Scary times ahead? Perhaps, if you take credence in what Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, says.
Paul, who had a strong grassroots following during the 2008 presidential election, explained on Glenn Beck's Sept. 30 radio program that perilous times lie ahead due to the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy. Host Glenn Beck asked if voices on the left, including the left-wing media, were right - would there be violence and is this an effort to pin it on the conservative movement.
Beck began by asking how an Israeli strike against Iran might trigger problems with the American financial system.
"What happens when Israel strikes Iran or Iran has the earth rays and we know that they now have a nuclear weapon, what happens to our financial system at that point?" Beck asked.
The former GOP presidential candidate Paul maintained China would become the world's financial heavyweight and they were already making preparations to be the world's top dog.
"I think the Chinese take over," Paul said. "If there's a real panic and oil shoots up to a couple of hundred bucks, the Chinese will dump their dollars. Chinese are maneuvering for this. The more we threaten Iran, the stronger the Chinese influence gets because they're using the dollars that they have earned from us and saved, they have a trillion, and they are starting to buy up assets in Iran and build plants and get involved in their energy. So the whole thing is backfiring on us. We're getting ready to put tougher sanctions on the Iranians and that will make things that much worse. It won't help the dissidents in Iran. It's going to cost us a lot of money, and there will be a bombing and that will be a big, big event. I think it will crash the dollar is what I think it would do."
And what does the country look like after the dollar crashes? Not good the Texas congressman said.
"We think it was bad with the financial crisis," Paul said. "When you have a dollar crisis, the whole thing quits functioning. The checks bounce and literally the federal government's checks bounce if you have - if inflation goes up."
But the situation deteriorates even more Paul - with states leaving the union.
"I think we're going to have a de facto 10th Amendment, secession," Paul said "People are just going to ignore the federal government because they won't - and there's, you know, a total loss of credibility."
Beck alluded to media charges and warnings from others that there would be violence and contended the right is being set up to take the fall for it.
"Congressman Paul, the media and even [Rep.] Patrick Kennedy said this, we heard this from two people, Muammar Gaddafi and I believe the other one was Ahmadinejad that both spoke last week and they - we're hearing it all the time that there's going to be violence here in America, that people are targeting," Beck said. "Basically everyone is going to blame this on the right, any kind of violence."
There would be violence, but not before a dollar crisis happens as some Democratic politicians and media personalities have warned, but afterward Paul said.
"I think that there will be violence," he explained. "I hope we don't have to go through, you know, a very violent period of time, but that's what happens too often when the government runs out of money and runs out of wealth, the people argue over, you know, a shrinking pie and, of course, the people who have to produce are sick and tired of producing."
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Dr. Ron Paul is the only
October 1, 2009 - 12:43 ET by pwozDr. Ron Paul is the only man in Washington who deserves to represent us.
He is also the only politician worthy of the GOP title.
Paul was and still is a a
October 1, 2009 - 15:08 ET by Dan The Man 2Paul was and still is a a first class loon. Some things he says makes good sense but the more he pontificates and gets out of the economic realm the more you know he is a loon. Paul is a libertarian not a republican.
Amen!
October 1, 2009 - 15:29 ET by Don DeskinsI second that.
What the hell makes him a
October 1, 2009 - 16:02 ET by pwozWhat the hell makes him a loon? I think Bachman has that title.
The title is not exclusive.
October 1, 2009 - 17:35 ET by CTThey are both LOONS as are many others in the fringe.
What makes him a loon?
October 1, 2009 - 17:36 ET by UnsaneHis hatred of Israel, his desire to see the United States become a very whiny nation on the world scene (but he will swear he's not an isolationist because he loves to travel), and his firm belief that if the United States goes back to the way things were in the 1790s, the world will happily, magically follow.
Guess who Bachmann looks up to (at least seemingly)?
"That jaundiced pipsqueak wants to be President?" - my old man, after seeing Paul in a primary debate
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Yep,
October 1, 2009 - 19:17 ET by general companyI noticed some video and what I read of the transcripts, weather Paul approves of an Iran strike, or what he thinks should be done to curb the current course.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Ugh
October 1, 2009 - 17:34 ET by UnsaneThe Dr. needs to go back to the delivery room and stop embarrassing my state.
He should be kicked out of the GOP and sent packing to the Libertarians.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Typo spotted
October 1, 2009 - 12:56 ET by 1611LilacLadywould their be violence : should be there
About Ron Paul . . why hasn't he helped lead the "Where's the Birth Certificate?" cause?
Isaiah 5:20a Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil. . . KJV
Because birthers are almost
October 1, 2009 - 13:45 ET by pwozBecause birthers are almost as nuts as the G-20ers.
