| Austrian School of Economics | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth | March 23, 1963 |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Institution | Ludwig von Mises Institute (1999–present) |
| Field | Macroeconomics, Financial Economics |
| Alma mater | Berkeley |
| Influences | Irwin Schiff, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Ayn Rand[citation needed] |
| Opposed | John Maynard Keynes, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Paul Krugman, Christopher Dodd[citation needed] |
Peter David Schiff (pronounced /ˈʃɪf/; born March 23, 1963) is an American stock broker, economist, author, financial news commentator, video blogger, the president of Euro Pacific Capital and a 2010 candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democratic Senator Chris Dodd.[1]
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A 1987 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley,[2] Schiff began his career at a Shearson Lehman Brothers brokerage.[3]
Schiff later became the president of Euro Pacific Capital, a brokerage firm founded in 1980 and reincorporated in 1996, which has its headquarters in Westport, Connecticut.[citation needed]Schiff is reported to have begun Euro Pacific Capital after he bought a broker-dealer firm in Florida and reincorporated the dealership in California.[citation needed] According to a 2005 article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut Schiff relocated the firm to Darien, Connecticut to find brokers "who think like him". The New York Metropolitan Area, Schiff says, has the biggest concentration of brokers in the country, making it easier to recruit employees.[4] The company has offices in Newport Beach, California as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona, Palm Beach, Florida, Los Angeles and New York, New York. Euro Pacific Capital also holds the exclusive rights to broker some Perth Mint gold products in the United States.[citation needed]
Schiff is a periodic guest on financial news television shows.[5] He also has his own internet radio broadcast,[6] and has appeared on Jim Puplava's internet radio show.[7][8]
Schiff was an economic adviser to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. In support of Paul's economic revitalization plan, he said: "We need a plan that stimulates savings and production, not more of the reckless borrowing and consumption that got us into this mess in the first place. Ron Paul's plan is the only one that amounts to a step in the right direction. If you want meaningful change—for the better that is—Ron Paul is the only candidate capable of delivering it."[9]
Schiff also endorsed Murray Sabrin for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.[10]
A June 2009 poll of likely voters in Connecticut, which was commissioned by Schiff showed he trailed Dodd by four percentage points.[11] On July 9, 2009, Schiff announced in a video blog the launch of his senate exploratory committee and an official website. Schiff said "Well, you know, I'm thinking about running. If anyone wants me to run, send me some money and maybe I'll run".[12] He began accepting donations in an attempt to see if "people who really believe in freedom, liberty, sound money and the constitution are prepared to support that with an actual political contribution or to volunteer their services and work on this campaign." He received over 10,000 donations and many e-mails from around the world.[12]
Schiff hinted at the possibility of his running on the June 9, 2009 episode of The Daily Show[13] and officially announced his candidacy on September 17, 2009, on the MSNBC Morning Joe show. He is seeking the Republican nomination.[14][15]
To date, there have been over 10,000 telephone calls and letters of support raising over $1,500,000 (USD) on his behalf.[12] Peter Schiff states, "I plan to bring my dedication and experience to the taxpayers of Connecticut. I may make mistakes in this campaign—but I will not make mistakes in representing you in the Senate. I look forward to an exciting race where I can share my vision with the people of Connecticut."[16]
Democratic Party spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan has responded by stating "Despite his groupie-like following, Schiff actually has few qualifications to run for the Senate and has publicly admitted that he can't even remember the last time he voted".[17] Schiff has responded by stating that "The fact that I haven't had experience ruining the country, that I haven't brought the banking system to its knees, that's my greatest attribute."[18]
In December 2008, some fans of Schiff from California put up a website to encourage Schiff to challenge incumbent Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd.[12][19] Roughly 5,000 people contributed to the site.[12] On February 21, 2009, a moneybomb raised over $20,000 for the grassroots movement.[20]
In a May 2009 video blog, Schiff told his supporters that he is seriously considering a run for the senate. On May 26, when questioned by a Washington Post affiliate about the likelihood of his running, Peter revealed that “It’s better than 50-50," and that he’d decide soon.[21] On June 9, 2009 as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Schiff again mentioned that he was considering a challenge to Sen. Chris Dodd in Connecticut.[18]
In 2002 interview for Southland Today, Schiff said that money from dot-com bubble is moving on and he imagines far bigger potential problems in the future.
In an August 2006 interview Schiff said: "The United States economy is like the Titanic and I am here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States." On Dec 31, 2006 in debate on Fox News, Schiff forecast that "what's going to happen in 2007" is that "real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth".
