Former Reagan Budget Director Despairs: ‘I Wouldn’t Touch the Stock Market With a 100-Foot Pole’
- Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:33pm by
Becket Adams
- Print »
- Email »
NEW YORK (AP/The Blaze) — He was an architect of one of the biggest tax cuts in U.S. history. He spent much of his career after politics using borrowed money to take over companies. He targeted the riskiest ones that most investors shunned — car-parts makers, textile mills.
That is one image of David Stockman, the former White House budget director who, after resigning in protest over deficit spending, made a fortune in corporate buyouts.
President Ronald Reagan with David Stockman
But spend time with him and you discover this former wunderkind of the Reagan revolution is something else — a scared investor who doesn’t own a single stock for fear of another financial crisis.
Stockman suggests you’d be crazy to hold anything but cash now, and maybe a few bars of gold. He thinks the Federal Reserve’s efforts to ease the pain from the collapse of our “national leveraged buyout” — his term for decades of reckless, debt-fueled spending by government, citizens, and companies — is pumping stock and bond markets to dangerous heights.
(Related: A Closer Look at the Jan. Jobless Numbers: Are They ‘Being Made Up?’)
Stockman may seem as exciting as an insurance actuary, but he knows how to tell a good story. And the punch line to this one is gripping. He says the numbers for the U.S. don’t add up to anything but a painful, slow-growing future.
Now 65 and gray, but still wearing his trademark owlish glasses, Stockman took time from writing his book about the financial collapse, “The Triumph of Crony Capitalism,” to talk to The Associated Press at his home in Greenwich, CT.
Here are excerpts from the AP interview [emphases added]:
Q: Why are you so down on the U.S. economy?
A: It’s become super-saturated with debt.
Typically, the private and public sectors would borrow $1.50 or $1.60 each year for every $1 of GDP growth. That was the golden constant. It had been at that ratio for 100 years save for some minor squiggles during the bottom of the Depression. By the time we got to the mid-’90s, we were borrowing $3 for every $1 of GDP growth. And by the time we got to the peak in 2006 or 2007, we were actually taking on $6 of new debt to grind out $1 of new GDP.
People were taking $25,000, $50,000 out of their home for the fourth refinancing. That’s what was keeping the economy going, creating jobs in restaurants, creating jobs in retail, creating jobs as gardeners, creating jobs as Pilates instructors that were not supportable with organic earnings and income.
It wasn’t sustainable. It wasn’t real consumption or real income. It was bubble economics.
So even the 1.6 percent (annual GDP growth in the past decade) is overstating what’s really going on in our economy.
Q: How fast can the U.S. economy grow?
A: People would say the standard is 3, 3.5 percent. I don’t even know if we could grow at 1 or 2 percent. When you have to stop borrowing at these tremendous rates, the rate of GDP expansion stops as well.
Q: But the unemployment rate is falling and companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 are making more money than ever.
A: That’s very short-term. Look at the data that really counts. The 131.7 million (jobs in November) was first achieved in February 2000. That number has gone nowhere for 12 years.
Another measure is the rate of investment in new plant and equipment. There is no sustained net investment in our economy. The rate of growth since 2000 (in what the Commerce Department calls non-residential fixed investment) has been 0.8 percent — hardly measurable.
(Non-residential fixed investment is the money put into office buildings, factories, software and other equipment.)
We’re stalled, stuck.
Q: What will 10-year Treasurys yield in a year or five years?
A: I have no guess, but I do know where it is now (a yield of about 2 percent) is totally artificial. It’s the result of massive purchases by not only the Fed but all of the other central banks of the world.
Q: What’s wrong with that?
A: It doesn’t come out of savings. It’s made up money. It’s printing press money. When the Fed buys $5 billion worth of bonds this morning, which it’s doing periodically, it simply deposits $5 billion in the bank accounts of the eight dealers they buy the bonds from.
David Stockman, Treasury Secretary Donald Regan, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors Murray Weidenbaum testify before the House Budget Committee in February 1982.
Q: And what are the consequences of that?
A: The consequences are horrendous. If you could make the world rich by having all the central banks print unlimited money, then we have been making a mistake for the last several thousand years of human history.
Q: How does it end?
A: At some point confidence is lost, and people don’t want to own the (Treasury) paper. I mean why in the world, when the inflation rate has been 2.5 percent for the last 15 years, would you want to own a five-year note today at 80 basis points (0.8 percent)?
If the central banks ever stop buying, or actually begin to reduce their totally bloated, abnormal, freakishly large balance sheets, all of these speculators are going to sell their bonds in a heartbeat.
That’s what happened in Greece.