Then why?
October 1, 2009 - 16:17 ET by pbanks7I don't doubt he was born in Hawaii, I think that's established. But what's on that birth certificate that makes him not want to release it? Dual citizenship? What?
MSM - shaping all the perceptions you need to believe, then confirming it with a poll.
Being a simple shrubber,
October 1, 2009 - 13:07 ET by Roger the ShrubberBeing a simple shrubber, can somebody tell me what benefit the Chinese would get by dumping all the dollars they own? what would they get in trade? Quatloos? Our economies are so intertwined, how would this action not have a disastrous ffect on China?
Please, somebody, enlighten me!
economies are so intertwined
October 1, 2009 - 14:32 ET by candanceWhen American wealth runs out, we won't have an economy to intertwine with theirs anymore. Most of the big countries in Asia are undervaluing their own currency to get as much American wealth as they can, but they know that milking cow is about to dry up. Besides, their GDPs are getting big enough that they can start doing business with each other.
India is currently using money from the West to stab us in the back by building stronger alliances with China. India used to enjoy a huge export surplus thanks to American outsourcing, but now their trade balance is going downhill and they're moving IT work to serve developing countries elsewhere.
He who owns the oil owns the world. Russia and China align themselves with Iran, Israel strikes Iran, we get another oil embargo, it's over.
We really need to stop thinking like Romans that we're too big and too important to fail.
PS - When America runs out of money to pay its debt, it's not like China's holdings will be worth anything then anyway. They are currently selling dollar debt in exchange for other currencies, much like the credit default swaps that killed the banks. Get out while the getting is good.
Interesting. I still do
October 1, 2009 - 15:01 ET by Roger the ShrubberInteresting.
I still do not see how it would behoove China to put the screws to the US, since it would hurt them dramatically, especially since they exported well over $300 billion into the US (their #1 trading partner) in 2008. You do not kill a golden goose like that easily.
As for India, I believe Indian companies currently employ something like 40,000 people here in the USA, and the USA is India #1 trading partner. I just do not see how the leaders of these countries would be stoopid enough to follow this doomsday scenerio.
But, then again, I am but a simple shrubber :)
therein lies the issue, Roger
October 1, 2009 - 15:17 ET by candanceAmerica is India's #1 trading partner because they devalue the rupee to keep us there. But it's causing turmoil to their internal economy and there is growing populist feeling over there to shift away from that.
More buying power in India would mean they could purchase all that fabric coming out of China. India has a billion people compared to our 310 million.
America will not be a golden goose much longer. That's the whole point here. China's buying gold, Russia's buying oil, and we're buying welfare checks for union workers in Detroit. It's not that China wants to dump us, it's that they're planning for the funeral.
Rambles
October 1, 2009 - 17:46 ET by UnsaneSomething to remember about China that people forget: Beijing is a few bad moves from having shantytowns in Tiananmen Square. For all of China's economic growth, there is very much a Third World element there.
When I visited Beijing I could not take two steps wothout being accosted by people selling various things - even, most amusingly, Little Red Books.
China BADLY needs economic growth, in order to keep the icky mob out of Beijing and other Chinese cities. China thinks that if it can continue to economically develop, it can get lots of jobs to keep those icky masses in check. Thus, China can remain stable, in their view, and the Commies can lord it over their people. However...history tells us that when you do have massive industrialization and urbanization that they are undergoing, changes can and WILL happen, whether the ruling elite likes it or not.
This to me is what keeps me awake at night about China: Not knowing what direction they will eventually take.
India to me is an interesting case. To me, the one problem they need to square away is their infrastructure problems. If they can seriously upgrade their road and rail nets in the next 10-15 years, look the hell out. In 2029, we'll be whining about India instead of China today and Japan twenty years ago. In the meantime, don't think for a second I am complacent about America's position. We NEED to get our house in order, and the bad thing is, the current crop of politicians have zero interest in doing that. And they, in my humble opinion, do not care about America's position in the world.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
→ Sound logic
October 1, 2009 - 13:11 ET by Cool ArrowI don't see any flaw in his logic.
For years, I've been predicting euthanasia will start creeping into our Country. That doesn't mean I'm promoting it. It's just, matter-of-fact, gonna happen.
Ron Paul is right
October 1, 2009 - 13:15 ET by c5thenThe upcoming dollar crisis is being covered up and ignored by the media (even FNC). China is already whining about needing another currency that global commodities can be valued in. The UN is talking about setting up a world currency for just this sort of thing at China's urging.
