Motley Fool: "I am an economic girlie-man."

[madfloridian]

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04090118.htm

By Bill Mann (TMF Otter)
September 1, 2004

SNIP..."In his speech last night at the Republican National Convention, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pinged folks who are pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy, calling them "economic girlie-men."

On a personal level, I thought it was a pretty funny line, and there's certain comedy to the fact that Arnold gets to spoof a line that was used on Saturday Night Live to spoof Arnold.

Here's the exact line: "To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: 'Don't be economic girlie-men!"'

But you know what? I'm pessimistic about the economy. I'm afraid that the Federal Reserve has backed itself into a corner. I'm afraid that lending discipline among mortgage companies has completely collapsed. I am concerned that low interest rates have been used to entice the American consumer to clean up a recession borne by an irresponsible corporate spending binge by going on one of his own. I'm afraid that the $200 billion-plus that Americans have cashed out of their houses has been spent, and the next drop in interest rates won't be concomitant with a rise in prices; rather, it will be because of a full-fledged financial emergency....."

[reprehensor]

1. The Fool is no Fool.

Those guys are great.

[Jacobin]

2. Ha. Beat me to it. I was just about to post this. Another snip:

So fine, I'm an economic girlie-man. Here's another thing: I'm not someone rooting for things to be worse. I'm a four-alarm, full-fledged laissez-faire capitalist South Park Republican fiscal conservative. I don't think people can get rich by buying houses from one another for ever more money. I don't think that the path to ultimate financial success is to borrow more; it doesn't work on an individual level, and it sure as heck doesn't work on a national level.
To borrow a phrase from Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) Chairman Warren Buffett, we live in "Squanderville." More importantly, I believe that the efforts to forestall the cleansing of the billions of dollars of horrendous investments in bad businesses from the last decade will ultimately wreak more destruction. The longer such cleansing is delayed, the more wrenching it is going to be. What we've seen in the last two years is the return of speculative excess, if you will, another layer of miserable capital allocation decisions. ARM interest-only mortgages. Debt spending. Mamma.com (Nasdaq: MAMA).

If believing that makes me an "economic girlie-man," well, so be it. I'll just take this opportunity to test just how big that "big tent" really is.

[aquart]

4. Just what I've been saying

Except without the knowledge and expertise.

[Xipe Totec]

3. South Park Republicans, I Love It!

Thanks for the post, Ms M!

[NJGeek]

5. KERRY AND SURROGATES: PLEASE POUNCE ON THIS STUFF

JEEZ!!!! Man I wish I was still in my college film 101 class , I would have a field day with this crap.

[capaylib]

6. I'm a girlie man too

Great points! As someone that road the the high tech rollercoaster and crashed right along with it, I worry that real estate will be the next "fast cash, fake money" slap in the face for the middle class. We need to recognize that things that seem too good to be true...generally are too good to be true. Especially for those of us without millions of dollars in assets.

I have always been a left leaning liberal and the access I had to capitol during the height of the high tech craze, presented some very interesting questions for me and was the subject of lots of debates within my family (to the left of me). One thing that I learned that I don't think many of us know...is that you really aren't a member of "the club" until you surpass the $5 million mark...then the world is truly your oyster...

OK...I ramble...I just can't see why anyone with less than $5M would beleive this administration is on their side, or that anyone with a conscience and more than $5M would be on their side.

I am confident that we are going to take them down on November 2.

[jeanmarc]

7. Didn't Ahnold seek girlie-man assistance for Califawneeya?

I seem to remember Ahnold, being the girlie-man, hanging out in Washington, D.C. looking for an economic handout. You see, he did not believe that the Califawneeya economy was robust enough to fend on its own, but instead, like a girlie-man, tried to seek a Welfare queen like handout. From steroids, to handouts, Ahnold is not quite the man he thinks he is. How is taking steroids 'hawd' work?