Here’s the heart of the matter. The Fed is a patsy. It is a pathetic dependent of the big Wall Street banks, traders and hedge funds. Everything (it does) is designed to keep this rickety structure from unwinding. If you had a (former Fed Chairman) Paul Volcker running the Fed today 7/8— utterly fearless and independent and willing to scare the hell out of the market any day of the week — you wouldn’t have half, you wouldn’t have 95 percent, of the speculative positions today.
Q: You sound as if we’re facing a financial crisis like the one that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
A: Oh, far worse than Lehman. When the real margin call in the great beyond arrives, the carnage will be unimaginable.
Q: How do investors protect themselves? What about the stock market?
A: I wouldn’t touch the stock market with a 100-foot pole. It’s a dangerous place. It’s not safe for men, women or children.
Q: Do you own any shares?
A: No.
Q: But the stock market is trading cheap by some measures. It’s valued at 12.5 times expected earnings this year. The typical multiple is 15 times.
A: The typical multiple is based on a historic period when the economy could grow at a standard rate. The idea that you can capitalize this market at a rate that was safe to capitalize it in 1990 or 1970 or 1955 is a large mistake. It’s a Wall Street sales pitch.
Q: Are you in short-term Treasurys?
A: I’m just in short-term, yeah. Call it cash. I have some gold. I’m not going to take any risk.
Q: Municipal bonds?
A: No.
Q: No munis, no stocks. Wow. You’re not making any money.
A: Capital preservation is what your first, second and third priority ought to be in a system that is so jerry-built, so fragile, so exposed to major breakdown that it’s not worth what you think you might be able to earn over six months or two years or three years if they can keep the bailing wire and bubble gum holding the system together, OK? It’s not worth it.
Q: Give me your prescription to fix the economy.
A: We have to eat our broccoli for a good period of time. And that means our taxes are going to go up on everybody, not just the rich. It means that we have to stop subsidizing debt by getting a sane set of people back in charge of the Fed, getting interest rates back to some kind of level that reflects the risk of holding debt over time. I think the federal funds rate ought to be 3 percent or 4 percent. (It is zero to 0.25 percent.) I mean, that’s normal in an economy with inflation at 2 percent or 3 percent.
Q: Social Security?
A: It has to be means-tested. And Medicare needs to be means-tested. If you’re a more affluent retiree, you should have your benefits cut back, pay a higher premium for Medicare.
Q: Taxes?
A: Let the Bush tax cuts expire. Let the capital gains go back to the same rate as ordinary income. (Capital gains are taxed at 15 percent, while ordinary income is taxed at marginal rates up to 35 percent.)
Q: Why?
A: Why not? I mean, is return on capital any more virtuous than some guy who’s driving a bus all day and working hard and trying to support his family? You know, with capital gains, they give you this mythology. You’re going to encourage a bunch of more jobs to appear. No, most of capital gains goes to speculators in real estate and other assets who basically lever up companies, lever up buildings, use the current income to pay the interest and after a holding period then sell the residual, the equity, and get it taxed at 15 percent. What’s so brilliant about that?
Q: You worked for Blackstone, a financial services firm that focuses on leveraged buyouts and whose gains are taxed at 15 percent, then started your own buyout fund. Now you‘re saying there’s too much debt. You were part of that debt explosion, weren’t you?
A: Well, yeah, and maybe you can learn something from what happens over time. I was against the debt explosion in the Reagan era. I tried to fight the deficit, but I couldn’t. When I was in the private sector, I was in the leveraged buyout business. I finally learned a heck of a lot about the dangers of debt.
I’m a libertarian. If someone wants to do leveraged buyouts, more power to them. If they want to have a brothel, let them run a brothel. But it doesn’t mean that public policy ought to be biased dramatically to encourage one kind of business arrangement over another. And right now public policy and taxes and free money from the Fed are encouraging way too much debt, way too much speculation and not enough productive real investment and growth.
Q: Why are you writing a book?
A: I got so outraged by the bailouts of Wall Street in September 2008. I believed that Bush and (former Treasury Secretary Hank) Paulson were totally trashing the Reagan legacy, whatever was left, which did at least begin to resuscitate the idea of free markets and a free economy. And these characters came in and panicked and basically gave capitalism a smelly name and they made it impossible to have fiscal discipline going forward. If you’re going to bail out Wall Street, what aren’t you going to bail out? So that started my re-engagement, let’s say, in the policy debate.
Q: Are you hopeful?
A: No.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Popular Stories
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 690 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 482 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 375 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 336 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 323 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 310 Comments- Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More
- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 323 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 220 Comments- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 148 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 310 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (171)
Micmac
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:12pmKool-Aid – Washington’s drink of choice.
NoBama 2012
Report Post »tomloy
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:11pmHonesty is a rare quality. I also wouldn’t touch the stock market with a 10 foot pole. With the economy in a depression, it should NOT be going up.
