Stagflation on the horizon

[zamkam]

In this clip (at 1:05) he says: "this is really bad news, really bad times, probably the worst financial period for most families since the great depression".

On another clip (watch?v=UfR_gPzTMnk at 0:15) he says: "running around talking about the great depression is not serious, it's just silly scare tactics".

[WadeBlazingame34]

Dean Baker is the man.

[YouGotTheWord]

Needs to shave, I thought he was some bum off the streets.

[boing3887]

i would respect this guy's opinion if i were you (by 'you' i mean the skeptics). he's not an austrian-economics guy, but he was the first person to point out the housing bubble - in splendid isolation. just b/c he doesn't conform to some ideology doesn't mean that he's just to be dismissed. he was right where everyone was wrong!

[jjrglobal]

Anyone that has stepped foot in a grocery store knows that the CPI is total horseshit. Inflation 4 1/2 my ass. More like 14 1/2 would be more realistic. The reason for the seventies stagflation was Vietnam costs. The war in Iraq will come back to haunt us too and we aren't in good financial shape already. Cut spending, stop the bailouts.

[RhXz47rc]

The US economy is already in stagflation.

They devalued the currency (that's the dollar, kids) on purpose.

off topic, but incredibly important:

Search for "nutricide" here on YouTube.

[samdonuge]

funny how he says 'meat' and they show a picture of 'spam'

[zurapDOR]

You've damned right, this is deflation, not stagflation..

[johnlouisville]

C'mon RealNews....Do you think the official inflation rate is REALLY 4.5%? This is nothing but propaganda from the US Government. The government has been using creative methodologies to hide the real unemployment and inflation statistics for decades now. As a network that supposedly exists to challenge our corporate/oligarchy government and their enablers in the mainstream media...I'm surprised that this statistic would be accepted/quoted at face value.

[GrownupPhan]

The CPI has been tinkered with by politicians (especially Regan and Clinton) so that it understates the problem. I'm not sure if the number you're quoting is the core rate. If it is, that excludes energy prices and so only captures the extent to which high fuel inflates other goods (rising input and transport costs)

[ergassess]

Abolish the Federal Reserve. I hope that our Military who have been USED by this government and treated horribly - will remember their oath to defend the Constitution and will protect Americans on US soil when the government brings in Marshall Law and starts to round up people who disagree with the powers that be.

[PersonalJesus348]

note he says interest rates. Isn't he basically saying that loans are the problem? getting negative money?

[teemuruskeepaa]

Does stagflation mean that I shouldn't use 10000 euros of student load?

[mikeybrumbrum]

If i were you, i wud invest it in drugs.

Its the only safe investment, and is totally inflation/interest rates free.

once u have the drugs, just sell them for more than u bought them, calculate the interest in profit.

There is no need to pay tax, since the givt has already earned its cut, by bringing the stuff into the country.

[teemuruskeepaa]

Drugs? But I take pride in my athletism and healthy diet, and drugs would ruin my life. I will not use it like so. So should I use it when stagflation is looming in the states?

[TheAnarchist33]

Just sell them, don't use them!

[lordblazer]

well he was telling you to sell them not use them. Most drug dealers don't use their product they're selling because they know what the shit does to people.

[PersonalJesus348]

ain't that the truth

[Renegen1]

Inflation actually benefits the borrower. So if you can borrow those euros at a fixed rate, then it might actually help you once inflation gets at 6-9%. You should invest in education either way but try to work too.

[TheAnarchist33]

Work selling drugs on campus, you'll make a shitload of money in no time!

[lastnymleft]

This thread's funny!

Anyway, when the shit hits the fan, remember to point the finger of blame at the real cause: the Federal Reserve and their fiat money system.

[Visfen]

The real cause is the lack of regulation in the housing market.

[lastnymleft]

"The real cause is the lack of regulation in the housing market"

Outright fraud notwithstanding, that's just nonsense. Greenspan lowered the interest rates so low for so long for a reason: he WANTED to stimulate the economy via the housing market. If you put restrictions on the lending, he would have had to lower them even further, in order to have the same boosting effect. Had he done that, inflation would be even higher, and the system would have collapsed by now, instead of just walking-dead

[Visfen]

You can't honestly think that lowering the interest rate is sufficient regulation for any market.

