Congressman Pete Stark Explains Leverage, Tells Reporter To "Get The Fuck Out"
In a clip that has to be seen to be believed, California Congressman Pete Stark displays the most unbelievable combination of economic incomprehension, stupidity, hubris, and to top it off tells interviewer Jan Helfeld to "get to fuck out" or he will be thrown out of the window for daring to expose just what a sack of... hot air Stark is.
A line that will now live forever, thanks to Congressman Stark: "The more debt we owe, the wealthier we are".
That pretty much sums up political "thought"
hat tip Janis
(80 votes)
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on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:28
#57273
What a moron! God help us and get us some leaders with brains!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:31
#57282
I thought that he was very intelligent and capable --- for being a member of congress. but yes, I agree; ultimately a moron.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:43
#57307
+10000
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 19:54
#58270
I saw this video after Peter Schiff favorited it and I LOVE IT!!! I doubt you'd get a much different response from a Republican since they've abandoned fiscal conservatism as well, but boy can they bitch about things that don't take a bite out my wallet, like abortion and gay marriage!!!
These guys are all bought and paid for by the same people, as ZH readers for the most part (those who don't post anonymously at any rate lolz) are well aware of. We all know about the $981,000 that Goldman Sachs used to buy off Obama and boy, are they getting their money's worth. This is the reason a public option for health care reform will never pass, it is also the reason the Dems are pushing that bullshit Cap & Trade, which as Matt Taibbi pointed out funnels BILLIONS if not TRILLIONS straight to Goldman's coffers. An energy tax would create the same level of demand destruction and have the added benefit of filling the Government's coffers instead of Goldman's, so that money could be spread around on social programs and environmental remediation. Not to mention paying down this monster debt. Of course, this is the same Barack Obama that hired outsourcing guru Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State and is STILL waffling about a withdrawal from Iraq. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...
And speaking of which, something very interesting happened to me over at Crooks & Liars just now. Here's the article:
http://www.econocataclysm.com/crooks-liars-is-owned-by-goldman-sachs/
You've got to watch where you get your news, the Democrats have a noise machine that is just as powerful as the Republicans equivalent and trust me, they're all owned by the same Wall Street clowns in the end. C&L might as well be CNBC for all the truth you'll get from them. I wonder if Maria Bartiromo should do some guest posting for them? MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Speaking of which, here's a GREAT post from Matt Taibbi featuring a great clip where the Money Honey earns her pay for CNN by helping to sandbag health care reform:
http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/09/02/maria-bartiromo-presses-44-ye...
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:10
#57350
Aw, c'mon. Do you have a doctorate of economics, mister smarty pants? Eh? I won't explai...I won...listen, will you let me say something? Now, when you get yourself an education from....hey listen, with the big words and funny questions! This interview is over. I can't hear you blablabla....
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:08
#57430
OMG!!! He (Stark) finally realized that he was cluelessly babbling. What a F#$& MORON!!! He gets paid $180,000+ for this....
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:27
#57465
No, he's worse than a moron, he's a Keynesian.
I am Chumbawamba.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:53
#57507
Now we know what is wrong with California :-)
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:28
#57274
What a moron!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:28
#57275
I've seen it and I can't believe it.
haven't laughed so much in ages.
what a tool.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:29
#57276
How old is that clip? Hard to believe it's from this decade.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:58
#57333
Looks dated. But that still does not take away from the fact that Stark is an arrogant fucking idiot. And he has an MBA too, lol.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:04
#57343
Thought the same thing.
Congressman Stark says the Republicans are going to cut taxes on the wealthy. So it's at least three years old, likely more.
Isn't it a little disingenuous to post this as though the conversation is happening in today's circumstances?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:52
#57411
he's still the same person, and still in office.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 14:22
#57854
Really? Well then just how long has our national debt been at the $5 Trillion mark?
Unless I heard wrong YOU ARE A MORON !
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:50
#57501
Was there ever a time or place when this type of thinking was considered appropriate?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 16:00
#58041
California, modern day.
Nancy Pelosi talks the same nonsense.
People still vote for borrow-and-spend Democrats like crazy over there. Their state budget proves it.
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 10:06
#58715
yeah, republicans are different - Bush certainly did nothing to increase budget deficit
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:30
#57277
And we want to get our elected representatives involved in important market issues because???