Report Post »Freedom from liberals
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:29pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrXTQROViec
Report Post »You have to see this video.. Barrack Obama is the pied piper, follow me.. This is incredibly hilarious
Unix
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 6:36pmMy opionion, is just that, but I’ve been calling for the total collapse of this economy for more than a few years now…I called DOW 6000 for March 2009 and it went to 6500 or thereabouts. So my prowess is real. Here I say this, DOW 5000 by spring 2013 and full scale anarchy between the spring and next spring. OWS is the tip of the communist spear, and they have indoctrinated millions of our youth to believe capitalism is bad…what they fail to realize is, we are really not capitalist now. We are quasi-socialist now, have been for the past 100 years. We have croney captitalism, socialism and a oligarchy right now. We are headed for STAGFLATION, and civil war, maybe even world war in the not too distant future. I have no timing for that, but it is coming soon, and my warnings here have been frequent and often. Glenn is correct in much that he speaks, but to write off the Obama Birth Cert fraud and laugh at us is a mistake. A huge fraud is being perpetuated on America and we will find ourselves in FEMA camps or dead if we dont right the ship. I hate to say all of this, but our TOTAL DEBT is $177 TRILLION, who is going to pay that off? NOONE is, you can tax every American 100% and not put a dent in that debt, so it is just a matter of time before we default. Thank ALL politicians going back 100 years to present for this debacle…all sides have participated, even YOU participated, you just did not know it.
Stand tall and take your medicine people, God Bless.
Report Post »GO-FOR-LIBERTY
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 7:38pmSaw this on another site~~American Dreams = Obamas Nightmares~~
Report Post »dimonds2000
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 10:41pmHelps change the madness by replacing Obama and his DNC chair Debiie Wasserman!
Report Post »http://www.FireDebbie.com Karen Harrington for Congress!
encinom
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 11:28pmFirst look at the track record of this “expert” :
Stockman and his partners raised $1.3 billion of equity from institutional and other investors. With Stockman’s guidance, Heartland used a contrarian investment strategy, buying controlling interests in companies operating in sectors of the U.S. economy that were attracting the least amount of new equity: auto parts and textiles. With the help of about $9 billion in Wall Street debt financing, Heartland completed more than 20 transactions in less than 2 years to create four portfolio companies: Springs Industries, Metaldyne, Collins & Aikman, and TriMas. Several major investments performed very poorly, however. Collins & Aikman filed for bankruptcy during 2005 and when Heartland sold Metaldyne to Asahi Tec Corp. during 2006, Heartland lost most of the $340 million-plus of equity it had invested in the business.
Everything this guy touches turns to pooh, basically if he says get out of the market run towards it.
Report Post »Libertarian
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 12:11amWait fellas, he is a libertarian. Libertarians are wacky isolationists.
The only natural Republican response to a Bush and then an Obama presidency, is to elect an individual who lost to the guy that lost to Obama.
Great strategy.
Report Post »cuinsong
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 12:53amMakes me wonder If the end is near like the song says?
Report Post »“The End Times” http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_10381143
Rockyspoon
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 2:09amIt is only going up because there’s no place to put $billions! Gold and silver are considered too high; real estate has not hit bottom yet (or farm land is so expensive there’s no way to recoup the investment). The allure pitched by the president has people thinking this economic crisis is over, so they’re dumping their money into stocks rather than watch it waste away from quantitative easements by the Fed.
What goes up comes down. What goes way up goes way down. That’s the future of this stock market. $Trillions will be lost.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 2:39amThe Market is operating upon… past experience… and rejecting Reality and Future Out-comes!
Report Post »MYHEROISRON
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 5:41amAgain, a former bureaucrat talking about more taxes when they should be closing down government waste, fraud and abuse! Coupled with fraud would be government CORRUPTION!!!! Hell, I can hardly make ends meet becuase of the corruption in our country! Why should I pay more in taxes just to feed a corrupt system? Oh, because they will throw me in jail? Come and get me …
Report Post »old white guy
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 8:37amtoloy.. you are right the market should not be going up. the phoney money being printed and put in the maklet is the only reason it is going up. the unemployment rate is still over 16% and most industries are not increasing production. regular people are still cutting back. if you buy shares of a company that produces a product only in the u.s. for the u.s. you are investing in a stagnant company. these companies do not need more employees.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 10:27amI’ve been saying this for at least 4 years. The stock market has turned into an equity (cash) sieve.
It “IS” straining out the wealth of Americans and other investors and redistributing it. You want to build personal wealth? Buy things of intrinsic value. Things that hold value over time. Quality property (will still go down), but will always be in demand. Gold. Silver. etc.
I’m NOT a financial adviser. I’m a victim. Just like every body else who has “invested” (yeah, right) in the markets. Brokers only care that you DO invest. They make their money both ways. Affording an “actively” managed account (portfolio) for most Americans isn’t possible. Especially now. So you are of little concern to “wall street.”
