Thirty Percent of Investors Concerned About Rising National Debt

In this week’s Sentiment Survey special question, we asked AAII members what their opinion is of the current monetary actions being taken by the Federal Reserve. Two out of five respondents (40%) say that the current monetary actions being taken by the Fed are appropriate and necessary to stabilize the economy.

This compares to 30% of respondents who express their concerns about the rising level of the national debt. Many respondents under this category say that the excessive printing of money is devaluing the dollar and could cause hyperinflation. An additional 17% of respondents say that the Fed has been successful in stabilizing the economy in the short term, but they are concerned about the longer-term consequences that will likely occur.

Here is a sampling of the responses:

• “Helpful to the economy as were the short-term fiscal actions but we need some complementary longer-term fiscal actions like infrastructure investment and state and local government support to dig ourselves out of the unemployment hole the coronavirus pandemic continues to dig for us.”
• “Artificially propping up the stock market and severely devaluing the U.S. dollar.”
• “I’m really nervous about what the Fed is doing. So far, it has helped the economy and the stock market. One has to wonder if there are consequences down the road. Modern monetary theory (MMT) proponents will say it doesn’t matter because we can monetize our debt. I say it doesn’t matter until it does.”
• “If the Fed is going to print money, I feel it could be deployed better. For instance, less money to the stock market and more money for infrastructure, education, health care and other things that will make our economy healthier.”
• “The Fed is trying to keep the economy from plummeting into a depression. It’s hopeful that fiscal measures will help out.”

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