When Dr. Doom speaks, we should listen

Globe and Mail ^ | 07/29/08 | JOHN HEINZL

[TigerLikesRooster]

When Dr. Doom speaks, we should listen

JOHN HEINZL

jheinzl@globeandmail.com

E-mail John Heinzl | Read Bio | Latest Columns July 29, 2008

When CNBC or Fox needs a guest who can be counted on to deliver a thoroughly gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy, they call on "Dr. Doom."

To say Peter Schiff is bearish is like saying Tiger Woods is an okay golfer, or China has a small problem with air quality. The president of Connecticut-based Euro Pacific Capital Inc. is so pessimistic about the U.S. economy that he lives in a rented house and keeps the vast majority of his and his clients' money outside the country, a healthy chunk of it in gold and energy stocks.

"America is finished. We are going to destroy this country. Our economy is just going to unravel," he told me yesterday. "The question is how much money is the world going to lose before it writes us off?"

Apocalyptic forecasts are a dime a dozen these days, so why should anyone pay attention to Mr. Schiff? Because his past predictions have proved uncannily accurate.

[kcm.org]

lol! you still no name names...quit deluding yourself and admit Buffet-line, G. Sore@ss, and t-Bone Pickens run the show and opening the door for a Muslim Pres....

[dennisw]

No government ever pays it’s debts. Brace yourself for monumental inflation.

At most 10%
The only reason being world markets render instant judgments these days. It's not like the 1930's with Germany

And a country like Zimbabwe is off the economic grid so does nor count. Modern industrial nations have too many interconnecting financial markets for the Fed or any USG entity to get away with inflation over 10% and the threshold is probably more like 6%

[dennisw]

Schifff...... ping

[Cringing Negativism Network]

The last time we tried it, we actually had an industrial base.

We don’t now. We don’t make anything anymore. We stopped inventing stuff. We’ve become nothing but a market.

We’ve set up America to spend what money we have. Then spend what money we can borrow.

Then collapse.

“Free traders” have given our factories away. GIVEN THEM AWAY. And the manufacturing jobs those factories support. And just about everything else.

To COMMUNISTS.

[Matchett-PI]

I agree.

Welcome to Free Republic.

[STD]

Except, we have another problem thats due to collide with our country like nothing before. The Houston TX and the Louisianna petrochemical coast is going to be the next enormous target of Iran using proxies like Hamas, the Hezbullies and Al Queda.

Our entire nation is overdue for a cleaning. Until, we elect this racist dunce with criminal hate whitey sentiments the proxies won't do anything scary to make things look bad in the ME before the election. Nothing to cause enough fear that the nation would be inclined to elect a former naval aviator. Watch the news and see if we don't enjoy a phoney war.

[101voodoo]

Well certainly they can try to do this but it is probably not as easy as you may think. I’m sure this sort of thing has been thought of and “war gamed”

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen but I’m not sure what the ragheads would gain by doing as you suggest, besides the destruction of a couple of their own nations.

[an amused spectator]

Schiff sees true inflation at 10-12 percent, about what I've been figuring.

He says the government doesn't have the stones to raise taxes, but I believe that's because the rebellion would start when people realized that true socialism had arrived, and they were working till October to fuel the greedy, bloody maw of the government.

He says that the most prudent savers will see their investments gutted.

People are going to be pissed when they realize the government has stolen their retirements through inflation - and I certainly intend to pour gasoline on that fire with plenty winks and nudges.

[TigerLikesRooster]

you will see the cash reserves of all nations literally pour into the dollar as they seek safety in the only nation that has any chance of being left standing in any possible conflagration of epic proportions.

They will all run to U.S. market and be pancaked. Big money may all die in U.S. market. U.S. will drag others into economic disaster, and many other countries may fare worse than U.S. That does not mean that U.S. will be necessarily left standing. We could all go down. The difference would be whether it can be blown into fine bits or big chunks.

[TigerLikesRooster]

We still have monstrous debts. How are we going to get rid of it in a short time span without long-term damage?

[101voodoo]

You may be right but the point I was making is that the world turning it’s back on America anytime in the foreseeable future will not happen.

It doesn’t matter whether a Nation or Nations despise us or love us since Nations don’t share friendships they share interests. As long as it is in the best interest of a nation to deal with us they will do so and when it becomes a disadvantage they will not.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

The president of Connecticut-based Euro Pacific Capital Inc. is so pessimistic about the U.S. economy that he lives in a rented house...

---

Would only point out that if Dr. Doom is convinced that the currency is about to collapse it seems he might have bought a house with a 30 year mortgage and then most of his payment stream would be in the form of worthless dollars. Hyperinflation rewards debtors and penalizes creditors. He essentially could lock in a low interest rate now against the time when (if his predictions come true) interest rates as well as rents are sure to skyrocket.

[KantianBurke]

“Everything’s fine as long as an R is in the White House. Five minutes after a D gets in, everyone will switch opinions.”

Mega bump. Most could care less about this country or principles. Their sole fixation is on the GOP electoral viability.