Central bank miscast in spaghetti western role

Central bankers come and go, but they leave behind a trail of odd ideas about monetary policy.

Take the current obsession with lowering short-term interest rates below a certain level in a rapidly deteriorating global economy.

Last week, the European Central Bank slashed its benchmark rate by 75 basis points to 2.5 percent for a cumulative decline of 175 points in the last two months. At the press conference following the meeting, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet was asked whether there was a limit to the decline in rates. (Yes, they can't go below zero.)