Forbes_USA_June_13_2017

FORBES
FACT & COMMENT
on contributions is $25,000 a year.)
A paper written by Ryan Bourne and
Chris Edwards for the Cato Institute
examines how such accounts have fared
in Canada and Britain. Bottom line: They
have been supersuccessful. The flexibility
on withdrawals has made them especially
attractive to lower-income earners. In
Britain, for instance, 55% of the holders
of such accounts have annual incomes
of less than $25,000. As Bourne and
Edwards note, “Relative to their incomes,
lower earners hold more in [these accounts]
than higher earners.” In addition,
these vehicles clearly encourage people
to save more. They are perfect for all ages
because they can be used for any purpose,
from a rainy-day fund to a nest egg
for a down payment on a house to setting
aside money for retirement.
USAs would be good for economic
growth. And they would be particularly
nice for the very working families who
gave the GOP last November’s victories.
Will the Fed Be a
Prosperity Spoiler?
STEVE FORBES
Will the Federal Reserve continue to
damage the economy? Its misbegotten
monetary policies since the crisis of
2008–09 have warped credit markets,
thereby thwarting a vigorous economic
recovery. Loans to small businesses and
households ended up being restricted,
while money for the federal government
and large companies was easily available
at virtually giveaway prices. Apple, for
instance, has issued more than $80 billion
in bonds, even as its cash hoard bloats to
record levels (it now stands at $257 billion).
Corporate financial engineering
went on steroids, while productive capital
expenditures stagnated. (Business outlays
this year have improved a bit in expectation
of tax cuts and other pro-growth
actions by President Trump.)
The Fed compounded this felony with
an unprecedented seizure of assets from
the U.S. economy via bond and mortgage
purchases. Its obese portfolio now totals
some $4.5 trillion. Its gobbling up of longterm
bonds and its controls on the price of
money created bond shortages for insurance
companies, pension funds and other entities
with long-term financial obligations.
Treasury chief Steven Mnuchin is
actively considering issuing bonds with
maturities of 50 to 100 years. It’s to be
hoped this will be part of a program to
meaningfully lengthen the average maturity
of our national debt, now shockingly
short. Given current low rates, the
current policy is truly perverse. Issuing
more bonds will help ease the shortage.
Mnuchin should direct our central
bank to reduce its obscene portfolio,
immediately. When a bond or mortgage
comes due, the Fed should not reinvest
the proceeds. The Fed should also be
instructed to sell off a big chunk of its
bonds and buy Treasury bills, as well as
engage in overnight repurchase agreements
with money market funds.
Such actions would free up credit for
productive use in the real economy.
Great Show on
the Great War
World War I (1914–18), rightly called
“Armageddon” by Winston Churchill,
was history’s greatest man-made cataclysm.
It undermined faith in Western
civilization and the optimistic idea of
progress, while bringing in its wake the
police-state totalitarian horrors of communism,
fascism and Nazism. (Ample
traces of those ideologies’ poisonous
brews can be found in many of the scribblings
of today’s Islamic terrorists.)
An excellent way to begin to fathom
what the world underwent a century ago is
to watch a series on YouTube appropriately
entitled The Great War. Each week there’s
a 9- to 10-minute segment, ably hosted by
Indiana “Indy” Neidell, which covers the
battlefield as well as the political and diplomatic
events that were occurring exactly
100 years ago. Neidell, an actor and musician
who was raised in Texas but has been
a resident of Stockholm for 20 years, not
only does the narration but also conducted
most of the prodigious research involved.
In addition to the weekly episodes, Neidell
and his crew turn out numerous specials
on weaponry, culture, aspects of trench
life, notable individuals and much more.
This is an impressive achievement. Take
a look—and then help out financially. F
Restaurants:
Go, Consider, Stop
Edible enlightenment from our eatery
experts and colleagues Richard Nalley,
Monie Begley and Randall Lane,
as well as brothers Bob, Kip and Tim.
z Indian Accent
123 West 56th St. (Tel.: 212-842-8070)
Chef Manish Mehrotra has transported his refined
Indian classics from his renowned New Delhi
restaurant to Midtown. Begin with the mathri trio
of smoked eggplant bharta, duck khurchan and
chicken khurchan; the delicate crab claws in butter,
pepper and garlic; or the sweet-pickle ribs with sundried
mango and onion seeds. Intriguing mains: the
ghee roast lamb with roomali roti pancakes and the
pork chili fry, rice-crusted prawn. The kulchas are
amazing. For dessert makhan malai is a must: saffron
milk, rose-petal jaggery brittle, with almonds.
z Market Table
54 Carmine St. (Tel.: 212-255-2100)
Lots of brick, atmosphere and friendly, efficient service.
Duck soup is a perfect starter, the beet salad is
as good as you’ll find anywhere, and the steamed
edamame is served with a piquant soy-ginger dipping
sauce. Sweet potatoes with bok choy is an
ideal side with Cornish hen, and the risotto special
and the falafel are delicious. The pear and cranberry
cobbler is buoyed by just enough crunch underneath.
z Vitae
4 East 46th St. (Tel.: 212-682-3562)
Except for the friendly service, nothing quite
works in this American-fare spot just off Fifth.
The 1950s grillwork surrounding the room gives
one the feeling of eating in a cage—and, sadly,
not particularly well. Warm Parker House rolls
are advertised as coming with duck fat but arrive
with barely a trace. The bland steak tartare leaves
a red slick suggestive of food coloring, and the
halibut is nothing to write home about. The dulce
de leche cheesecake is thick and flavorsome.
Alas, it’s too little too late.
z The Cellar
Beecher’s, 900 Broadway, at 20th St.
(Tel.: 212-466-3340)
This informal and cozy Flatiron restaurant’s signature
dishes all feature cheese, including the inhouse-made
cheese named “Flagship.” It’s a divine
addition to the tasty tomato soup, the simple salad
and the patty melt (topped with bacon and bbq
onion marmalade). There’s a menu section devoted
to mac and cheeses (high marks go to the pulledpork
version). All the desserts will leave you smiling.
z Hunt & Fish Club
125 West 44th St. (Tel.: 212-575-4949)
The sleek, contemporary, mirrored main dining
room comes as a surprise in this pricey new eatery.
The food is also surprisingly good. The creamy
burrata with delicately sliced prosciutto is rivaled
in taste by the salad of cooked root vegetables.
The fried chicken with honey dipping sauce
comes with killer sweet potato fries, and the
hanger steak can be cut with a fork. The pear tart
is close to sublime. Service is friendly and efficient.
12 | FORBES JUNE 13, 2017