Weekend Blogging
Stop back tomorrow as I’ll be blogging a little bit Saturday, May 18.
A new “Resource Of The Week” will be posted as well.
Thanks,
Christopher E. Hill
Editor
CNBC Tries Calling Out Peter Schiff Over Gold Price
Anyone remember those “Peter Schiff Was Right” YouTube.com videos that went viral right after the U.S. housing bubble popped and the global economic crisis really reared its ugly head in the fall of 2008?
Here’s probably the most popular one out there.
Well, I’m convinced a clip or more of Thursday’s installment of the CNBC show Futures Now, hosted by CNBC Reporter Jackie DeAngelis, will be included in a future “Peter Schiff Was Right About Gold” YouTube video. From an exchange between DeAngelis and the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital:
SCHIFF: You’re talking about investors’ demand for gold going down. I would disagree. Because I own a gold company too, Euro Pacific Precious Metals. And we’ve never had more demand from our clients in the history of my company than we have now. I would say speculators, speculative demand, is what went down. I think a lot of people who came late to the gold rally were speculating in gold. They were simply buying it because the price was rising. They wanted to hop on that train. They use ETFs. They use futures markets. So I think the speculators have been flushed from the market in this pullback. But the investors- they’re still there. Because all of the reasons they’ve been buying gold for the past 10 or 12 years- those reasons have never been stronger. And so investor demand continues. We’ve flushed away the speculative demand. But I think the speculators will come back in the next rally.
DEANGELIS: Alright. Well, Peter, let’s step back for a second because you kind of jumped in there on the conversation we were having and I definitely appreciate your opinion on that. But I want to talk about the gold price that we’re looking at right now. $1,383.60. That is the price that we’re looking at at this point. We’ve had you on the show multiple times before, you said that gold was going to skyrocket, you say it’s going to be a bumpy ride and you can’t tell us exactly how we’re going to get there. But tell me today, Peter, why have you gotten it wrong?
(Editor’s note: Bold added for emphasis)
SCHIFF: I don’t think I have gotten it wrong. You just said I said it would be a bumpy ride. Look, it’s been bumpy, but I’ve been on this ride since gold was under $300 an ounce. It’s not like gold is down from that point. It’s off its highs. But I think what’s going on right now is you’ve got a false narrative out there that the U.S. economy is improving. It’s not. All the data points have been negative. A deluge of negative data came out today. The only evidence of a rebounding economy, is the stock market going up, or the real estate market going up. But that’s not because the economy is sound. That’s because of all the cheap money created by the Fed. That’s the same reason why stock and real estate prices were going up in 2006 or 2007. It is a bubble. The economy, meanwhile, is actually getting worse. And all this talk about the Fed getting ready to take away the punch bowl is all talk. They’re going to spike it even more. They’re going to up the size of QE. But people who are speculating of an early end are getting it wrong. Gold is going through a correction. All bull markets have a correction. It is a buying opportunity.
“Schiff: Gold a Generational Buy”
CNBC Video
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
(Editor’s notes: Info added to “Crash Prophets” page; I am not responsible for any personal liability, loss, or risk incurred as a consequence of the use and application, either directly or indirectly, of any information presented herein.)
CBO: ObamaCare’s Gross Costs Over 10 Years May Be Nearly Twice White House’s Original Projections
Universal healthcare. A noble idea- if a nation can afford it.
As for “ObamaCare,” the more time that passes since the Affordable Care Act was enacted on March 23, 2010, the more expensive the projected numbers are getting.
Howard Sheppard reported on the website of Central Pennsylvania FOX affiliate WPMT FOX 43 yesterday:
The gross costs of the national healthcare law rammed through Congress by President Barack Obama will reach an estimated $1.76 trillion over 10 years – nearly twice the amount originally projected. The figure, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revealed on Wednesday, is bound to cause embarrassment to the administration as it comes just as debate on “Obamacare” is starting to heat up again, two weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional…
Original White House estimates said the gross cost of the healthcare act would be $940 billion over a decade, but the CBO’s new figures raise that figure to a shade under $1.5 trillion. For the 10 years from 2013-2022 that increases even further to $1.76 trillion.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Back on March 1, I noted that according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released February 26, ObamaCare will increase the long-term federal deficit by $6.2 trillion.