The only reason why some economists say that our HUGE deficit and increase in the dollar supply won't lead to hyperinflation is because the dollar is currently the world's currency. If that changes and commodities start being priced in another currency, then the dollar crashes and inflation will instatntly jump to double digits, at least, over night.
The Federal Reserve is tasked with protecting the value of the dollar in the world markets but they have abrogated their duty in this area in favor of making it easier for the Federal Government to print money whenever they need to run a deficit economy. This is a massive ponzi scheme that can not last forever and is doomed to collapse.
Throw 'da bums out!!!
no incumbent re-elected, with very few exceptions!
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Yep
October 1, 2009 - 13:37 ET by OhmingIt will colapse or at least face major correction in time. Bound to happen because too many voters buy into the "free ice cream" promises from politicians.
So what would one dod if he
October 1, 2009 - 15:17 ET by Dan The Man 2So what would one dod if he has 30K laying around? Where would one invest it?
There's an old saying that
October 1, 2009 - 15:50 ET by KJ_sezThere's an old saying that goes something like, "People make money in gold; fortunes are made in silver."
If you follow NYMEX at all, silver peaked at around $23/oz. in the summer of 08', fell down to around $9/oz. in March of this year (IIRC), and is currently selling at just over $16/oz.
While silver is far more volatile than gold, percentage-wise, that can work to your advantage. Should the $ start to hyperinflate, silver will be a great opportunity to keep the actual purchasing value of your money safe.
Another good bet is learning how the currency exchange market (FOREX) works, especially against more stable currencies such as the Euro.
Gambling vs. Investing
October 1, 2009 - 17:50 ET by UnsaneWhen you buy commodities or foreign currencies, you aren't investing. You are gambling, pure and simple. You may as well go straight to Vegas.
What I would do is invest in foreign stocks. That way you can play foreign currencies and in the meantime mitigate your risk by selecting well-managed companies. When people were fleeing Asia in the late 1990s, I moved in and made a killing to the point where I am bent I didn't plunge even more cash in their markets. One big reason for this was that the dollar was strong in the late 1990s and as it got weaker as the 2000s progressed, the stock values increased in terms of dollars.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
→ Dan
October 1, 2009 - 17:42 ET by Cool Arrow$30k isn't much. If it was money I didn't need to pay off small debt, I'd invest it in Penny Stocks and play it daily for a year.
But that's just me. I'd be prepared to lose it all or quadruple it.
Risk is a very personal thing. Nobody's going to take it for you.
I guess you are
October 1, 2009 - 18:04 ET by Dan The Man 2I guess you are independently wealthy? 30K is a good amount to most people.
→ Far from it
October 1, 2009 - 18:19 ET by Cool ArrowBut my kids are grown, house and all other debts are paid off, my 401k is good, I'll get a pension when I retire in 8 years, and (maybe) I'll get Social Security.
I've seen people go into that much debt buying a new car. No way in heck that qualifies as an investment.
An extra $30k right now would be something to play with rather than sit on. I figure it would take me about 5 years to either lose it all, or turn it into a quarter mil.
In fact, If I had an extra $30k in my (very small) Scottrade account right now, I know exactly which stock I'd have invested it in today.
I'm not licensed, so I wouldn't dare tell you, but I'll let you know if I've got egg on my face tomorrow. Promise.
Delayed but not denied.
October 1, 2009 - 16:21 ET by pbanks7There was a book out in the 90's predicting the very stuff we're seeing right now - hyperinflation, dollar collapse, etc. It seems the author(s?) were only a decade early.
MSM - shaping all the perceptions you need to believe, then confirming it with a poll.
No withdrawals today, all your savings are toast.
October 1, 2009 - 13:28 ET by upcountrywater416 banks are twitchy
The nation’s big banks are stable, for now, thanks largely to
taxpayers. But small and midsize banks are failing left and right,
undone by bad loans and a brutal recession. So far this year, the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has closed 95 banks, compared
with 25 for all of last year. Another 416 banks are at high risk of
failure, according to a recent tally by the agency.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE
First proposed in 1966 and named after Columbia University
sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven, the
"Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by
overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible
demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.
The 60's will be a walk in the park, compared to all taxpayers ( the folk whom have savings) losing their money.
State controlled health care is Tort Reform.
we have a gov't that
October 1, 2009 - 14:06 ET by sajc05we have a gov't that actually encourages people to take on debt and NOT save. and they punish the people who did save their money by making their dollars almost worthless.
our gov't is out of control. something has to be done. A new constitutional convention or something... term limits, throw them all out, clean slate. they are not there to serve the interest of the US and it's citizens. they are there to give handouts to their special interests, from unions to huge corporations.
