It's funny to watch the idiots on these news shows saying that everything is going up and everyone should buy financials, and then ridiculing the one dissenting voice. - Paul Buchheit

You need to be either crazy or have a strong backbone, character and conviction to swim against the tide - interesting to see how Schiff opposed "popular" belief in the financial industry in such a vocal manner. Fav quote "... stay away from the financials, they're toxic ..." - Mustafa K. Isik

It's more then that - you need a perfect sense of timing. In let's say 2003 or 2004, it would have been absolutely right in theory, but deadly in practice. As John Maynard Keynes put it -- "the fundamentals can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent." - ǝuǝƃnǝ

It's amazing to see such luminaries as Arthur Laffer and Ben Stein being so wrong, yet it's not hard to see how Schiff was right: Without inflation, house values can only get so high before the avg. monthly payment exceeds the avg. monthly wage, and at that point people will have no choice but to default. From there, it's easy to predict that home equity will collapse, and so on. - Gabe

Surely recession will last "years" = depression? - Brian Sullivan

I kept saying the market going to tank since 200. I sold all my stocks at that time. My broker called me crazy. I should have shorted. I also think it will take years for the market to correct itself. There might be trading opportunities but I would not be investing unless Dow hits 6,000 And if we have banks defualting, 4,000 But I am not Peter, just a Troll. LMAO - Igor The Troll יִצְחָק

In my other life! ;-) - Igor The Troll יִצְחָק

As long as we don't consume so much crap, don't spend the money that we don't have via credit, and start saving real amounts of money, and start producing things of value, then the economy will start to come back. - Joe

Whiplash... the quick interest rate hikes and uncontrolled gas prices are what jerked us into the ditch. The question is whether a new vehicle will be in order if we crash in early 2009. :) It could be one sad holiday season for retailers... and China. - Gus

jokrausdu is probably right, but it was saving too much that got us into this mess. Instead of spending all their money, the Chinese and Indians were saving it. Since interest rates were so low, they turned to mortgages as a safe, high-yield investment. Once all the safe mortgages ran out, they went to unsafe ones, causing all the trouble. - Gabe

Gabe, you should read http://friendfeed.com/e... - Private Sanjeev

Laffer is putz - and the first clip is proof. - MikeAmundsen

I'd really like to see an interview with Laffer today where he's shown that clip and asked to justify his prickish behavior in the face of being 100% wrong. - Kevin Fox

guess i need to start keeping an eye on peter schiff! - MikeAmundsen

@Kevin Bloomberg Radio had a nice interview with Laffer recently. I think EconTalk has one as well. - Kevin D. White

Sanjeev: it sounds like either way it's China's fault. :) - Gabe

Seeing this guy's latest YouTube vids, he's now predicting food lines and martial law. I think part of his predictive accuracy has to do with a truly pessimistic perspective. Is there anyone in this new media climate who can provide counter-intuitive insight without a radical extremism? - Christopher Galtenberg

Ok, well, I'll just be quiet until everything happens. - Christopher Galtenberg

Actually I won't. Unlike that guy in the vid, I'll put my offer of a penny and my name, and I'll meet you back here in two years. No food lines, no martial law, no baskets of money needed to buy bread, even if unemployment hits 12%. Inflation is being mitigated by the crash in energy prices, and food productivity continues to increase. It would take a crash across most of the rest of the world, and American assets actually being considered safe (strong dollar), and $8 gallon/gas before food becomes that dear. As far as martial law... with Obama? No. And hyper-inflation? We're facing deflationary pressures now. Schiff was only right to a point, and we're reaching that point. - Christopher Galtenberg