Time Magazine's Justin Fox wrote a rather condescending piece about Euro Pacific Capital's Peter Schiff, basically calling him a has-been, and saying his TV appearances are becoming fewer and farther in between because "he hasn't changed his tune."
Ilana Mercer however, gives us the real reason Schiff isn't getting the coverage:
I mean, on the one hand, Fox concedes that Schiff's investments have proven prudent. But on the other hand, he insists that Schiff got to bask only briefly "in the glory of his spectacular call," because he has fallen out of grace with the menagerie of morons on mainstream media.
As though you "bask in the glory of [your] spectacular call" only so long as you're invited on the Keynesian "Kudlow and Cretins" show. Perhaps saving your clients a bundle and safeguarding your own assets is enough to make an honest man "bask.
In another smack-down, Thomas Sowell thoroughly demolishes Colin Powell's statist assertion that the American people want higher taxes:
Just days after Colin Powell informed us that the American people were willing to pay higher taxes in order to get government services- and that Republicans therefore needed to stop their opposition to taxes- California voters resoundingly defeated a bill to raise taxes in order to pay for the many government services in that liberal state.
On a side note, since conservatives are looking for an "intellectual," look no further than Thomas Sowell. The man is brilliant! I just finished reading his book "Black Rednecks and White Liberals," and it's a fascinating, detailed walk through history every American should read! Following it up, I just started reading his book "The Vision of the Annointed : Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy."
"Without a sense of the tragedy of the human condition, and of the painful tradeoffs implied by inherent constraints, the anointed are free to believe that the unhappiness they observe and the anomalies they encounter are due to the public's not being as wise or virtuous as themselves. . . . It is a world of victims, villains, and rescuers, with the anointed cast in the last and most heroic of these roles." - Thomas Sowell
Back to the economy ... Now that Peter Schiff is "so yesterday," the economy must be booming again right? Oops. The Mises Economics Blog reports that there's "No sign of a housing recovery."
... cities like Los Angeles are still reporting housing price declines of 22 percent. Miami is down almost 29 percent.
These are March numbers, and I'm pretty sure that "popular" economists have been declaring the economy at bottom since at least March ...
With so few people qualifying for mortgage loans, and with so many people with terrible credit and massive consumer debt, it's difficult to imagine the scenario that will lead to all the excess housing inventory being mopped up any time soon.
Speaking of "popular" economists, Bob Murphy wonders ... "Does Krugman Know How to Balance a Checkbook?" He sums up Krugman's advice as follows:
(A) Some people are worried that we're going to go broke trying to pay for Social Security, so we'd better scale back our spending or increase its funding.
(B) These same people are saying we don't have the money to spare right now to throw trillions over the next few decades into a completely new program that won't start paying for itself until after 2075 or so.
(C) What a bunch of morons! How could anybody simultaneously believe (A) and (B)?
It's mind-boggling to me how this economic disaster (that's only going to get worse) completely escapes the brain-trust over at the Republican Party. If they had brains, they'd be all over this mess!
RNC, let me help by sharing a quote from The Other McCain concerning Bailout Nation:
IT WON'T WORK!
Got that? Should be easy to memorize. Try it.
Dave Jones at Southern Bread has a teriffic post about "popular" economists and the idea that consumer spending drives an economy, noting:
But, consumer spending doesn't exist in a vacuum. You can't spend what you don't have. Well, actually you can for a while. But when Vinny shows up on your doorstep wanting his money you're gonna wish you hadn't. The same thing is true for countries as is true for individuals. Spending beyond your ability to pay is not going to work. Default is inevitable. Spending may "drive" an economy, but producing makes an economy stable and sound. That's the point that Peter Schiff(and many others) has been making for a while now, but people keep misunderstanding his basic premise.
Father Hollywood has a great blog! Who is he? A Lutheran Pastor from New Orleans who has written a number of great articles published on LewRockwell.com. I particularly like this, quoted from "O Death, Where Is Your Stimulus?"
The word "stimulus" is itself interesting. It's a Latin word, and it jumps out of the page in reading St. Paul's famous passage of comfort used in Christian funerals, 1 Cor 15:55: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The word translated "sting" in English was previously rendered "stimulus" in the older Latin Vulgate translation: "Ubi est mors victória tua? Ubi est mors stímulus tuus?"
In other words, "O death, where is your stimulus?
St. Paul continues in the next verse: "The sting (stimulus) of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law."
At least in the context of Holy Scripture, the ancient Latin word "stimulus" takes on a different context than it does for those who believe government has the power to turn water into wine, paper into gold, or debt into wealth.
You all know that California is going broke. The "popular" economists like Krugman blame it on those stingy taxpayers, but I think there might be a much more sincere problem on the left coast. Here, just compare your salary to a California employee's salary, then you tell me.
Mark Levin has been absolutely ripping the so-called "moderate" conservatives. These guys picked a fight they can't win. Here's "Mark Levin On Dreher, Frum And Friedersdorf," and "Levin Takes Down Frum."
You know ... I've been trying to figure out these "moderates." Best I can tell, they should go join the DNC! However, over at the Pirate's Cove, the relevant question is asked, "What, Exactly, Do the GOP Moderates and Centrists Believe?"
So, who the heck are these moderates and centrists? What do they believe? Do these centrists and moderates hold core Republican values such as limited government, reduced spending, limited taxation, adherence to the principles of the Constitution, and....... you know the rest. Not that elected Republicans actually always practice what they preach.
After that, we can discuss niche beliefs ...
I doubt any of them would be willing to address such a direct question. We wouldn't want them to upset their Washington friends, or the Democrats they vote for (ahem, Mr. Powell).
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