$6.2 trillion.
Considering the growing instability of the U.S. financial house of cards, one might wonder if the costs associated with universal health coverage won’t be the straw that eventually breaks the camel’s back.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Sheppard, Howard. “CBO: Obamacare estimated cost nearly double to $1.7 trillion.” FOX Central Pennsylvania. 16 May 2013. (http://fox43.com/2013/05/16/cbo-obamacare-estimated-cost-nearly-double-to-1-7-trillion/#axzz2TYdCQnzp). 16 May 2013.
Solar Flares Could Be Directed At Earth Over The Next Week
On Tuesday, I blogged about the recent surge in strong solar flares popping-up on the Sun. Luckily, those X-class flares were not Earth-directed. If they were, well, things could have gotten ugly on the “third rock from the Sun” if those flares had been accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, or CME. From an August 16, 2011, post:
The real danger comes when a solar storm ejects a chunk of the corona — the sun’s outermost layer — toward the Earth. It hurtles through space as a huge electrically charged cloud with its own magnetic field. Scientists call it a “coronal mass ejection.”
With an Earth-bound CME, magnetic storms here on Earth could cause electric surges that fry electrical systems and hardware.
Lights out.
Well, the Japanese are now warning about the potential for new solar flares to be directed at the Earth in the coming days. From Jay Alabaster on the PCWorld website Thursday morning:
A Japanese government institute has warned that satellite transmissions, GPS readings, and power lines could be affected over the next two weeks if a recent spate of solar flares continues.
Four large solar flares have been detected over the last few days, including one on Tuesday that was the largest of the year. The flares were judged to be “X-class” by NASA and other agencies, the highest in a linear scale based on X-ray measurements.
Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, or NICT, said the flares came from a group of sunspots that are pointed away from the Earth, but are due to rotate to face in the Earth’s direction over the next week. NICT said that if more major flares occur during that time, there could be problems for satellites and other equipment.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Hopefully, no coronal mass ejections will be heading our way along with one of these flares. Or any other time, for that matter.
It’s been estimated that a severe solar storm could cause $1 trillion to $2 trillion in losses the first year, and take 4 to 10 years to fully recover from.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Alabaster, Jay. “Japan warns solar flares could harm GPS, satellites, power lines.” PCWorld. 16 May 2013. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2038887/japan-warns-solar-flares-could-harm-gps-satellites-power-lines.html). 17 May 2013.
Illinois Senate Could Vote On Right To Carry Legislation Friday
In Illinois, right to carry legislation emerged today from the state’s Senate Executive Committee, and could be voted on by the entire chamber as early as tomorrow. Lauren Leone-Cross reported on The State Journal-Register (Springfield) website this afternoon:
A Chicago Democrat’s restrictive concealed-carry legislation made it through a Senate committee Thursday, with opponents vowing again to fight its passage.
The measure, which gives local law enforcement veto power for permits and home-rule municipalities additional say over where people can carry a weapon in public, passed the Senate Executive Committee by a party-line 10-4 vote.
Dave McKinney blogged about Illinois House Bill 183 this afternoon on the Chicago Sun-Times website. On the Sun-Times Politics blog, McKinney wrote:
Within Chicago, [State Senator (D-Chicago) Kwame] Raoul’s legislation would require police Supt. Garry McCarthy to sign off on all concealed-carry applicants before they could get permits from the Illinois State Police, setting up what gun-rights advocates fear would be a choke-point that could keep city gun owners from getting licenses…
Raoul’s bill, which could be voted on by the Senate Friday, also would permit Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and other sheriffs to lodge objections to any concealed-carry applicants that the State Police would have to consider along with 17 other qualifying hurdles.
Among those requirements are the broad standards of whether an applicant demonstrates “good moral character” and whether the issuance of a concealed-carry license to that person is “consistent with public safety.”
