Can you remember where you were at any point during the four years of the Jimmy Carter presidency?
Most people who were alive don't look favorably toward the economic situation during those years. But MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews, who was gainfully employed as a member of the Carter administration, might look back a little fondly.
When he criticized President George W. Bush about the economy following his State of the Union address on January 28, he may have just neglected to remember what the economy was like back then. That didn't stop him from taking a shot at the Republican president.
"I think a lot of people expected the president to at least engage for a couple of minutes tonight on what's going on in the world economically and why we should worry and why we should have confidence that we do a couple things right," Matthews said.
And what did Matthews point to as evidence the U.S. economy is ailing? Did he use economic indicators like soaring unemployment, double-digit inflation, double-digit interest rates and a contracting economy? The very same indicators that plagued the country under while Matthews was writing speeches for Carter - but haven't come remotely close to reaching those levels under Bush?
No, Matthews brilliantly pointed toward the price of gold.
"So, why are people buying gold right now?" Matthews asked. "Because it's a smart move and that's the scariest thing you can say - that gold bullion is a better investment than the American economy right now. And that's a very interesting standard of why we're in trouble."
According to Benchmark Financial Network Chief Economist Jerry Bowyer, the pressures on the price of gold are not solely driven by a downturn in the American economy, but other factors including a spike in demand and changes in technology.
"This is taking Bush bashing and blaming America first to new levels of absurdity," Bowyer said to the Business & Media Institute. "Oh, and by the way, if Chris really feels this way, why didn't he say so back when he was working for Jimmy Carter? Under Carter, gold outperformed the stock market far more dramatically than it has recently."
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It's simple really
January 29, 2008 - 18:30 ET by c5thenMatthews and anybody else who worked in the Carter administration don 't understand economics and how the economy actually works. They have a whole bunch of ideological positions of what they want, but none are actually based in fact and reality.
Bush did address the economy and his plan for continuing the growth that we've had for the last couple of years: 1) make the tax cuts permanent. 2) let the American people keep all their money and trust them to make the decisions that are best for them.
The only better plan is getting rid of the income tax completely, repealing the 16th amendment and abolishing the Federal Reserve.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
Carter Gold
January 29, 2008 - 19:04 ET by Lame CherryI hope I never meet Chris Matthews as the Carter years are a very personal issue for me as that is when my dad's family farm ran up such debt from high interests loans that were foisted upon all farmers that they went bankrupt.
I personally would grab Matthews by the ear and kick his ass over the next car.
I watched miserable farmers, their children and their wives go through anxiety, personal self worth issues and depression.
I sold my first calf during the Carter years.....a yearling for 150 dollars. Compare that to when Reagan put things back together and cattle prices by 1988 were at 500 dollars.
Oats was 97 cents a bushel. Wheat was a $1.98 and corn was around 2.35.
The Carter years made bundles of money for loan sharks called the Rockefellers and THAT IS ALL. I remember watching Victor trap prices going up 3 dollars a dozen and that is the way it was for all the economy. You either bought now or by next month inflation was driving prices up.
The MISERY INDEX is from Carter. They actually had to create an index to gauge misery from Carter.
Carter crashed the farm economy. Crashed the last of the industrial metal manufacturing economy. Crashed Afghanistan. Crashed Iran. Crashed Nicaragua.
Places like Angola were war zones from Castro export..........and people who had great lives in America suddenly found out that life was allot like it is for a large segment of America now in being uncertain and without hope.
I understand what George Bush does and why. I though expect more to be done so people can prosper which is not being done.
Carter though so screwed everything up that it has been 30 years and I still am pissed off about the way of American life these dolts destroyed and wiped out.
Matthews you are an ass and a jerk who never realized how you raped the dreams of millions of Americans because all you did was cash in.
I loathe you.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
carter had oil prices about 15 bucks a barrel.
January 29, 2008 - 19:31 ET by upcountrywaterThe last time I looked it takes tons of fuel to produce an ounce of gold.
When carter left office gold was about $ 800 .00/oz.
Oil is about 90 bucks gold 900...
doing the math it was 6.66 TIMES more MISERABLE then than now.
iranian uranium; iranian uranium, iranian uranium..
Oh joy to the world, 19 more atomic power plants!
Remembering the Carter years?
January 29, 2008 - 19:44 ET by Gary HallLet's see. I remember Saddam coming to power in Iraq. I remember our guys being taken hostage in Iran. I remember Veruska - how could I forget Veruska. oops sorry about that. I remember the failed attempt to resuce the hostages. I remember Saddam deciding to invade Iran and the USSR invading Afghanistan (and how the left still hates Ronald Reagan over that??) and I remember sitting in long gas lines and pushing my car. Fortunately, it was just a little red convertable MGB (Yep, I bought that right after watching "The Graduate.")
Gold is valued in dollars;
January 29, 2008 - 19:45 ET by robert108Gold is valued in dollars; the dollar is deliberately kept weak to encourage exports, therefore the price of gold in dollars goes up. It's just accounting; that ounce of gold won't buy you any more stuff than it did before.
And so it shall be
January 29, 2008 - 20:44 ET by Pete Wilsonso long as the dollar is fiat. The dollar is worth only what it will purchase. It is based on nothing.
Of course, I am not telling you anything you do not already know.
In the free enterprise
January 29, 2008 - 22:09 ET by robert108In the free enterprise system, things are worth what people are willing to pay for them. Gold is just another commodity. The notion of money having "intrinsic value" is simply archaic. BTW, "fiat" is a propaganda term; our money's worth is its transactive value, and is based on the overall productivity and prosperity of our economic system.