Riposte
October 1, 2009 - 17:57 ET by UnsaneYeah, I agree on term limits. CA has had them for 20 years and they have absolutely made that state a model of governance...
they are not there to serve the interest of the US and it's citizens. they are there to give handouts to their special interests, from unions to huge corporations. Interestingly, those unions and huge corporations you so hate are composed of American citizens. I belong to several "special interests" that are so vehemently decried every election cycle by politicians and shrieking populists alike.
we have a gov't that actually encourages people to take on debt and NOT save. Actually, that is a personal decision. The government is not there to hold people's hands. Oh, I suppose I could go out and buy a house and take the deductions the government will so kindly allow me to have, BUT to me, that is not enough of a reason to take on debt. There is such a thing as freewill, and people need to start using it, and financial management skills. and they punish the people who did save their money by making their dollars almost worthless. Well, since we haven't been holding our Reps and Sens to account all these years, we deserve as much crap as we can handle...
our gov't is out of control. something has to be done Yeah, like getting off our asses and holding our politicians accountable. Maybe the Tea Parties are a sign that some of us are willing to do that. We shall see next year.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
I love real conservatives
October 1, 2009 - 14:01 ET by sajc05I love real conservatives like ron paul. EVERYONE should listen to him. Deficits matter, runaway inflation (no matter what the rigged numbers the gov't gives us) matters. spending ourselves into a third world hell hole matters.
but too many people are too busy screaming "but the democrats this" or "but the republicans that" while both parties win with the divide and conquer strategy and they kill this great country of ours. Yes, Obama AND Bush were the problem. mass immigration ballooning welfare state. the fake conservative bush didn't do a thing to help and now we have a liberal... god help us.
Economic Ignorance
October 1, 2009 - 16:29 ET by pbanks7It all starts with the education system. Most people are completly ignorant re economics. The news media portray a socialist/populist/Keynesian economics that has been completely discredited, but the socialist press and politicians love a theory that empowers the government especially when it looks like they are "doing something" when they should be doing nothing. They're all keeping the "dumb masses" in the the dark and therefore under their control.
Was it Don Regan that said, "Don't just stand there, do nothing?"
MSM - shaping all the perceptions you need to believe, then confirming it with a poll.
For the love of reactionaries
October 1, 2009 - 18:02 ET by UnsaneI love real conservatives like ron paul. EVERYONE should listen to him. Except that he is not a conservative. Well, I take that back. He is TOO conservative. As in, a reactionary. I'm not down with reactionaries. Deficits matter, runaway inflation (no matter what the rigged numbers the gov't gives us) matters. spending ourselves into a third world hell hole matters. Yep, and Ron Paul sure helped out matters by helping himself to a little extra cash for the Galveston bus system, and for the shrimp industry. I wonder if this alleged Constitutional expert can shlw me where it says the feds pay for buses for Galveston and for the shrimp industry?
He is just another hack.
but too many people are too busy screaming "but the democrats this" or "but the republicans that" while both parties win with the divide and conquer strategy and they kill this great country of ours. Yes, Obama AND Bush were the problem. I don't think you are giving the NB community nearly enough credit. I don't see too many party hacks here. I for one have a political philosophy but no party. I know the parties eventually get old, fat, and lazy and start screwing things up. mass immigration ballooning welfare state. the fake conservative bush Bush never was a doctrinaire conservative. At any point. didn't do a thing to help and now we have a liberal... god help us.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Say again?
October 1, 2009 - 14:39 ET by CobraMan"If there's a real panic and oil shoots up to a couple of hundred bucks, the Chinese will dump their dollars."
That's a mighty big "if" there, Ron. Why would oil prices increase? Iran doesn't produce a significant percentage of the world's oil supply to drastically affect prices if their supplies were cut off or withdrawn. There may be a small bump in oil prices until the global market stabilizes, but that wouldn't even affect us as we have this thing called the Strategic Oil Reserves that is held in reserve for just this contingency.
If a strike on Iran caused a sudden drop in the world's oil supplies and the price started rising in response, America could simply draw from our reserve, transfer them to DOMESTIC refineries, and this additional supply would reduce or eliminate any negative effects of a temporary increase in GLOBAL prices until the rest of global suppliers increased their oil production and raise supply. That's the entire reason for HAVING a strategic reserve.
The Chinese know this, They know that a military strike in Iran would have little effect on our economy, just as it did when we attacked Iraq. So why would they dump their "dollars?"
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
strategic reserve
October 1, 2009 - 14:42 ET by candanceOur supply of strategic oil reserve is big enough to last about a month, 60 days if you ration it.
Good luck thinking we could outlast an embargo.