Rather than “shall-issue” right to carry, Illinois residents as a whole would be left with “may-issue” right to carry, which some say will result in only a small number of permits being issued- outside of those for family, friends, and campaign donors, according to scuttlebutt. A prominent pro-2nd Amendment group is going so far as to declare the new legislation not even a right to carry bill. Monique Garcia, Rafael Guerrero, and Ray Long reported on the Chicago Tribune website tonight:
Leading the opposition was the National Rifle Association, whose lobbyist delivered a clear message that the bill was so restrictive it could not be properly called a “carry bill.”
“This is a bill to discourage people and prevent people from carrying firearms and exercising their constitutional, fundamental right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in public,” [National Rifle Association's Illinois lobbyist Todd] Vandermyde testified.
Sounds like if this legislation is passed in the Illinois General Assembly and signed by Governor Pat Quinn, it will probably be heading back to the courts. A federal appeals court required Illinois to put a concealed-carry law in place by June 9.
House Bill 183 could come up for a vote in the full Senate tomorrow, Friday, May 17.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Leone-Cross, Lauren. “Senate panel OKs restrictive gun bill; full chamber could vote Friday.” The State Journal-Register. 16 May 2013. (http://www.sj-r.com/carousel/x1039442731/Illinois-Senate-committee-to-consider-gun-bill). 16 May 2013.
McKinney, Dave. “Senate panel OKs concealed-carry bill over NRA opposition.” Sun-Times Politics. 16 May 2013. (http://blogs.suntimes.com/politics/2013/05/senate_panel_advances_concealed-carry_bill_over_nra_objections.html). 16 May 2013.
Long, Ray, Guerrero, Rafael, and Garcia, Monique. “Concealed carry rules for Illinois emerge but face uncertain fate.” Chicago Tribune. 16 May. 2013. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-illinois-concealed-carry-0517-20130517,0,1062260,full.story). 16 May 2013.
Anti-Gun Illinois State Senators Could Force Votes This Week On Flawed Right To Carry, Magazine Ban Legislation
In “Madiganistan,” the push for more gun ‘control’ has become a part of everyday life. These days, anti-gun legislators are looking to severely restrict legal concealed-carry that’s coming to Illinois in less than a month, as well as to impose a 10-round limit on CCW firearm ammunition magazines. From the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action website yesterday:
Illinois: Senate Skirts Right to Carry Mandate by Contemplating Vote on Severely Flawed Bills This Week
This week in Springfield, anti-gun state Senators will attempt to derail Right to Carry by forcing votes on severely flawed Right to Carry legislation and a bill to ban magazines commonly used in carry firearms. This faulty concealed carry legislation attempts to exempt Chicago and Cook County from any “shall-issue” mandate and allow individual towns to expand the list of places statewide that are off-limits to anyone concealed carrying. If such exemptions are adopted, 40% of Illinois’ population could be denied the ability to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense based on their residency and the confusing patchwork of laws will put ALL gun owners statewide at risk of felony prosecution. Call your state Senator TODAY: Tell him or her that any compromise and vote in favor of this type of legislation to abandon 40% of the Illinois population is a vote against Right to Carry.
Also imminent is a vote on banning magazines commonly used in concealed carry firearms. The bill number is not yet available, but the legislation seeks to impose an arbitrary ten-round limit. Restrictions on magazine capacity only limit the ability of law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves effectively and would ban numerous commonly used standard capacity magazines.
It is imperative that you contact your state Senator NOW and respectfully tell him or her to support “Shall-Issue” Right to Carry without carve-outs and exceptions for municipalities, and to oppose any magazine bans. With Right to Carry in jeopardy, state legislators need to be reminded that “Shall-Issue” carry is the best move for Illinois. In a state with an excessive crime problem, Illinois citizens need to be able to defend themselves against the criminals and gang members who will not obey ANY laws. Our constitutional right to keep and bear arms and inherent right to self-defense protect all Americans, not just some in a particular state, city or county. State legislators have a responsibility to their constituents to NOT choose politics over a perfect chance to make Illinois a safer place for ALL residents.
Contact information for your state Senator can be found here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Chicago ‘Magnificent Mile’ Robbery Latest In Series Of Criminal Incidents By Young People Downtown
(Editor’s note: According to the Chicago news media tonight, the Chicago Police Department is saying the following robbery story is unfounded. How much is untrue still remains to be seen.)
