Debt, Deleveraging and Demographics Mean Great Depression Ahead, Dent Says

This guy is a lulu!!! In his last book, The Roaring 2000,s, he showed a chart and predicted the the Dow would be at 50,000. The same chart in his book showed the Dow going straight up in 2008. The world economy does have its problems.If you do listen to this guy,call your Dr. and get him to increase your prozac intake. Quick!

I'd say both are right for some and different reasons. I think I would be more inclined to buy foreign currencies and consumable commodities that are highly inelastic like water, crude oil, and wheat. Gold will displace silver simply because the industrial demand will diminish. Countries doing well will still continue to buy up gold.

As for our retarded government (all levels), they are about to learn a very tough lesson of a lifetime. It's not a good idea to suck up to corporate fascists and give them carte blanche to do whatever they feel like and anything they want. You are now witnessing first hand the net results of it.

If (or should I say when) the U$D gets the boot as the world's reserve currency, all bets are off. The little party we're having now is coming to a screeching halt. Expect gas prices to skyrocket to $6 - 8.00/gal., A loaf of bread should be around $5 - 7.00. A gal of milk around $5 - 6.00. And guess what? Real wages and incomes will be going down!

When the elitist dogs of this country took the liberty to suppress workers' wages over the past 30 years, dumb down our population, shut down plants and layoff workers, and send jobs overseas, they sent America's life blood along with it, its disintegrated residue of what was once a revenue stream from consumption spending (sales tax), the number of households that owned their homes (property taxes), etc... Gone! Now, the government will have no choice but to tax the elitists. Because, if the U$D is no longer the reserve currency, the Fed can't legally print money anymore. Hence, checkmate. Tax the rich, borrow money from any country dumb enough to give it to them (lots of luck) or it's curtains. America as we've known it will be no more.

The American people have two options: slowly starve to death and eventually rot into the earth where you had fallen OR pay closer attention to what is happening all around Europe and the Middle East. Grow a pair, and be ready to fight a very ugly revolution. Now that you know your options, don't feel like you are criminal. This very garbage has happened time and again throughout history and across many societies in countries all around the world. In fact, the scenario we have today was very similar to what was going one in France under Louis XVI. Do you honestly think this country is immune to revolts? Since you were not motivated to make changes in this system, whether political, economic, or both, there are a couple of motivators that will sooner or later, get you off your a$$e$ and do something. It's call your stomach and your body's intolerance to freezing temperatures living in make shift cardboard huts.

Had the people of this country listened to who everyone in denial called "crackpots" when they were sounding off the alarms 20 - 30 years ago, the @#$% that was just getting started would have been easier to fix and stopped in its tracks--even avoided. Now, blood is going to flow in the streets...just like it did in Paris in the late 1700s. That is, of course, you choose to perish in a slow agonizing death via starvation and exposure. You still think it can't happen here? Go right on thinking that...Nonetheless, the storm is coming, like it or not. The question is will you be ready for it.

There was no mention of the Presidential election mill roaring back up to speed this coming fall and that neither party will let a slowing economy ruin their chances for their re-election and yet ANOTHER dip into the Washington Money Trough. The stock market will continue to rise, propped up by printing more money until just after the next election. Then, LOOK OUT!!!

the 2000s were a wasted decade thanks to bush and now the 2010s look like a wasted decade thanks to obama. it really does not matter who the president is

They are going to have to reset. Globally. It will take a lot of pain and gnashing of teeth to convince all the pompous, arrogant leaders (schmucks) of the world. Much suffering will occur first. But eventually, the world needs to just plain write it off and reset the debt. It's not just America. Check out current housing prices in Canada and Australia. Looks like the States in 2007.

With the fed and treasury willing and able to print whatever shortfalls there are for anyone and anything, I can't see how there ever could be any sustained period of deflation. Any drop in debt in the money supply will more than be offset by money creation to cover shortfalls in taxation. Voters can vote themselves as much as they want to cover their personal shortfalls in income in the form of tax credits, "stimulus", "job creation", "green energy", etc, and the government will need to print to pay off its obligations for social security and medicare as well as the huge operating deficits each year. Because we have an economically ignorant populace and more people that pay almost no taxes than do pay them, any politician trying to stop it will probably be voted out of office. The result will be massive inflation and if you sit in treasuries/dollars you may lose it all.

Deflationists were saying all this when gold was $600/oz. So where's the deflation? Anything you buying out there (except housing, which were in a bubble) cheaper than it was 5 years ago? Gold, silver, oil, food, clothing, cars, education, steel, insurance? Oh yeah, HD TV's and vacation condos are cheaper. They got that right. Yea!

