Housing prices tend to go down or at least stabilize when rates rise.
You're right.
"...contractionary monetary policy increases both real and nominal rents. A 25 basis point unexpected increase in the 30-year fixed rate mortgage raises real (nominal) rents by 1.7 (1.4) percent 12-24 months following the monetary policy shock. We find that the effect is driven primarily by a shift in household demand from the owner-occupied market to the rental market. Using transaction level data, we show that when monetary policy tightens, renters are less likely to become homeowners and the home-ownership rate drops. This then crowds in the rental market and increases rents. We find that the increase in demand for rentals is accommodated by real-estate investors who capitalize on the higher rents by buying houses from owner-occupiers and renting them in out the rental market" [1].
Going back to the top, however, despite rent being "the single largest component of" CPI, we have not seen evidence anywhere of higher rates causing higher inflation. I suppose one could argue within the constant-unemployment state the effect of rates on inflation may be muted by the above. But again, being in an economy where private investment rivals personal consumption gives the Fed a lot more leeway on the upper limits of rate rises.
[1] https://business.columbia.edu/sites/default/files-efs/citati...
China specifically does not actually want to be the reserve currency and replace the US, a good reserve currency should be fairly liquid and they like the ability to shut down capital flows into and out of China.
The other alternatives are not great; JPY has the same debt problems as USD. EUR has the same debt problems in certain member states like France, and the fiscal/banking crossborder liquidity isn’t very good and the governance still fickle and precarious. CHF is too small.
One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...
Austerity and entitlement cuts are what we've been trying since Reagan. They haven't worked. They don't work.
Raising taxes is unpopular, sure, but a) it can actually solve the problems—not just the symptoms, but make a good hard dig in at the root causes—and b) if we do it right, only a tiny fraction of the people will have to bear those increases.
Because what we need to be doing is returning tax rates to what they were like before Reagan. Before "trickle-down economics". Before all this black magic shit that has never worked, will never work, and any actual economist with a brain and a functioning heart could tell you would never work right from the start.
Yeah, I'm generally onboard for higher top tax rates, some additional higher brackets, and higher tax on investment income, ideally paired with lowered rates on the lower brackets/higher standard deduction. This would hit me, but I think we need it to avoid some of the more extreme populist futures.
But we also really need to fix spending, especially procurement, the amount of wealth that we're collectively being cheated out of via terrible government contracts is staggering, there's a large network of extremely inefficient businesses that live off of the federal govt. Also, the medical system, though my understanding is that Medicare is generally getting a better deal than private insurers.
But 99% of the time, if you say "reduce spending", everyone, on both sides of the aisle, will hear "stop helping people", which is deeply counterproductive, as well as being cruel.