Here’s a headline that’s sure to make Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel cringe today:
“Woman robbed of $200K worth of jewelry on Mag Mile”
From the WGN Chicago Web Desk last night:
A 69-year-old woman was robbed of as much as $200,000 in jewelry, cash and other items by a group of young men in front of a North Michigan Avenue department store this afternoon, authorities said…
The woman… was robbed by a group of at least three and as many and eight young men, law enforcement sources said…
The woman told police the group surrounded her, and demanded her money and jewelry.
John Garcia added on the ABC Chicago website this morning:
It happened around noontime in the middle of a crowded sidewalk…
Authorities say there were as many as ten young men in the group. They reportedly threatened her, but she gave up the valuables and was not hurt.
It is the latest in a series of criminal incidents involving groups of young people on North Michigan Avenue.
In March, police arrested dozens of young men and women who gathered in the area and were allegedly attacking shoppers and police.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
WGN Chicago is reporting that the Chicago Police Department is not classifying Wednesday’s incident as being a “flash mob.” But like I blogged Tuesday:
Still, if I were an urban dweller/visitor in that part of the city, I wouldn’t let my guard down for an instant. They shouldn’t be doing that anyway, especially as the more-established criminal element in the city is probably well-aware of the ongoing manpower shortage in the Chicago Police Department.
As for City Hall? They’re probably wishing May 19 had already arrived.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
“Woman robbed of $200K worth of jewelry on Mag Mile.” Chicago Tribune. 15 May 2013. (http://wgntv.com/2013/05/15/woman-robbed-of-200k-worth-of-jewelry-on-mag-mile/). 16 May 2013.
Garcia, John. “Woman robbed of jewelry, thousands in cash on Michigan Avenue.” ABC Chicago. 16 May 2013. (http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=9104284). 16 May 2013.
Robert Shiller: 10 Years From Now, ‘Home Prices Will Be About Where They Are Now, In Real Terms’
I can’t believe it’s been 8 months since I last blogged about Yale economist and housing expert Robert Shiller. Back on September 18, I wrote that Dr. Shiller, who was out there in the mid-2000s warning anyone who would listen about the housing bubble and subsequent crash, wasn’t sure residential real estate in the United States had bottomed-out just yet, noting there already had been 4 attempts at a housing recovery since the subprime crisis struck.
On April 30, Robert Shiller appeared on Yahoo! Finance’s business show The Daily Ticker. Speaking to host Henry Blodget, Dr. Shiller had this to say about where he thought home prices were heading:
BLODGET: And so you have studied home prices going back hundreds of years. You’ve watched the bubble form here. You called the top of that. You called the crash. What do you think will happen to house prices over the next 5 to 10 years?
SHILLER: Yeah, well I wrote several New York Times columns about this. I think it’s hard to say. It could go up. It could go down. You know, in the 20th century, typically, in a decade, real inflation-corrected home prices went up 15 percent or down 15 percent. Usually not because of any bubble or anything like that. It’s just supply and demand, right? The existing home stock might be in the wrong location and the economy is moving somewhere else. So it loses value. Or, then it might be some new interest in owning a home. These things are hard to predict.But my guess that is, 10 years from now, home prices will be about where they are now, in real terms.
Dr. Shiller also had this nugget for real estate investors:
So it looks like there’s a tilt toward rentals. What that suggests to me that if you want to invest in housing, you want to look toward housing that is suitable for conversion to rental.
You can watch the entire interview on the Yahoo! Finance site here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Major Terrorist Attack On U.S. ‘Within Weeks’?
I stumbled on the following article on the website of WND (formerly WorldNetDaily), an independent news company. Reza Kahlili wrote Monday:
Iran has given the go-ahead to operatives of three terrorist groups that have infiltrated the United States to carry out missions, including what is expected to be a Mumbai-style attack on a hotel where innocent bystanders would be killed, WND has learned…
Three targets have been chosen within America for imminent attack, and the terror teams have now cut communications with the operational center in Iran, a sign that they are moving ahead with the attacks, according to a high-level intelligence officer within the Islamic regime.
