Virtually everyone agrees that the Fed's easy-money policies have directly contributed to a huge rebound in stocks and housing prices. In fact, aggregate household net worth has increased by $26 trillion to $82 trillion (an all-time high) since the first quarter of 2009. But the Fed's goal was not simply to make rich people more rich (which they did). Rather, they are operating under the misguided assumption that higher asset prices will, by some miracle of trickle-down economics, lead to plentiful jobs and higher incomes for the masses.
The Fed's current policy mistakes are eerily reminiscent of the ones made by Chairman Greenspan in the early 2000s. Following the implosion of technology stocks in 2000-2001, Greenspan kept the fed-funds rate at 2 percent or lower for the following three years. Low interest rates, along with deterioration in mortgage underwriting standards, led to huge increases in housing prices. We all know how that turned out.
Read MoreDovish Fed pushes back on rate-hike speculation
The only thing that makes it worse this time is that Chairman Bernanke (and now Chair Yellen) are making no attempt to veil this strategy. They have come right out and told us (fairly regularly) that they are targeting stock prices as a way to generate better economic growth. We found those comments troublesome then, and we still find them troublesome today. In our view, the Fed has no business influencing stock prices.
So now we find ourselves in the familiar position of advocating for an end to quantitative easing while still believing that the Fed may not follow through with its plan to end QE by the end of the year. Why?
Because the Fed has conditioned investors to expect action following any and all episodes of stock volatility. Ebbs and flows in stock prices (i.e., volatility) are supposed to be the inevitable trade-off for the high relative returns that equities provide. However, each minor dip in stock prices over the past few years has been followed by reassurances by the Fed that they stand by to offer support. At this point, they need not even give us the verbal reassurance anymore. Investors just expect that the Fed will be there if and when prices fall too much.
Read MoreMy analysis points to sooner Fed rate hike: Krueger