Brokers spend more on lunch over a month than most Americans can invest in their life. Of course, that‘s including the ’blow‘ and assorted other ’goodies‘ you and I can’t get with a gun or risking prison.
Stay out of the markets. The media makes it look sexy and lucrative. But it WILL wipe you out. With malice afore thought.
Report Post »michael48
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 11:55aminsanom=meaningless…next
Report Post »KENYAN_WRECKING_BALL
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 5:11pmI read to the part where he started babbling about raising taxes on everyone. Not a word about a balanced budget, reducing government spending or eliminating useless alphabet agencies like DOE,DOE,EPA,NEA,HHS etc. etc. Just another government shill.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 5:49pm@Ruler4You
Report Post »I have not used a broker for years, doing much better without one. I use an online account and make my own decisions, and have done quite well. If one doesn’t have the time or inclination, they should stay out of the market. For the most part, I invest for dividends in fairly low beta stocks like ATT, Verizon, etc. Sometimes, I go for the big gains like Apple which has done like up 45% in less than a year. Having said that, I see the world a lot like Stockman and most of the commenters here. It is just a matter of when.
watchtheotherhand
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 7:43pmI could not disagree more with this dude. The stock market may well go down but to say raising taxes is the answer? Give me a break. Eliminate the waste and corruption first. Till then not another penny!
Report Post »carbonyes
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 11:51pmStand by for a ram people, for it is surely coming, and there will be absolutely nothing pretty about it. The more appropriate term might well be horrendous.
Jumping ship now , while you can, will save you a real shellacking, and an abundance of grief.
Report Post »Captain Crunch
Posted on March 5, 2012 at 2:47am@dimonds2000
Excellent link. Quite a shocking reminder. Wonder what Michelle says?
Report Post »TeaPartyPatriot
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:05pmBernanke warns lawmakers nation headed for ‘massive fiscal cliff’…
…and the reckless, out-of-control, treasonous, irresponsible bailout bernanke is driving the bus that’s headed off the cliff. bailout bernanke’s artificially manipulated zero interest rates have devalued the dollar (which is a major reason for the oil price increase), and have created the current equity and commodity bubbles plus future inflation that hurt the middle class and the poor and thwart overall economic progress.
With the right President and Congress elected in Nov, bailout bernanke will be FIRED and the feckless fed will be stopped from creating destructive economic bubbles by manipulating interest rates contrary to the free market and by printing mega-tons of money to give to their BIG BANK and Wall Street pals at zero interest (i.e., FREE).
Report Post »DoubleThrowDown
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 6:08pmBernanke would be in prison if he didn’t work for the government.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 8:31pmwhich candidate do you think has the guts to fire bernake? i can only think of one
Report Post »WakingSheep
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 10:30amYep, only one candidate would do that.
Even hear the others mention the FED? EVER?
Negative…… actually Romney likes the FED. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FtzSmlkncM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QubaQ3Xq0M0
But he just looks Presidential……. Riiiiiiight?…..
Report Post »carbonyes
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 11:57pmDOUBLETHROWDOWN, yes indeed Bernacke would be in prison if he did not work for the government, and he may well be one of the ones scurrying to find a hiding place to avoid the mob looking for his hind end, when the bottom falls out.
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:55pmI just don‘t understand why the Repubs don’t put this information in simple terms for MSAmerica and explain how NoBama is destroying the economy. Well, I guess because they are to blame also. Washington needs to be totally rebooted.
NoBama 2012
Report Post »Mateytwo Barreett
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:52pmI believe the word that escapes you is “collusion”. Either that or there will be some interesting stories of retribution, told around the campfires of future generations. God willing.
Report Post »DoubleThrowDown
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:57pmThe republicans aren’t going to do anything about this problem, cause when the system collapses the party in power will be the ones that stay in power. I can see a day when our own military will turn their guns on the citizens and declare permanent marshal law and unwarranted searches and seizures of property and wealth will be the new norm. People are starting to wake up but I feel that the generations of the past sold their souls and their children’s freedom to lying politicians, and the repubs are just more lying politicians that will continue to keep us on the same path.
Report Post »cuinsong
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 12:47amI agree and that is why I write this song called “What’s Wrong With This Song” http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_9134749
Report Post »kevinUA
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:46pm“ i own some gold” if he’s not in the stock market you know he has a good amount of gold and silver. and guns if hes wise.
Report Post »Pallamus
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:44pmDamn! It all seems like a game of Civilization II and V!