The fact is that the mortgage crisis was fueled by poor oversight of the banking sector and defrauding by the lenders.

Regulations is not restriction, people often mistake the two, regulation actually helps the economy as it increases the financial security for partners involve and minimizes the risks.

And the system has collapsed, it's not walking dead, worst crisis since the 30s.

[lastnymleft]

"You can't honestly think that lowering the interest rate is sufficient regulation for any market"

That's why I said, "Outright fraud notwithstanding". You need a court system to enforce that "No company shall mislead or deceive, or act in such a manner as to mislead or deceive". That's enough

"And the system has collapsed, it's not walking dead, worst crisis since the 30s"

You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet! Worst crisis since BEFORE the 30s coming. The Plunge Protection Team's been propping it up.

[Visfen]

No it's not enough, you can't just have regulation after things get messed up you need to enforce policy's which better help prevent lenders from defrauding the loan takers. You need much better disclosure on all levels in the banking sector and tougher restrictions on what rates can be taken for loans and missed payment, as it is today loan institutes actually try to lure people with poor economy so that when they miss their payments they can up their payments and cash in on their misfortune.

[lastnymleft]

"you can't just have regulation after things get messed up"

I ESPECIALLY don't want regulation "after things get messed up". It's government regulation now, including extra powers to the Fed, that is making the situation worse

"You need much better disclosure"

Hence the anti-fraud statement I gave you. Ok so long as its not misleading, or deceptive

"tougher restrictions on what rates can be taken"

The market is intolerant to malinvestment and is the best determinant of rates. Don't interfere

[lastnymleft]

Visfen,

Your university has been filling your head with a whole lot of socialist/statist bullshit. To clear your mind, I recommend you read some of the great Austrian-school economists, such as Nobel-prize winning Frederick Hayek, Ludwig Von Mises, Murray Rothbard. And Ron Paul. Mises. org is a good place to start.

A FREE market WORKS. ANY form of government interference - be it "PRO" or "CON" business - makes the market break down, and negative consequences to arise.

[Visfen]

Free markets only work if the country in question have a working justice system, the integrity and power to impose those laws and have an already established industry. That is why countries like Taiwan and China are doing so much better than African countries, because they've managed to first build a self-sustaining economy before they started competing on an international level.

Free markets only work if there is sufficient regulation. Deregulation is as hurtful as too much regulation.

[GrownupPhan]

Not necessarily. He may not have been free to do that without criticism, especially since rates were pretty close to zero for a while as it was. It just would have meant the recovery he engineered would have had to happen without such a bubble in real estate.

[lastnymleft]

The Fed has been flooding the world with USD to try to prop up an unsustainable US economy. Just in the last 4 years, a period of slow/neutral/negative growth, they've created $4 TRILLION out of thin air. Every dollar they create by fiat makes every dollar already in existence worth less. Hence more are required to buy the same amount of goods priced in USD. The dollars flood through Wall St, then the banks, creating malinvestment (ie bubbles), and finally to consumers as oil/food etc. inflation

[teemuruskeepaa]

Doesn't the interest rates rise when the bank tries to fund its suffering budget? And indeed, if the economy crashes and the inflation jumps to 30 %, and I can't pay the interests anymore, I'd be in trouble. If the Finnish state can't pay the promised interest quotient.

[Renegen1]

The interest rate rises only if it's a variable rate. If it is a fixed rate, it stays at 6% or whatever you're paying, no matter what! But a university education in this day and age is a must, unless you want to have a trade. You could go the selling dope route to contractors and then asking them for a job ;)

[lordblazer]

if he invest in education then he should not come to the states after he gets his degrees because that shit gets completely undermined here in the states. "oo you have a degree in engineering. Well I dont know if you are Costco material as you have worked for a law firm, but no retail experience, and a degree is nothing anyone can get a degree"-dumbass employer.