According to an update to the piece Tuesday, Kahili’s “source” revealed the major attack would take place “within weeks.”
Interesting reading (can’t speak for how reliable the information provided is though), which can be viewed in its entirety on the WND site here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Illinois State Rifle Association Call For Action
Speaking of heat, from the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) the other day:
ACTION ALERT – THE HEAT WILL BE ON THIS WEEK
YOUR ACTION NEEDED – YOU MUST MAKE CALLS TO SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES
As June 9th grows nearer, a lot of attention will be focused on the General Assembly’s efforts to comply with the court order to enact concealed carry. As important as passing shall-issue concealed carry is, gun owners should not let the carry issue distract them from other efforts already underway to diminish their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
Those of you who have been following the topic of gun control this year know that there are some key items on the gun-grabbers’ legislative wish list. Among the crown jewels are the ban and confiscation of semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns; the ban and confiscation of standard capacity magazines; the registration of lawful gun owners; and the mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms. The gun controllers claim that these measures are necessary to protect public safety. Of course, firearm owners know that these measures are designed strictly for the purpose of punishing people who dare to own a gun.
A glimpse of what we may soon be facing was provided by a front-page feature in the latest Sunday edition of the “Chicago Tribune.” In that story, we learned of a single mom so desperate for cash that she volunteered to become a straw purchaser for hardened criminals who were prohibited from purchasing firearms. She was eventually caught and is now serving a multi-year prison term for her misdeeds.
As far as gun owners are concerned, the hapless straw purchaser is right where she belongs – jail. Interestingly, the author of the piece spins the story to suggest that the woman is in jail not because of her decision to commit crimes, but because the “gun lobby” has fought against legislation supposedly designed to combat straw-purchasing. Once again, the notion is put forth that muggers, mass murderers, and straw purchasers only commit crimes because the “gun lobby” lets them. In this case, it’s gun owners’ fault that this mom is in jail rather at than home with her kids.
In short, it seems that the purpose of the straw purchase story is to promote legislation requiring gun owners to report “lost or stolen” firearms to the police within a short time of them being lost or stolen. As is often the case, such legislation may sound good on the surface. But, the devil is in the details, and those details place an undue burden on firearm owners. Such proposals may be fine in theory, but problematic in practice.
So, here is what you need to do to help ensure passage of shall-issue concealed carry and prevent passage of extremist gun control proposals:
1. Call your State Representative and your State Senator. Politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm owner and that you would like the senator or representative to vote for “shall-issue” concealed carry and vote against “may-issue” concealed carry. Likewise, advise the person that you oppose any proposal that would diminish your right to keep and bear arms and expect the legislator to oppose such measures as well. If you do not know who your representative or senator is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspxIf you already know who your legislators are and just need the contact info, you can find that here: www.ilga.gov/house/. and here: www.ilga.gov/senate/.
2. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and ask them to make calls as well.
3. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong.
FURTHER ACTION
The Will County Board will vote on a resolution in favor of Concealed Carry this coming Thursday at 9:30 in the Will County Office Building, 2nd Floor, 302 N. Chicago Avenue, Joliet. It’s important that firearm owners show up for the vote to show their support for the measure. Plan on being there at 9:00 AM so that you can get a seat.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Recent Posts
- Weekend Blogging
- CNBC Tries Calling Out Peter Schiff Over Gold Price
- CBO: ObamaCare’s Gross Costs Over 10 Years May Be Nearly Twice White House’s Original Projections
- Solar Flares Could Be Directed At Earth Over The Next Week
- Illinois Senate Could Vote On Right To Carry Legislation Friday
- Anti-Gun Illinois State Senators Could Force Votes This Week On Flawed Right To Carry, Magazine Ban Legislation
- Chicago ‘Magnificent Mile’ Robbery Latest In Series Of Criminal Incidents By Young People Downtown
- Robert Shiller: 10 Years From Now, ‘Home Prices Will Be About Where They Are Now, In Real Terms’
- Major Terrorist Attack On U.S. ‘Within Weeks’?
- Illinois State Rifle Association Call For Action
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