As part of these exchanges on Fox News and his repeated appearances on financial news network CNBC, Schiff had mentioned factors such as speculators and "the absence of lending standards" which are now seen by many to indeed be contributing factors to the "housing crisis" of 2007-2009. On December 13, 2007 in a Bloomberg interview on the show Open Exchange, Schiff further added that he felt that the crisis would extend to the credit card lending industry.[22] Following this observation, it was soon reported on December 23, 2007 by the Associated Press that "The value of credit card accounts at least 30 days late jumped 26 percent to $17.3 billion in October from a year earlier at 17 large credit card trusts examined by the AP... At the same time, defaults -- when lenders essentially give up hope of ever being repaid and write off the debt -- rose 18 percent to almost $961 million in October, according to filings made by the trusts with the Securities and Exchange Commission."[23]
Schiff also discusses the role of the U.S. consumer in the world, saying that the U.S. consumer thinks he's doing the world a favor by consuming what the rest of the world produces. He is quick to point out that this relationship will come to an end much sooner than people imagine, and with negative consequences for the United States. Schiff has been quoted as saying: "Consumption is its own reward for Production"[24]—meaning that without production, the United States cannot indefinitely sustain its ongoing consumption. Schiff, and other adherents of Austrian economics, promote savings and production as "the engine of economic growth—not consumption".[citation needed]
In a 2008 interview published at the Ludwig Von Mises Institute web site, Schiff says that he was introduced, early on, to the Austrian school of economics by his father Irwin Schiff.[25]
Schiff says that the current economic crisis is not the problem; it is the solution. He says the transition from borrowing and spending, to saving and producing, cannot be accomplished without a severe recession, given the current imbalances in the U.S. economy. Schiff is also critical of the government's efforts to "ease the pain" with economic stimulus packages and bailouts. According to Schiff, this type of government-assisted approach to economics will exacerbate the situation and could result in hyperinflation if the government continues to "replace legitimate savings with a printing press."[26]
Schiff supports the reduction of government economic regulation. Schiff is concerned that Barack Obama's administration may increase such regulation.[27]
Schiff points to the low savings rate of the United States as its worst malady, citing the transformation of the United States from the world's largest creditor nation in the 1970s to the largest debtor nation in the year 2000. This low savings rate can be attributed, Schiff says, to higher inflation and the artificially low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.
In a March 2009 speech in Omaha, Nebraska, Schiff stated that it was impossible for the massive U.S. debt to China to be repaid unless the U.S. Dollar's value was substantially diluted by creating ("printing") new dollars. Schiff believes that gold will reach USD 5000 within a few years and that the 2009 stock market rally will be short lived.[28][29] Since 2008 Schiff has many times said that if government doesn't changes course that there will be hyperinflation in the US.[30][31]
In January 2009 economics blogger and registered investment adviser Mike Shedlock claimed that Peter Schiff's investment strategies had resulted in some Euro Pacific Capital clients losing 60% to 70% of their account value in 2008.[32] Schiff responded to this claim by stating, "to examine the effectiveness of my investment strategy immediately following a major correction by looking only at those accounts who adopted the strategy at the previous peak is unfair and distortive."[33] He adds that losses were felt mostly by recent clients and not by others. In a November 2009 videoblog, Schiff claimed that five stocks he picked for Fortune Magazine in January 2009 gained a total of 360%.[34][35]
In an interview on Yahoo Tech Ticker, Schiff's position was summarized as a nonpartisan critique of American policymakers, comparing former President George W. Bush to Herbert Hoover and President Barack Obama to FDR.
In The Wall Street Journal, on February 11, 2009 Schiff responded to his critics by saying:
On February 13, 2009, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist Eric Tyson analyzed Schiff's recommendations from a U.S. News & World Report magazine interview from May 2008 as well as other Schiff recommendations.[37]
Peter Schiff is the author of three books published by John Wiley and Sons. His latest release, Crash Proof 2.0, is a NY Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller.
Peter David Schiff (born March 23, 1963 is an American millionaire, economist and author noted for his predictions of the housing market crash in 2005, support for free markets and a reduction in the size of government. In mid 2009 he is expected to announce his run for senate.
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In a Washington Post interview, Peter Schiff stated
This quote elicited a number of response from the political blogosphere.1, 2, 3, 4
   | www.europac.net - Euro Pacific Capital : Because there's a bull market somewhere. |
| | Peter Schiff's endorsement for Ron Paul - YouTube - Ron Paul endorsed by Peter Schiff |
| | 2006 Fox News interview in which Peter Schiff forecasts 2007 housing bust - YouTube - Real Estate Predictions 2007 |
| | RonPaul2008.com Press release - Campaign For Liberty — Home |
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