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Peter Schiff, financial prophet
Submitted by VidaVerde on Thu, 2008/11/20 - 23:35.
This will blow you away! Schiff called this financial crisis out two years ago, and then prophesies what is going to happen next, with HUGE ramifications for Nicaragua:
Schiff not alone
Schiff was not alone in the predictions, nor was he the only one belittled and -at times- treated as little more than some sort of monies astrologer. I can't point to a comparable collection of video clips online, but in many respects "Money and Markets" Martin D. Weiss was even more bell-tolling and vigilant than Schiff, so much so that eventually the tv news and financial forecasters, rather than debate or poke fun at him, simply stopped having him on the shows. People who follow the "Weiss philosophy" (he offers services that are far from free though that are easy to find in the www, so I intentionally didn't post the link) received a barrage of email and correspondence throughout 2007-2008 (starting way back when but 2008 became "last chance to get out while you have some") on what would happen - and what his outfit said is exactly what happened, for the very specific causes/reasoned he/they repeatedly outlined. Though Weiss is still the butt of jokes per the alleged Y2K financial disaster he had predicted, like Schiff, is now in an I-told-you so position, not that it is the kind of bet they really wanted to win.
Just another Guru
He may as well not have existed to Joe Six-pack America. What's he saying now?
Cash is King? In Canada, not the U.S. I am actually proud of our Banks..well, at least aware that the Hit they took was a token part of being in a Global Club, all the other Clubees bought into Credit Default Swaps. Now the Club has got bigger. Quite a change for things to come,it's now the G20..up a few notches. Our Ex Prime Minister Paul Martin had been advocating China, India, should be sitting at the table. He was stumping on that idea ten years ago. Too bad in a way Nicaragua can't gatecrash. Who the hell represents the people in Nicaragua anyway? I doubt, for the wonderful people of Nicaragua it will be..I see no ships..only hardships, for the next few years. For us Gringo's of course, we still have our passports.
Just another
If he (and there are a lot of "he's") is just another guru, then his prediction would have been remarkably wrong, not remarkably right.
I agree, I think.
with no intention of belittling him at all. My drift was that it's now water under the bridge, I was also being sarcastic..like thanks a lot, now what? I am an outsider, looking into the U.S. the Mouse that sleeps with the Elephant. Our Financial system is by and large grounded, sometimes with rule of Law, that you don't lend what you can't afford to. Our Political system is different..some say boring..as well. I could go on..
People don't want to hear this
While what Peter Schiff was saying has proved to be right on, he wasn't alone. Our friend (he posts here on occasion) Willy said the same, for example. Unfortunately it was in the best interest of "financial experts" to pretend there wasn't a problem because if "us normal folks" thought there was we might have taken action which, of course, would have made the problem become visable to all sooner.
Joe Sixpack didn't want to hear it because he liked his new TV and was about to buy a new car or whatever. In other words, he was in denial.
The current big lie is that the dollar is going to be worth something in the future. Well, as Schiff points out, if the U.S. "solves" the problem by printing money and other countries don't just print money, those dollars are not going to buy much.
How does this apply to Nicaragua? I think Schiff covered that as well. Buying real assets in somewhere other than the U.S. is better than investing in US anything right now.
Right now I think there is the added "Gringos are scared of Nicaragua" along with the fact that most Nicaraguans seem to be in denial about the falling value of the US$ just like Joe Sixpack. So, unloading dollars in Nicaragua just seems like a very good thing to do right now.
Note that if you don't like Nicaragua, pick another country that hasn't tried to be just like the US. If I would looking, my current pick would be Bolivia.
Bolivia?
What about Bolivia appeals to you? Not disagreeing, just interested in your take on it. Mike
Lots
I have been interested in Bolivia for many years. That interest was hard to explain. I did like the fact that you pretty much had your choice of weather by altitude. Sucre appealed to be based on size, weather, culture, ...
But, more recently, I want to add government. Now, basically, I am not a fan of any government but I really like what I see in the government of Evo Morales. I believe he is sincere and, unlike other presidents, he is not picking on other presidents and, when confronted with the need to compromise, he does.
Time will tell but right now I see him as the most pragmatic leader of a country that actually is trying to do what is best for his citizens.
Him dealing with the recent "autonomy movement" issue and getting the new constitution approved by the legislature are good examples. He didn't use excessive force, he garnered support in the region and he participated in a (160km as I remember) march himself.
Bolivia
I agree 100% with what you said so far. But, I don't think presidential politics have much bearing on my happiness. I'm more interested if there are aspects of Bolivian culture, social structure, food, personality, geography, etc. that appeal to you as a place to live compared to Nica. mike
Ok, more details
Well, I think if Presidential politics can do good things for the majority, it would be a plus. I don't want to be a "Gringo in a foreign land"--I want to live with the people and happy people are a good thing. In Bolivia, it seems that Presidential politics is also a great combination of "what's fair" and "what the majority wants".
I am not about to replace Nicaragua with Bolivia—I am seriously vested here—but if I wasn't I would seriously consider it. In my case, "considering" means more research. But, here are my guesses.
If I spent a month there I might conclude I had no further interest but something about it just draws me to it. Costa Rica was the "I'm scared" choice for getting out of the U.S. That is, I knew enough about it and how it was not a huge jump that it felt safe. Nicaragua, while much different (and more to my liking) was another easy choice as I knew a lot about it and it was just "next door".
If Nicaragua hadn't had a lot of appeal to me, there is a pretty good chance I would have tried Bolivia instead.
que a hacer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kW64YYcUso&feature=related