60 days supply of out ENTIRE requirements
October 1, 2009 - 14:49 ET by CobraManThat's a 60 day supply of our ENTIRE requirements. We don't need to supply our ENTIRE crude oil requirements.
A temporary increase in oil prices, which could cause a temporary decline on our oil supplies, would be mitigated by a LIMITED draw down of our reserve, drawing just enough oil to balance the reduction of supply that the price increase would cause. We wouldn't have to completely stop buying oil on the global market, we would only need to reduce those purchases so that the global price increase wouldn't adversely affect us or our economy. Our reserve could last for YEARS in this type of situation.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
keep your head in the sand, Cobra
October 1, 2009 - 15:21 ET by candanceThe Visigoths will never get close enough to do serious damage in Rome.
"We wouldn't have to
October 1, 2009 - 21:54 ET by ckc1227"We wouldn't have to completely stop buying oil on the global market, we
would only need to reduce those purchases so that the global price
increase wouldn't adversely affect us or our economy. Our reserve could last for YEARS in this type of situation."
Ummm, yeah.....good luck with that.
And no way is Obama going to
October 1, 2009 - 16:35 ET by Radical1979And no way is Obama going to draw on strategic reserves. It's just another crisis that won't go to waste and will be used to expand the powers of the federal government.
"Strategic", rationing
October 1, 2009 - 18:24 ET by UnsaneThe Strategic Oil Reserve has the word "Strategic" for a reason. Methinks Cobra has missed that point.
Additionally; sure, I suppose that Americans could band together and endure hardships such that our parents and grandparents did in the 1930s and 1940s, if the national will was there. But methinks the number of perpetual whiners and complainers is too great for that sort of national sacrifice to happen again, sad to say.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Re Reserves
October 1, 2009 - 14:48 ET by slickwillie2001China is also following our lead and developing huge strategic oil reserves. There are four reserve locations in China, but I doubt if they would announce capacity or the fill. They rely on foreign oil even more than we do.
It sounds like...
October 1, 2009 - 14:57 ET by CobraManIt sounds like China's oil supply would be affected far more negatively in Ron's scenario than ours would. Their economy, in return, would be affect far more negatively than our own. This would cause the value of their currency to decrease far more quickly than our own, and to a greater extent than our own. They would need our stronger dollars to supplement their weaker currency. So, once again, why would they "dump our dollars?"
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
Who Gains
October 1, 2009 - 15:37 ET by slickwillie2001Think also who stands to gain from a hot war in the middle east and $300 oil.
Russia, unfortunately. That's the real reason we can't depend on them to support sanctions on Iran. Any thought on the Bamster's part that Russia might go along with him is his narcissistic fantasy. Waiting to attack until the S-300's are in place is foolishness, whether it's Israel that attacks or the USA.
China loses though; that's why I don't understand their position. Without firm action against Iran within a year, a nuclear war in the ME is a certainty. Take a short blip in oil prices soon, or a catastrophic war that kills 50 million within five years and will disrupt oil supplies for twenty years.
Paul
October 1, 2009 - 14:37 ET by charlietexasThe little man at least tells a tale that no one is brave enough to tell. I'm not a big fan of his, but he is right about people losing faith in the feds. States will peel off. I'm living in one.
So, after 70 years, we have finally managed to tax, borrow and
October 1, 2009 - 17:52 ET by R D Helm...spend ourselves into oblivion.
Good going, America.
-Dave
The election of 2010 will be our last chance to save our republic. -Neal Boortz
Ron Paul is a brilliant
October 1, 2009 - 21:00 ET by RR GOPRon Paul is a brilliant man, especially when it comes to economics, so I take what he has to say on that issue very seriously.
Now, some of the other stuff...might as well be Joe Biden.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Re Brilliant
October 1, 2009 - 21:50 ET by slickwillie2001He is an very smart guy when it comes to economics and finance. He will never be President, that would be a joke. He might however have a place in a Republican administration, especially now in the post-meltdown new world. If he agreed to take orders from a President, is kept on a short leash, and firewalled from anything to do with foreign affairs, he might be able to make a contribution.
Ron Paul is a brilliant
October 1, 2009 - 23:53 ET by Dan The Man 2Ron Paul is a brilliant man, especially when it comes to economics
And we must add the caveat that it applies only to domestic economics, when economics get intertwined with foriegn policies, as it almost always is, then I discount or at the very least take what he says with a grain of salt.
One thing I will agree on is he has a good economic head on his shoulders and could really help teh economy, of course I would rather have Phil Grahm.
Left out
October 2, 2009 - 04:29 ET by Sergeant ROCKSo, if Israel attacks Iran it's the end of the U.S. according to Paul. What happens if they don't, according to Paul?
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason