From P.J. O’Rourke in Stansberry Digest:
Central banks are not where I usually go for comedy. But negative interest rates are hilarious.
Banks want to pay you to borrow money from them. Even Bernie Sanders hasn’t come up with anything this ridiculous.
It’s as if you’re walking down a dark street and a mugger steps out of an alley, holds a gun to your head, and demands that you take his wallet, iPhone, and car keys.
Except you aren’t laughing. Somebody’s still holding a gun to your head – no matter what he’s telling you to do. It must be some kind of rip-off. And it is.
Central banks don’t really want to pay you to borrow their money. What they want is for you to pay a fee for lending your money to them.
You make a deposit in a bank. The deposit is a loan to the bank. Your…