Report Post »socialism.rocks
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:44pmthe thing the crapitalists are not telling you is they did shortsell the euro-zone collapsing it on purpose….the euro will keep collapsing till they default…and guess who owns the bonds “american banks” they will not pay us back for the mess capitalists caused
the asian bloc russia china are working with spain and italy food for energry and goods which the east really needs
the collapse of the dollar is going to happen
only way they could stop the dollar from collapsing is by rounding up all hedge fund managers and bankers who purposely collapsed the system and throwing them in the deepest darkest prison they can find but “they will not do it”
“no trust in our system will make it collapse”
keep watching fox news (o= saying socialism is the cause “the world knows its the capitalist corruption”
its going to be a wonderful ride….
Report Post »skippy6
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:51pmSocialism also makes people vanish…until they find the mass graves…..
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:59pmDidn’t know that estrogen had a reaction like this. Wish I could find a commie that knew how to form an argument without going off the non-intellectual deep end. Study history and economics and maybe you’ll get out of the useful idiot catagory.
NoBama 2012
Report Post »JackSprat
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:00pmWhat planet are you from? You know nothing, the free market has always been the salvation of economies. Socialism breeds black markets because of government induce shortages. The government will not be happy until it has complete control over human behavior. What kind of world is that?
Report Post »BehindBlueEyes
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:09pmSee you on the battle field. Enjoy your ride.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:25pmSocialism is working wonders for Greece isn’t it you idiot? The U.S has crony capitalism and it should fail,we need to have true capitalism with no government intervention ie bailouts and the government picking winners and losers.Let the free market determine if a company fails or succeeds.
Report Post »socialism.rocks
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:50pmskippy the puritans pilgrims were the inventers of liberalism socialism~
Report Post »you dont even know american history let alone globaly history… behind every GENOCIDE the funds came from “Crapitalists”
what you can learn from reading historical-books
keep listening to glenny boy and rush libaugh-
because those who cloak themselves in false patriotism and religion are the spawn of satan~!
there is a big difference between the children of light and children of darkness-those who do gods work and those who use gods works to control…….
but you are a typical republican-
DoubleThrowDown
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 6:06pmIf socialism is so great there are plenty of socialist countries that would love to have you there to help out and take your wages and give to their boujawse class.
Report Post »skippy6
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 6:39pmYou would have been the first to been rounded up and put in the Wilson/FDR camp back in the good ole days…..Or you may have been one of the little brown shirts to squeal on and round up the Anti Americans…. I just can’t read your mind …Do you remember Americanism for the common good?? Is that what you want???
Report Post »amuzed_right_guy
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 7:16pmI think you have your head tucked so far up your posterior cavity, pal, you have kind of lost yerself up there somewhere in colon underworld-land. Socialism sucks. Socialists are a virulant form of satanic spawn who use the power of government to steal other peoples’ money whereby they enrich themselves and maintain control over the useful idiots they lull into some false sense of piety over shared poverty and misery. Socialists have a peculiar form of “love of money” that the bible warns us about. They pretend to eschew money, but it is all they talk about and their goal is to make sure no one has more than they do. They pretend to be for the common, ordinnary, “little buy” (Oh yearh, “the 99% -must of heard that some where) but see to it that anyone who disagrees with their vision of a “pure world” “disappear”. Not only does socialism suck, socialism has killed more people in the last century than all the other “isms” combined (the poor, unfortunate saps stood in the way of “progress”). Mr. Socialism.Rocks here may be all excited about the “coming revolution” he sees rolling towards America, but sane patriots had better bone up on the kind of society “socialists” want to build before getting overly excited about sharing their viision for the future. Hold unto your guns, grab hold of your God, and hang unto your religion, fellow Americans, we’re going to need all of these to survive the onslought of socialists now seeking to “transform” America.
Report Post »Freedom from liberals
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 8:35pmSocialism Rocks;
I don’t know if I have ever seen a more ignorant human being in my life. When you post and ever want to win an argument back it up with some facts, instead of just foaming at the mouth.
Here’s some facts for you
3 largest genocies from 1900-200
Mao Tse Tung (China 1958-1961, and 66-69; Tibet 1949-1950; 49 to 78 million people
This is one of Anita Dunn’s heroes, Obama’s former press secretary. She sure knows how to pick them, or should I say Obama sure knows how to pic em.
Josef Stalin (USSR 1932-1939 23 million people. (the purges and the Ukraine star
vation)
Adolf Hitler 1939-1945; 11 to 17 million people (concentration camps for Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, Soviet POW’s and some innocent Germans.)
Yep, genocide is just riddled with capitalists. You are a dipstick and when you try to shove the above garbage on the American people, we will all be looking for you.
Report Post »Freedom from liberals
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 8:40pmAmused;
Report Post »I’ll be riding shotgun with ya
1TrueOne55
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 8:46pmThat‘s what Obama’s puppet master did to economies in the 90′s to collapse them and then restart them in the mold of his ideology. The Open Society’s “NEW WORLD ORDER” is on the agenda for the 21st century and our free market economy stands in Soros’s way so he is working on collapsing it through the Fed and high unemployment.
