resort town of Telluride. The barrels catch rain and snowmelt, which Holstrom uses to irrigate the small vegetable garden she and her husband maintain.
But according to the state of Colorado, the rain that falls on Holstrom’s property is not hers to keep. It should be allowed to fall to the ground and flow unimpeded into surrounding creeks and streams, the law states, to become the property of farmers, ranchers, developers and water agencies that have bought the rights to those waterways.

This is a perfect time to point out that the American West is fully constructed out of Federal handouts and has been fully subsidized by the US Government for since the railroads were given land for free to connect east and west coasts. Cheap power (Hoover Dam), expansive land and great irrigation projects (cf California Water Wars) is the backbone of the “Rugged West.” However, as the American West continues to grow unsustainably (notwithstanding the retarding effect the recession has on growth) I would expect a sharp increase in water rights litigation.
Also, see Matt Yglesias, Water: It’s Valuable, So If You Don’t Price It You Get Waste.

Don’t keep calm and carry on., originally uploaded by moleitau

In response to Keep Calm and Carry On (which is a really, really awesome poster btw).

While Cleveland is struggling with foreclosures, Detroit is becoming an artist destination chronicled in this NY Times op-ed, For Sale: The $100 House:

A local couple, Mitch Cope and Gina Reichert, started the ball rolling. An artist and an architect, they recently became the proud owners of a one-bedroom house in East Detroit for just $1,900. Buying it wasn’t the craziest idea. The neighborhood is almost, sort of, half-decent. Yes, the occasional crack addict still commutes in from the suburbs but a large, stable Bangladeshi community has also been moving in.

I’ve often thought about the feasibility of getting all my friends together and move en-mass to some city on the precipice of despair such as Detroit (or maybe somewhere warmer?) colonizing (let’s call it what it is) the land creating a new urban typology. There must be a tipping point where the micro-economies of hundreds of artists interweave to form a larger sustainable economy.
Detroit Unrealestate Agency is a local blog detailing the artist takeover. While not classically gentrification (artification??) I think a new term has to be found for people like Andrew Kemp who farms and tends his beehives on five lots in East Detroit.

The Democrat-run New York State State Senate reached a compromise – with itself – on a MTA funding plan which doesn’t include East River Tolls, but includes an increase in payroll tax and increased rider fares:

Democrats in the State Senate finally have a plan they say will plug the M.T.A.’s current $1.2 billion operating deficit with a payroll tax and four percent fare increase, but does not address the authority’s long-term spending needs.
…
According to Smith, who was flanked by a dozen senators including many who blocked him from including tolls, the plan includes:

• A payroll tax at 25 cents for $100 of payroll, down from 33 cents in the Ravitch plan. This will raise $987 million.
• A fare increase of four percent, down from eight. This will raise $117 million.

Again, as last week’s podcast discussed, this whole charade is a failure of leadership by Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith who couldn’t cajole his own Senators in line. Yet another reason why New York City should partition into its own state.

P3219885, originally uploaded by John Zwinck

It’s that time of year, notwithstanding PETA’s objections, Ringling Brother’s Circus is bringing elephants through the Queens Midtown Tunnel:

A total of ten Asian elephants, nine horses and three ponies, along with animal trainers and escorts, are coming to Manhattan to appear in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The annual “elephant parade” route is through the north tube of the QMT. The circus entourage will exit the tunnel in Manhattan and make its way westward across E.34th Street to Madison Square Garden, where the show runs from Sun., March 26th through Mon., April 13th.
Those interested in viewing the procession should wait on the Manhattan-side of the tunnel at E.37th Street between Second and Third Avenues beginning around midnight to see the circus group emerge from the mile-long tunnel.

If you haven’t seen this, it is well worth your time. Prime viewing spots are on 34th Street as they cross Manhattan or when they emerge from the tunnel on 37th street at 3rd Avenue. Anywhere east will be closed off.
Later
If you missed the elephants, check out photos by Digiart2001 and check out the Gothamist photo pool.

Shameless plug

Like design? Like podcasts? Listen to my interview of Joshua Wentz of Sidedown.com – we talk about design history and style, the University of Cincinnati, Joshua’s Music, publishing a monograph, freelancing, Comic Sans, RPM Jukebox portal, and not watching the Television. The music which accompanies this podcast is by Joshua and is available (for free!).
Listen to the podcast inline below, download the podcast or subscribe via iTunes.
http://www.saxamaphone.com/mt/mt-static/plugins/Podcast/mp3player.swf

p.v. jensen-klint 11, grundtvig memorial church 1913-1940, originally uploaded by seier+seier+seier

P.V. Jensen-Klint’s Grundtvig Memorial Church, see the complete flickr set.