Moneybox: Buy Lohan, Sell High

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moneybox Buy Lohan, Sell High Why is Lindsay Lohan tweeting about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy? By Annie Lowrey Posted Friday, July 1, 2011, at 11:21 AM ET Lindsay Lohan is not generally known for her views on economic policy. But something came over her on Monday night. "Have you guys seen food and gas prices lately?" she tweeted. "U.S. $ will soon be worthless if the Fed keeps printing money!" For context, a link directed Lohan's followers to the site of the National Inflation Association, a group dedicated to "preparing Americans for hyperinflation." It is, needless to say, an unconventional position on monetary policy for a Hollywood starlet--or anyone else. Yes, food and gas prices are up, but core inflation has been consistently under the Federal Reserve's target, despite trillions of dollars of quantitative and qualitative easing and record-low interest rates. But it was a view she was paid to tweet. (A little #ad hash tag tipped readers off, and the organization confirms it paid her.) The National Inflation Association was looking for some good-old, low-brow, high-buzz publicity for its campaign against current monetary policy. And maybe a few people who clicked over from Lohan's tweet would also look into a few of the penny stocks it was hawking, too. To continue reading, click here. Annie Lowrey reports on economics and business for Slate. Previously, she worked as a staff writer for the Washington Independent and on the editorial staffs of Foreign Policy and The New Yorker. Her e-mail is annie.lowrey@slate.com. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Mean Things Rich Democrats Say About Barack Obama Canada: One of the World's Leading Exporters of Hacking Coughs The Most Amazing Thing about Pixar's New Heroine Isn't That She's a Girl--It's That She Has Curly Hair	Advertisement
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