On another level Stark is a genius:
"""Maryland real estate taxes controversy
For two years, Stark was allegedly claiming his lakefront Maryland home as his primary residence in order to claim a homestead exemption to reduce his local real estate taxes. Under Maryland law, in order to qualify, the owner must register to vote and drive in Maryland—Stark uses a California address for those purposes."""(wikpedia)
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:12
#57353
Let's be honest. This reporter is not exactly making anything more then the strawman argument. This is slightly out of context. Although stupid, stark is not totally wrong. And that reporter was shit. Still funny though.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:56
#57417
this is what prompted Borat to get into journalism
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:29
#57466
lmao spot on
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 14:24
#57858
Anyone, I mean anyone, could out this friggin gangster Stark...Borat, Ali G., anyone.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:36
#57476
"Although stupid, stark is not totally wrong."
Yes he is.
And a straw-man argument is one that is initially incorrect. The reporter was just trying to clarify the claim that having more debt = more wealth, he wasn't really making any argument at all.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:39
#57587
I think the reporter was spot on. "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." It's the Web of Debt.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:37
#57478
If you think that's ingenuity, you need to hang with some really smart people more.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:08
#57538
+1000
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:30
#57278
coooooooooooool
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:30
#57281
This goes to what I was thinking for a long time. Politicians have become way too arrogant,due to the pork they get that they never dream off if they were working anywwhere else,and therefore will not accept reason.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:31
#57283
unbelievable...this congressman has been coached by the illuminati who put him in power
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:33
#57284
one day a couple of grisly jailers will drag Stark up & down the dungeon staircase all night long by his chained ankles banging his head on every step ...
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:32
#57286
How old is this clip?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:43
#57306
coming one year.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:32
#57287
I have never seen such disgusting arrogance in my life; Pete Stark can go fuck himself. Also, in my experience, the people who chastize others the most about what school they went to tend to be the dumbest. Not to say good schools put out dumb people, but as an inevitable result of the political connections of those institutions, eventually a few fuckers like Stark get in. Mr. Stark seems to have forgotten that his alma matter has been putting whole classes online for free, specifically because of assholes who him who like to dangle pieces of paper.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:21
#57450
Not to say good schools put out dumb people
IMHO; Harvard leads when it comes to putting out stupid people; closely followed by Yale and somewhere in the third place there is a strong fight between Cornell and Duke.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:24
#57461
then DeVry and University of Phoenix online
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:26
#57464
We all missed you, you Cheeky Bastard you!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 16:05
#58048
Well that's the whole point, isn't it?
After all, they could never get into Congress unless they were proven to be stupid!
The Fed wouldn't want smart people in Congress, now, would it? Smart people are so very hard to control. Far better to have frothing-at-the-mouth idiots like Stark holding a seat in Congress, pretending to get work done.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:34
#57288
Suppid congressman Wow The more your have on a credit card the more you are rich
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:34
#57289
When he says "we," he probably doesn't mean the country. He probably means "me" (Pete Stark).
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:35
#57291
This guy is a giant DOUCHE!!!
No wonder the country is headed downhill...and fast!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:35
#57292
These are actors, right?
Just performing a funny little sketch, right?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:35
#57293
this proves that 20 years ago when this interview took place (and taped via VHS), politicians were no smarter than they are today.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:36
#57294
"You're too stupid to comprehend the vast wealth of knowledge that I have on economic matters." Therefore we should be grateful for having such knowledgeable and righteous leaders in place. How typical of the elitist left in our country.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:36
#57295
TD, thanks for posting this. We see this "debt is good", "debt only matters as a percentage of GDP" crap all over the blogosphere. The curriculum in B schools everywhere seems to have been contaminated with it. We see monetarists taking credit for all the gains in living standards over the past 100 years. A lot of people actually believe this.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:42
#57296
This guy is a prime example of the 9 scariest words in the english language:
"we're from the government, and we're here to help"
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 05:32
#58456
Sorry Lou, but that makes 11 words.....
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:37
#57298
Jesus, this congressman combines my two favorite traits for a ratard (see "The Hangover" for an explanation on ratard):extreme arrogance combined with extreme ignorance.
One wonders why American's keep electing people like this.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:58
#57332
It's really very simple..., there are more net tax users than there are net tax payers. And, they can vote. Sometimes, more than once.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:38
#57795
Correct. One wonders how long the universal democracies can limp along given this inherent flaw. Mob rule, which the founders rightly feared, is now the law of the land. The plebes believe that they can have anything that they want, all they have to do is vote for it.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:24
#57634
Yeah, Stark went full ratard.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:42
#57299
This is the basis of the fractional banking system and the federal reserve system.
