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Jim Rogers: "American Socialism for the Rich"

"America is more communist than China is right now. You can see that this is welfare of the rich, it is socialism for the rich… it's just bailing out financial institutions," Rogers said.

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See also:  Welcome to the U.S.S.R. (United States Socialist Republic)  Citigroup  (PDF)

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Saturday, September 13, 2008 | 03:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | TrackBack (0)
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Jim did move to China , though , i think he now lives in singapore. Did u ever notice the experts that speak up , are considered kooky . Rogers , Paul . while Buffet statements are hardly publicized or , down played ??

Posted by: maspablo | Sep 13, 2008 4:01:53 AM

The insanity from 2003-2006 fueled by greed, stupidity and lack of regulation has put the world's financial system at risk of melting down. Houses for everyone! Bailouts for everyone! These are the naive notions that could lead to hyperinflation and an eventual breakdown of the world economy into a Great Depression part II.

Posted by: Bob G. | Sep 13, 2008 6:40:22 AM

Yeah, he's smart but he's been telling everyone who can listen to buy Chinese stocks and they are down 50% this year.

No one ever calls him out on this though.

I bet he's down a lot more than the "dumb money" that's just long the SPX.

Bear markets have a way of making everyone look dumb, even the bears.

Posted by: Vermont Trader | Sep 13, 2008 7:33:39 AM

Jim Rogers is one of the few people for whom I would unmute my TV now that I can tolerate CNBC HD+ while I work. Robert Hirsch, Charles Maxwell, Matt Simmons, Scott Sperling, Steve Rattner, David Einhorn, Barry Ritholtz, there's a few others. It's about a 1 in 20 ratio, maybe worse, in terms of CNBC guests.

I don't know if that makes me an oil bull or a civilization bear, but we need a much greater proportion of realists before financial markets return to any semblance of normalcy. Just like the market post 1929. it might take a decade to wash out half a generation of Westburies. Capitulation is only a theory in technicians' minds.

Posted by: CNBC Sucks | Sep 13, 2008 7:53:43 AM

Jimmy's got gonads, yes big big balls!

Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Sep 13, 2008 7:56:47 AM

Bob G, "that could lead to hyperinflation"

That will lead to HYPERINFLATION! The U.S. thinks that it is immune to such nonsense, but be ready because here it comes baby!

OK, let me put the onus on you: how can it not lead to hyperinflation? I mean we've got bail-out nation going on! What money grows on trees to pay for this stuff and you don't think there are not going to be a lot of un-needed apples falling on the ground and being scuffed up and re-instituted back into the system?

Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Sep 13, 2008 8:09:48 AM

I forgot to mention: why do you think the banks are rallying?

Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Sep 13, 2008 8:14:19 AM

Darn! regional banks, is what I ment... Anyhow, the Bulls are having heavenly dreams of yesteryear!!! That's why.

Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Sep 13, 2008 8:19:54 AM

OK guys and gals, have to admit I might be wrong on this one because I just read an article about the bond market looking toward "deflation." Is the bond market always right? If they are isn't the stock market all wrong?

Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Sep 13, 2008 9:01:06 AM

Justin:

too much coffee, dude? the regionals are smelling a rate cut - so trade carefully.

VT Trader said:

"Bear markets have a way of making everyone look dumb, even the bears"

True, true. The problem is you have to trade what you see, and what the Fed does and all of the other interference and not trade your hypothesis. Your ego can lose you a lot of money, but your charts can make it for you.

As far as I am concerned the XLF can stay in a trading range between 20 and 22 forever and we can all just get rich!!

Do you sit out until after the FED meeting or do you have alternate trades set up?
Just wondering.

Posted by: leftback | Sep 13, 2008 9:08:39 AM

Justin: the bond market is right more often than the stock market. We are on the "D" train, as in deflation.

But there will be detours, and the beatings will continue until morale improves.

Posted by: leftback | Sep 13, 2008 9:19:25 AM

Did you notice what a calm conversation this was? No one was talking over the other or yelling at anyone! Nice to see some cool heads out there.

Posted by: Dave | Sep 13, 2008 9:31:18 AM

@Dave: It's Saturday and it's early yet.

@Vermont Trader: If Rogers is telling everyone to go long China, that wouldn't make Rogers exclusively a bear, but a China bull. If he were a true bear, he would be long cash all year and then he can outperform SPX, at least in nominal terms. Also, acknowledging that you and many of the peeps here are traders, I take some exception to a 9-month investment horizon, although I must admit that 50% to the downside is steep.

Posted by: CNBC Sucks | Sep 13, 2008 10:01:24 AM

"This is madness, this is insanity, they have more than doubled the American national debt in one weekend for a bunch of crooks and incompetents. I'm not quite sure why I or anybody else should be paying for this," Rogers told "Squawk Box Europe."