I don't know how this guy has any credibility! Remember "Roaring 2000's"?
What happened?
It just goes to show what a good PR Agent can do!
Sure wish I had one... I have been kicking his arse since 1998 when I became a professional without a PR agent!
Don't listen to him...

Hmmm... this guy or Peter Schiff's scenario of economic collapse... which one would I choose?

I would go with Peter Schiff's scenario because the likelihood of U.S. honoring all debt is the same as the European Union maintaining integrity out of honoring debt from irresponsible members. Stick with commodities.

Dent is good at painting a picture, but I disagree with his investment recommendations.

Certainly, the three C's of Character, Capacity and Capital didn't matter.

Derivatives are side car bets and a joke.

Punch a Banker in the face today, you will feel better.

We have massive national debt, but we're going to see deflation? Get real, dude. I'll keep my gold-focused mutual fund investment, thank you.

The 1920/30's didn't have globalization on their side. Globalization is alive and well and the growth of other countries' middle class wealth around the world will continue to seek out dollar-denominated investment, including dollar-demoninated oil demand to support their growth. This Global wealth effect was the underlying drived last 20-yr asset bubble - foreign demand for CDOs, US real estate, condos, etc. (i.e. how many sovereign wealth funds have you seen pop up in last 5-10 years?)

It never really went away, and is happening again in US real estate (and gold and the stock market) for the highest-quality assets, for the exact same reason.

Though Dent's10x debt/GDP conclusion vs the 20's seems startling, he is ignoring the global wealth effect and the continuing massive demand for dollar-denominated investment. This will continue to massively cushion our fall / deleveraging through QE for years. Still a fall (I agree with him), but a massive cushion.

It's not going happen like what he dreams. Of course he dreams it to happen cuz he got all that "cash" at hand ready to buy in cheap. The opportunity window closed in 2009. He forgets that we got Helicopter Ben stands by to rack the printing press 24/7 then drop the fait money from the sky.

Although many people are in debt, there are lots with the money in cash too. Lots of people have been benefited from every Boom and Bust. And they got nothing to do to but sitting around waiting the crash scenario to occur again so they can all grab their share of the assets in the next fire sell and get filthy filthy rich again and again.

Guess what? Helicopter Ben won't let them.

Counting unfunded liabilities is silly. That's like saying I need to count all of the debt/expenses I *may* occur in the next 50 years but not consider the revenue I will generate. Furthermore, calling the retiring boomers "Savers" is ridiculous. What, exactly, are they saving for? How are they going to "save" when they are retired? It doesn't take a mental giant to figure out that retirees are SPENDERS, not savers. That isn't even considering they are RETIREES, that means they RETIRED from their job. Who takes their place?

This "economist" is a rube.

I watch The Daily Ticker every day and believe that you guys have some very intelligent guests, but this guy Dent is the smartest yet.

Obama, do the right thing and listen to this guy.

Yes the dollar will do exactly that, yes, I totally agree this is NOT the end of the dollar! But from now till then I gotta have some income or I'll spend all the money I've got before it's worth something again.

Debt if it gets bad enough may cause inflation. i dont see this coming because of our enormous excess capacity. housing is on its derriere. my son is buying cheap houses that were worth more 20 years ago. they are plentifull throughout the country and are cheap because you have to buy them for cash. this will help to offset the harm done by inflation. if we have serious inflation it will hurt those with fixed income but income tax payers, the 20% that keep everything going, will not be hurt because they dont horde cash. if we did not have deflation in the Recession why should we have it now, in expansion. our unreported income of 4T plus will continue to support demand. debt is a problem for our creditors. dont be one. i begged everyone to sell everything and buy XOM with me here on 10/11/10.i imagine those who refused crying themselves to sleep. i said early last year that there would be no deflation or inflation. i said all this egypt, libya, tsunami stuff was ephemera and dont sell.
Russ Stahl
Greatest living economist and analyst.

There was no mention of the Presidential election mill roaring back up to speed this coming fall and that neither party will let a slowing economy ruin their chances for re-election and yet ANOTHER dip into the Washington Money Trough. The stock market will continue to rise, propped up by printing more money until just after the next election. Then, LOOK OUT!!!

Does Dent work for Ben?

UUP call options trending up. Buying UUP call options good way to hedge against a repeat of financial meltdown and credit crisis, without liquidating current equity positions.

Oh well...