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Michael Hartnett's assessment of Scott Bessent's Quasi QE proposal lands in two parts: success is expected, and failure is unthinkable. Expected success positions the proposal as the base case, in Hartnett's framing.
Unthinkable failure does something distinct: it removes failure from the range of outcomes worth modeling rather than assigning it a low probability. A strategist who says a policy is likely to succeed is hedging.
A strategist who says its failure is unthinkable is not. Bessent's proposal carries a name that signals proximity to conventional quantitative easing without claiming equivalence.
The quasi prefix marks a policy measure that draws on the QE toolkit while remaining separate from a standard central bank asset purchase program. Hartnett's commentary does not break down the proposal's mechanics.
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