This tape is a classic of the hubris of an IQ less than 80 and represents nearly every politican in America.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:42
#57302
The guy is a banker with an mba. So it is not realy strange that he thinx the more a nation owe,the wealthier this nation is(except he should have mentioned that th bankers will be wealthier). But the reporter should have asked him,why a nation debt is different than indvidual or corporations?and since he is a politician,isn't a nation is nothing but a collection of individuals?and if that is the case,and if debt for indvidual is bad(implied from his answer as to the difference of indvidual and nation debt)wouldn't that make a nation debt just as bad?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:50
#57320
I took several business classes while earning my degree in computer science. The business majors I met were the biggest bunch of cheaters I had ever met.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:44
#57309
Quite simple really, how it works in the USA:
1) Election to any post is a "popularity contest". The guy fits the bill: white, combed hair, nice suit, car-salesman look.....
2) Our President is a classic example....
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:45
#57310
Paging Mr. WallStreetPro2.......
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:46
#57313
Pete Stark, another person who lacks any integrity and should not be in office.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:46
#57314
wow, and he went to MIT and Berkeley.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:49
#57319
Using his reasoning, per capita, California must be the wealthiest state in the US. IOUs and garage sales must be aberrations.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:51
#57321
Either the MFer is a STUPID MORON or he is one CORRUPT piece of $hit.
This is why we are where we are today.
Too much money and too little regulation blew up the economy and now we are stuck with the same MORONIC crew trying to fix it the same way they blew it up.
This isn't rocket science. Well for them I suppose it is.
Pathetic.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:52
#57323
Ooooooh NASA should hire this guy.That sets the new yardstick in A.I
(arrogant ignorance)
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:54
#57324
The epitome of California Democrat thinking. Well not thinking, but whatever the reactive lower mid-brain process is called.
The papers and blogs all blame Schwazenegger for the budget problems, but the combination of big business, government labor unions and democrats has produced politicians of privelege like Stark. They are most odious.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:54
#57325
Reminds me of all the town hall meetings. Reminds me of idiot teachers in High School and college who really only wanted to tell people things not teach.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:57
#57329
You hurt Pete's tiny little brain! Pete you okay honey?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 08:58
#57331
We need to put this video EVERYWHERE so it's picked up by everyone. Say what you want about MSM, but they love to fry idiots like this on national news.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:00
#57334
We should be allowed to vote on issues. Voting guys/gals into offices is an atavism, it´s a bet with a random outcome. Democracy needs a complete overhaul. Elections need to deal directly with subject-matters, not indirectly over the election of persons.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:01
#57337
Jan got what he deserved for talking to anyone from California. Thank God I was not there. I would have jumped out the window myself if I had to listen to that insanity while it took place.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:02
#57338
Well Stark is partially right. Since US has the biggest military, they don't have to pay back or distress sell, so bigger debt prob means more wealth.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:24
#57375
- uhh, are you saying that the dollar is backed by thermonuclear wmd's, and the military is really part of the world of finance...carrying a big stick ? hmm.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:20
#57446
Kind of looks that way Rusty Shorts...we have 'quantitative easing' yet our country hasn't lost an ounce of credit rating...has to be the WMD's
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:03
#57339
The phrase, "Dipshit on Toast!" seems to apply here.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:05
#57344
Stark is really an arrogant prick who doesn't know what he's talking about. How is that douche still in office?
Jan refers to a $5 trillion national debt, which puts this video right around 1995, since so many brought it up.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:06
#57346
His Congressional district in CA should be embarrassed... but they may not be smart enough to know any better.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:22
#57453
They're not. I know, I live in his district. There are three main types of voters that live here:
1. Rich, liberal Silicon Valley types that drone on about how we need single-payer health care, while enjoying their gold-plated benefits and sheltering their income;
2. Well-to-do state employees with six-figure salaries, health care for life, and near 100%-of-salary pensions waiting for them;
3. Welfare dependents who are so afraid of losing their scraps that they keep re-electing this prick.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:07
#57347
I think he started in GS's mail room.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:12
#57354
Unbelievable. Those who voted for him, deserve him. But the rest of us are forced to suffer from the results of ignorant and arrogant fools like Stark being elected.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:13
#57356
our nation is doomed
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:14
#57359
Fires, Earthquakes, Bankrupt, Pelosi, Boxer and this prick...Proof of Hell on Earth.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:16
#57366
Both politicians and criminals typically suffer from underdeveloped hippocampi, but since politicians' hippocampi communicate normally with their neocortexes, most manage to stay out of prison. (Illinois excluded)
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:46
#57678
We here in Illinois have decided to elect our next governor so that he's ALREADY IN prison. Save ourselves the trouble that way.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:16
#57368
Right out of a Sasha Cohen movie. Now I know where he got the Borat character.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:18
#57369
Well, sorry to introduce some moral ambiguity but checking the wikipedia:
wiki: "Republicans sure don't care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you going to get that money? Are you going to tell us lies like you're telling us today? Is that how you're going to fund the war? You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement."