Report Post »socialism.rocks
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 9:14pmFreedom from liberals << moron those genocides in russia china were FUNDED BY CAPITALISTS-
republicans are so retarded they dont know how to pick up a history book~
the puritans pilgrims were all socialists… THE USA WAS SOCIALISTS~ FOR ITS FIRST TWO HUNDRED YEARS… CAPITALISM IS NOT EVEN THE LAST HUNDRED AND TWENTY~
republicans are utterly retarded and i cant wait-
cause you guys are a dying breed- when the babyboomers are gone so is the republican party for good~
demographics= win for us
Report Post »demographics for republicans= death
GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 10:43pmGuys, what are you doing trying to lecture this guy?…what are you doing ruining this precious jewel of clear, crystal and pure ignorance?
Report Post »Fourthhorseman
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 10:45pmQuit listening to this fool. She/he/it is doing exactly what they always do: creating a distraction. Stick to the topic and article. Don’t worry about her, she’ll be the first to be killed and eaten.
Report Post »eagle275
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 2:27amyeah, that‘s what the commies don’t realize – they’ll be taking dirt naps with the rest of us.
Report Post »Bill Burns
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:43pmO wants to get past the election; that’s it. The destruction he has done to our grandchildren and children will last 50 yrs. But those post tenure speeches at $250,000 a pop will always be around for The King of Food Stamps, Deficits, Deception, Divisiveness and Welfare.
Report Post »applehill
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:27pmSo you all should buy gold… From Gold Line… Because Glenn wants to get paid.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:26pmGeeze. If he is that pessimistic, the market can always be shorted. Timing is everything. Never expected Greece to hang on for so long. Never expected the Fed would buy our debt for so long. Never expected the market to get to 13,000. Still have made a lot of money going in and out of the market. No way am I going the fully invested route. We are living on confidence, and no one knows when that will collapse or what the catalyst will be.
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:03pmAnd it will happen fast – no time to re-position – think ‘29. Why he is liquid.
NoBama 2012
Report Post »Anonymouse.
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:25pmStockman makes some very valid points that have merit, but his recommendations are tinged with political poison. Politicians would have a difficult time convincing the public to “eat their broccoli.”
Off topic, but has anyone wondered about Andrew Breitbart‘s sudden death and then Beck’s show/GBTV being shut down yesterday due to some type of technical problem? Is someone sending a message or is this just coincidental?
http://soundcloud.com/beckisnuts/03-glennis-the-menace
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:03pmI like broccoli, properly steamed to perfection, or raw in salads. Stockman, not so much (just to stay on topic).
Report Post »Anonymouse.
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 10:14amObama needs to go. That’ll be a start back in the right direction.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75412906@N05/6779860284/in/photostream
Report Post »kapnkd
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:23pmI now fear the worst is coming sooner than later.
I figured things would go South with OWS in late summer or early fall when Obozocommie realizes he is losing badly.
Given this report, I now fear the economic collapse will supersede the occupiers attempts to destroy the USA!
Report Post »Wigglesworth
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:21pmThe 15% rate on capital gains made me rich, but now I don’t think other people should get it. Ok
Report Post »jakartaman
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:16pmOf course no of this is new but i am glad he is lending his voice to the choir.
The sad part is that the current policy makers are gutless (Barry, Gunthier, Ben etc) and are playing politics with the future of America. Stop printing – stop kicking the can start a REAL energy policy – not this imaginary green crap. Tell the world to get off our gravy train, stop handouts to people who do not work. put in a real enforceable illegal immigration policy. close the border, pull troops out of the middle east, Europe, Japan, Philippines etc.
Sorry for the rant!!
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:23pmi think the car is speeding to the edge of the cliff…well probably over the cliff already. Its just a matter of time before it falls. I dont think there is anything that can possibly be done now outside of shutting down the Federal Government completely except for the military. No welfare, no regulations, no federal police force or FBI, no EPA, FDA, USDA or any other agency would survive. The free markets could then reign and we would see a turn around after a few years of riots and big cities burnt to the ground…
Report Post »jakartaman
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:31pmBaddoggy,
You maybe right – I don’t give a crap about me
Report Post »IT’s my sons and daughter and my grandchildren that I care about and want to protect.
1Sonofliberty
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:58pmThelma and Louise. I’m with ya on the children aspect. I would just be excited to see the next decade if I was single with no kids. Now I have to teach them how to survive.
Report Post »RBSWORLD
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 4:32amJAKARTAMAN,
Report Post »If you want to save your children and Grandchildren, then you had best be taking them before GOD. GOD “is” the last and only hope for you and your famlies Salvation!!
