Kunstler on Financial Sense Online
Jim Puplava, Financial Sense Online
Link above is to transcript, go here to pick an audio format.
Excerpt:
JAMES KUNSTLER: The effect of the two hurricanes alone has been very, very impressive, and even though we’re a week past the second storm, the reports are not nearly in even about what the damage has been. And we’re still reeling from both of those storms. Yes, I agree with you, the potential for acceleration is very impressive and these tend to have mutually reinforcing effects on each other, and ramifying effects. As I said a little earlier, right now, because of the effect of the hurricane, and the rise in oil and gas prices, there are individuals all over America who are deciding not to buy those houses that they thought about buying back in August and July. And when you add up those choices, they may add up to the end of the housing bubble, and the end of the housing bubble may add up to a lot of people in the financial sector
turning around and thinking, “well, you know what, this stream of bundled debt and investment revenue that we’ve been counting on, never coming to an end, seems to be coming to an end, what are we going to do? How are we going to cover our casino bets that we’ve made all over the world?” We seem to be heading into what you yourself have described on your website as a perfect financial storm.
JIM: Well, I couldn’t agree more. I think at this point the energy of that storm is just gaining force, and I think we’re going to see in the next 12 to 18 months, events unfold that we’ve never seen before, and it’s going to be quite a bit of a shock.
In conclusion, Jim, if you wanted somebody to read your book and walk away with one important point, what would that be?
JAMES KUNSTLER: Oddly enough, it’s something we haven’t talked about. And it has to do with people thinking that we’ll get through this somehow, we’ll come up with something. And in a way, I have my own thoughts about that because I’m basically a cheerful person, and in my own way I’m also an optimistic person. I’m not really a doomy-gloomy guy. And I would leave you with this thought: that the American people have historically been a generous, brave, forward looking, resourceful group, and we’ve shown great courage in the face of adversity before. I think we’ve become kind of a somewhat sloppy and complacent people in the last 25 years or so, but it doesn’t mean we can’t recover a lot of those virtues that are really part of the fiber of our national character. It’s still there and can still be recovered, and I think we’re going to be able to do that. It’s not going to be true for every place and everyone, but I think that’s going to help us a lot. So I have a lot of faith just in our national character, and the better angels of our nature, as Abraham Lincoln said.
(1 October, 2005)
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