This is a severe body blow to the fast diminishing Middle Class America.

They might not know it yet but they will in near future !

Posted by: km4 | Sep 13, 2008 10:30:42 AM

I believe Jim recently sparked a rally in airline stocks with some positive comments. Those that also listened to him when he called the bull market in commodities, years ago, are happy investors.

Posted by: Richard | Sep 13, 2008 10:31:37 AM

Now we all read this blog for the same reason; we all work hard and want to get ahead in life, but the rules keep changing to suit the few, and the ruling "families" in politics. So we never get anywhere.
So now that we have the fiat dollar and the rule book suited for wallstreet and every special interest represented in washington, what can be done to restore the level playing field ?
Well what if we did something similar in finance as to what open source is to the software market ? disruptive business, disruptive finance. What if we all decided to make our own world wide currency, and started to trade in this currency ? And we made an organisation like what w3o is to the software industri; open protocol that all agree on. Think about it! I leave the details to the brilliant minds on this site!

Posted by: ? | Sep 13, 2008 11:08:45 AM

It is quite revealing when you have to go to Singapore and Europe to get a true assessment of what is going on in the United States of America.

Things are so out of balance in this Country, I am afraid we have already lost her. There is now so much greed, politics and social conflicts among us, I don't think we will ever get all Americans united with a common goal and purpose as we have for the most part enjoyed in years past.

We are too conflicted even while facing obvious problems which can no longer be ignored. We no longer commit to sacrifice for the benefit of the many (Country); but instead focus only on the personal gain of the few.

Expect to see a decrease in the stature of the US around the world as our overall significance and influence is greatly diminished.

By outsourcing all of our manufacturing capability over the last 30 years and bankrupting the Country for generations to come, we have now completed the circle and made ourselves total inept for decades.

Posted by: BG | Sep 13, 2008 11:16:32 AM

Guys, Rogers has an axe to grind. He's sitting in Singapore making millions from shorting. That's not to say he doesn't have some interesting things to say and that part of them are not totally accurate. They just need to be placed in context. I've met him a few times and know one or two members of his family and I can assure you the landing space for flies is very limited.

Posted by: John(2) | Sep 13, 2008 11:24:59 AM

It is clear for me that Americans don't have a clue about the difference between communism and socialism. Something that is taught in social studies at 10th level grade around the world. Sad,sad,sad.

Posted by: Socialist | Sep 13, 2008 11:53:14 AM

I really like Jim. But this comment is over the top wrong. The Chinese aren't capitalist.

Posted by: Robert | Sep 13, 2008 12:08:44 PM

Rogers is a joke. A former wall st. guy who made millions as a trader but never contributed any hard work to society. Now he runs off to Asia and starts hurling invective at the US. Way to go buddy.

~~~

: I disagree completely.

Posted by: Dave | Sep 13, 2008 12:16:39 PM

Socialist | Sep 13, 2008 11:53:14 AM

You're right, they don't but you have to remember Socialist and Communist are words used to frighten the children. Don't go out after dark or the big bad socialists will come and get you. Oooooooh no mummy don't send me out in the dark. It's all so friggin juvenile. In fact Federal and State government practice state "socialism" all the time whether it's handing out huge subsidies to big ag or taking disabled schoolchildren to school in special buses. For some reason large numbers of Americans live in some sort of comic book world of their own imagining.

Posted by: John(2) | Sep 13, 2008 12:26:33 PM

You have to love the guy--says things people can only dream about saying on TV.

Couple things about these posts:
1. Singapore is NOT China.
2. China is not Communist.
3. America is a health system away from Socialism.
4. Lastly, God and our forefathers gave us a mouth for a reason--one of them is to use it when things are BAD--things are BAD in America--it's about time some of you used what God gave you like Jim is....

Posted by: Brian | Sep 13, 2008 12:27:53 PM

I’m as much opposed to all these bailouts as most of the other TBP readers. But there is a political issue. Suppose that there had been no bailout of Bear Stearns, or of FRE and FNM, and that as a result, housing prices and stock market indexes had taken a much bigger fall than they have. What would Obama say? He would say that the economic conditions prove the proposition that lowering marginal tax rates on the top 1% (of incomes) cause economic downturns, and that raising marginal tax rates on the top 1% cause economic growth to increase. And I think that most voters would believe him.

Posted by: DL | Sep 13, 2008 1:48:13 PM

No, it's not socialism, it's plutocracy.

In socialism, the people (at least theoretically) own the means of production and have a major say in how they are run.

In plutocracy, money and state merge together and become one while there is a huge, growing disparity between rich and poor.

Posted by: Bob Morrfis | Sep 13, 2008 1:55:39 PM

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