DIVINEPROVIDENCE1776
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:16pmFood, clothing, shelter, guns, Bible, gold, silver, seeds, bartering products i.e alcohol, cigarettes, sugar, silver bullion coins, alternative cooking source i.e wood stove, solar oven etc, canning, survival gear, bug out bag. Grow your own food. Biochemical/Nuclear suit and masks. Time to go back to the pioneering days folks 21st Century style and be around like minded people!
Report Post »Ookspay
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:00pmIt’s a good thing we keep the youth busy with Ipods and video games. If they knew that we have sold them into slavery they might be very upset…
Report Post »justangry
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:11pmKeep the faith, bro. Seems the youth are waking up quicker than us old timers.
Report Post »mjs_pa
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:59pmromney lies and freedom dies…..Romney to Obama, 2009: Embrace the Individual Mandate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsX0JB6jsBg&feature=youtu.be
Report Post »jakartaman
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:26pmGo away troll – you must be a Union dope against Romney too
Report Post »This is about the economy – Romney is the only one who has ran anything in the real world and created jobs
The others have not run a Kool-aid stand- just spent a lot of time in DC yapping
KidCharlemagne
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 6:50pmjakartaman
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:26pm
Go away troll – you must be a Union dope against Romney too
This is about the economy – Romney is the only one who has ran anything in the real world and created jobs
==================================
“In a long-forgotten tape from the 2002 Massachusetts governor’s race obtained by ABC News, Mitt Romney is seen touting his Washington connections and his ability to get millions of taxpayer dollars from the federal government.
“I am big believer in getting money where the money is,” Romney says on the video, “The money is in Washington.”
The video, which was surreptitiously shot by Democratic opponents of Romney on Oct. 16, 2002, shows him addressing a group called the New Bedford Industrial Foundation. The Power Point presentation he uses lists ways to improve economic development in Massachusetts, including “boost federal involvement.”
“I want to go after every grant, every project, every department in Washington to assure that we are taking advantage of economic development opportunities,” Romney tells the group.”
Report Post »http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/exclusive-02-romney-touted-d-c-connections-federal-110029680–abc-news.html
Vechorik
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 10:06amRomney lost to McCain.
Report Post »McCain lost to Obama.
See a pattern developing?
gr8t2bfree
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:57pmPathetic, isn’t it! Lead will be a precious metal some day!
Report Post »kapnkd
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:19pmHeh heh!!! …Don’t forget brass too!!
Report Post »BlackCrow
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:55pmWith the economy running on fiat currency backed by nothing but debt since 1972 (the last issue of half dollars with 40% silver content) it is surprising the economy has yet to collapse.
Report Post »Acesup
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:55pmWow! Scary stuff from a guy who knows his stuff and at this point in his life does not care about burning some bridges. I just love reading Krugman’s editorials every week where he is a cheerleader for more borrowing and deficit spending.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:18pmOnly scary if you arent prepared…
Report Post »Utahcatholic
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 9:55pm@baddoggy,
“only scary if you aren‘t prepared’……
I was preparing at a gun show today in Sandy, UT picking up an additional fine home defense weapon and some additional ammo…… it was absolutely mobbed. I thought the last show I attended in January was crowded but today was over the top. Could hardly navigate through the aisles and there was at least a 1/2 hour wait to complete a purchase due to the volume of buyers.
US Senator Orrin Hatch was there “glad handing” his way through the crowd. He’s taller and skinnier than I thought from TV. Snow white hair and very tan(fake?)….looked like it could have been make-up for a TV appearance. He’s supposedly a good conservative but I have my doubts(RINO?). They announced over the PA when he was leaving and he only got luke warm applause.
Report Post »mcmeador
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:55pmSince when do libertarians favor tax increases?
Report Post »AxelPhantom
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:24pmIt has nothing to do with Libertarianism, it has to do with common sense if you want to take down the principle not just meet the interest payments.
A balanced budget is a good start but cannot be the end all we need to have a “surplus”. Think of it in terms of your own budget. If you are carrying a large amount of debt with fluctuating interest (debt roll over in terms of the government) and there is nowhere for the interest rates to go but up, in order to pay down your debt, you will have to find a way to increase revenue in order to not only pay off the rise in interest but the principle as well.
His stance is that the economy will not grow enough (increase in income) in the next decade or so no matter what is done, to cover the increases in the costs and thus in addition to cutting spending we need to also raise taxes in order to pay down the principle on the debt
Report Post ».
In your own life you can sell your expensive house, stop eating out and sell your expensive car, but you cannot be homeless, stop eating all together and still need some way to get to work (or you will lose your job) as going that far to pay off debt would be self-defeating in the end.
portague
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 5:32pmincreased taxes do not autamatically=more revenue. Some taxes actually generate more revenuew when lowered to an extent. Obviously 0=0 but to high has the same problem. High taxes incurages those who can afford to move wich are those who pay the highest % of the revenue to leave. Wich ends up the tax generating less revenue then predicted and sense they left all other tax sources they were paying goes away as well. Tax changes need to happen but just raising them will not fix it and neither will adding new ones.
