Thread: Jim Rogers: Staggering Debt to Spark Worse Financial Crisis

Jim Rogers: Staggering Debt to Spark Even Worse Financial Crisis Than 2008

Thursday, 09 Jun 2011 07:09 AM
By Forrest Jones

Staggering debts and loose monetary policy is going to send the United States into a financial crisis worse than the one in 2008, says investor guru Jim Rogers.

"The debts that are in this country are skyrocketing," Rogers tells CNBC, adding "in the last three years the government has spent staggering amounts of money, and the Federal Reserve is taking on staggering amounts of debt."

"When the problems arise next time…what are they going to do? They can't quadruple the debt again. They cannot print that much more money. It's gonna be worse the next time around."

Republicans and Democrats are debating lifting a $14.3 trillion debt ceiling in order to avoid a government default, and they'll likely come to an agreement but in the long run, they must agree on draconian tax and spending cuts, especially in the military, says Rogers, chief executive of Rogers Holdings.

"We’ve got troops in 150 countries around the world. They’re not doing us any good, they’re making enemies. They’re costing us a fortune."

He said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's tenure has been a "disaster." He said Bernanke has "never been right about anything" since he's been in Washington. "I hope he doesn't come back with QE3 but that's all he knows. The only thing he knows is to print money."

Rogers said he would love the world price of silver and gold to come down so he could buy more. He said he owns Chinese stocks, currencies and commodities, adding the Chinese yuan will be a safer currency than the dollar.

Rogers isn't the only one worried about U.S. debts.

Economist Martin Feldstein says the economy is far worse than most people realize. "The policies of the Obama administration have led to the weak condition of the American economy," Feldstein writes in The Wall Street Journal.

"The administration's most obvious failure was its misguided fiscal policies: the cash-for-clunkers subsidy for car buyers, the tax credit for first-time home buyers, and the $830 billion 'stimulus' package," he said.

Ratings agencies are, too.

Fitch Ratings says it could downgrade U.S. debt if lawmakers don't raise the debt ceiling in August.

"Default by the world's largest borrower and issuer of the pre-eminent reserve currency would be extraordinary and threaten the still fragile financial stability in the U.S. and the world as a whole, especially against the backdrop of the European sovereign debt crisis," says David Riley, head of Sovereign Ratings at Fitch, in a statement.

Meanwhile, a CNN poll shows 48 percent of Americans feel the U.S. economy is headed for an all-out depression within a year.

"The poll reminded respondents that during the Depression in the 1930s, roughly one in four workers were unemployed, banks failed, and millions of Americans were homeless or unable to feed their families," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland, according to the CNN. "And even with that reminder, nearly half said that another depression was likely in the next 12 months. That's not just economic pessimism — that's economic fatalism."

http://www.moneynews.com/Headline/Jimro ... ode=C68B-1

We haven't hit rock bottom yet - not even close.

Start stockpiling, food, clothing, etc. We just bought a smaller, used Energy Star freezer to store our meat and other things we find on sale. I also taught myself to can (water and pressure). The gardnening has not been so great. No room on our postage stamp lot and crummy soil and light condition to make much of a dent. (mod edit)