Report Post »AxelPhantom
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 6:39pmSo keep the taxes in the Laffer curve.
Report Post »portague
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 7:03pmAccording the so called experts were around that sweet spot anyways. The only way to get more would be to clean the tax code so everyone pays something. To many pay 0 income tax (47-50%)and then there are some who not only pay 0 at the end of the year but get back money that belongs to some one else (tax based wealth redistribution). To do that would be a tax hike on those who are paying 0 to due that it is political suicide. That same problem also exists in our corprate tax as well.
What we say we pay on paper is no where near what we pay after deductions. For the income tax after deductions most pay around 11% anyways. Wich brings the point of a flat tax no deduction or anything else leaving a 10-12% flat tax. Same thing could be said about our corprate tax as well. Simplifing the tax code to the effective rate would make more money due to significantly less people and corparations paying 0. The problem is it wont fly no one wants to eat that. Also the idea of throwing whole tax system out and finding a way to make sure everyone pays and no one games the system is attractive as well. We cant stop gaming but we can make sure everyone contributes.
Report Post »AxelPhantom
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 1:15amPortague,
Agreed. We definately need to have more people with skin in the game.
Report Post »mcmeador
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 11:57amI understand what he’s saying. I have just never heard a self-described libertarian supporting an increase in taxes…or rather taxes at all.
Report Post »Razorhunters
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:51pmfollow the money …
made a pant load off the green energy scams.
just waited for barry to speak , unveil his transfer of wealth…
buy stock, wait for it to go up…sell few days later.
look at the defense industries and private security.
excellent choices for profit.
the market will fall , it is being propped up by bs and stolen wealth.
Report Post »bernie and his magic presses.
criminal govt and bankers.
Razorhunters
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:58pmand oil, gold, of course…
oil is about to go insane.
Report Post »FToth84
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:49pmQ: Are you hopeful?
A: No.
Enough Said!!
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:44pmOne more warning for the coming collapse of the national economy – unless things change soon, especially with the eviction of Obama from the POTUS position by voting or impeachment.
Report Post »Razorhunters
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:53pmjust arrest the criminal fraud…no need to impeach or vote.
Report Post »perp walk .
Razorhunters
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:55pmme and mine enjoy viewing your cat art…thanks.
Report Post »Grasshopper42
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:44pmDuh, God, gold and guns.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 3:45pmIndeed – we are on the edge of the abyss, still have a short window of time to turn away and yet DC keeps pushing for all it’s worth into destruction – they have no concept of the total annhilation they are in the process of unleashing.
Report Post »AmericanStrega
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:12pmSnow,
Yes they do. They know exactly what they’re doing. It’s all part of the plan, you know?
Report Post »justangry
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:16pmOne person in DC knows. He’s been saying it for 30 years, but you’re more worried about a pissant country we could wipe off the map in minutes if we needed to.
Report Post »jas0707
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:16pmOh, I believe Obama knows exactly what he is doing. Remember, he has no love for this Nation.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:46pm@American – let me clarify a bit as I should have in my post: the annhilation they are unleashing will be one that can consume them fully as well. When this system goes down, there is no guarantee who will survive, let alone emerge as the winner…in chaos and anarchy, nothing is certain until order is restored.
Remember that the progressives and radicals are united for now by their goal of destroying the Republic; what will emerge when they turn on each other and the patriots of the US stand against them as well?
Report Post »cloudsofwar
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:52pm@ snow…. it’s part of their plan for TRANSFORMATION. they have to destroy first then rebuild a new communist country with Obama as dear leader. just listen to Obamas wife talk about changing our History, our comfort zone, Obama wont let you go back ect ect. the trouble is nobody understood what she was talking about at least the ones who voted for this evil man. and he plans to spend and borrow much more. WE HAVE TO GET RID OF HIM and HIS ADMIN.
Report Post »Archstone
Posted on March 3, 2012 at 7:04pmRemember about a year ago how all the suppliers of Emergency Food Storage were out of stock
Report Post »for a couple of months because of a ‘large buyer’ was buying up all of their supplies? Everything
they could make and ship in a two month period went to one buyer. That was your government.
They are stocked up and ready to hit the bunkers when the 5hit hits the fan. Oh, and they bought
all that food with – you guessed it – OUR MONEY!!
mscafeen
Posted on March 4, 2012 at 2:11amARCHSTONE, how do you know this? I actually find this comment very frightening.
Report Post »TurboCat
Posted on March 5, 2012 at 2:13amEric Holder would be in prison if he did not work for O-blame-a
Report Post »