right on, congressdaman, you tell 'em
wiki: Following the initial criticism to his statements, when asked by a radio station if he would take back any of his statements, Stark responded "Absolutely not. I may have dishonored the Commander-in-Chief, but I think he’s done pretty well to dishonor himself without any help from me."
can't argue with that
wiki: Other controversies include singling out "Jewish colleagues" for blame for the Persian Gulf War and referring to Congressman Stephen Solarz of New York (who co-sponsored the Gulf War Authorization Act) as "Field Marshal Solarz in the pro-Israel forces." in 1991.
True, our invading Iraq was completely the Poles shot first, http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/09/former-high-ranking-intelligence.html, key phrase, "9/11 was at a minimum allowed to happen as a pretext for war".
And wiki: In 1995, during a private meeting with Congresswoman Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, he called Johnson a "whore for the insurance industry" and suggested that her knowledge of health care came solely from "pillow talk" with her husband, a physician. His press secretary, Caleb Marshall, defended him in saying, "He didn't call her a 'whore,' he called her a 'whore of the insurance industry.'"
I guess that at a minimum, he missed his chance to join the Marx Brothers in movies as we have to laugh in the face of too much tooth
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:04
#57614
after reading this; i suddenly like the guy
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:16
#57625
"referring to Congressman Stephen Solarz of New York (who co-sponsored the Gulf War Authorization Act) as 'Field Marshal Solarz in the pro-Israel forces.'"
I thought Sibel Edmonds said Solarz was actually working for Turkey? Am I wrong about that? Oh well, either way, it's the same mafia running through both countries (as well as our own)that is corrupting these guys, not the "Jews" or the State of Israel itself.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:20
#57370
Debt has to be measured against net worth. That's what Stark was trying to say. Common sense.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:07
#57428
You neglect to point out that net worth can be artificially inflated by assuming more debt. Thus debt and net worth are too interconnected to be used as an accurate measurement.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:25
#57462
Excellent point...
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 18:21
#58173
Common sense but of course "anon" already knew that bwaahahaaa
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:21
#57372
Since people with the econ/business/law degrees from so many self annointed good schools have been in power both public and private for decades how is it they've wrecked America?
Where somone went to school 25 years ago is meaningless except to them and their crony connections. It only matters what they've done. And what they've done is pillage the middle class of America.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:26
#57377
don't try to rationalize or even dare question libs, it just rils them up, and you know how intimidating they can be, especially the ballerina
insurrection 2009
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:29
#57380
Oh no he did not. He didn't. No way. Thank goodness for great leadership like this!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:33
#57383
I don't know why anyone would be surprised by Pete Stark's comments. After all, he is merely expressing the economic policy of the United States.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:33
#57384
There's more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JHD8QuuWpE
Get Pete a hanky
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:35
#57388
0:32: "in the national SCHEME of things, that's quite right."
hell yeah it's a "scheme", good fella. It's named after a well-known crook named Charles something (oops, i keep forgetting his name).
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:37
#57390
Pete Stark got me so excited about going out and borrowing millions to show my friends and family how wealthy i am until he said..."debt for a nation is different than debt for an individual or a company"... damn :((
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:50
#57454
The phantom orders appear, linger for a few hours, sometimes a few days and then just disappear.
<remaining content removed by Sacrilege>
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:37
#57391
Actually most of the comments here reflect a kind of anti-intellectual arrogance that is scary. The congressman is correct that debt has to be measured relative to the wealth and output of the country, not in absolute dollars. The interviewer is childishly goading and simplistic and not having an adult conversation.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:44
#57489
"Actually most of the comments here reflect a kind of anti-intellectual arrogance that is scary." Pete...is that you?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:59
#57523
I've always loved this argument.
Somehow, politicians are able to claim all of our incomes and production as a measure of "their wealth".
This would be like a CEO of a company adding the incomes of all of his employees towards the company's gross income.
The wealth of the country is NOT the wealth of the government. It is the wealth of the citizens.
The government should calculate it's indebtedness as compared to what IT owns (lands, resources, etc).
The citizens of this country are not owned by the government.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:39
#57392
What a condescending arogent jerk, an embarresment to the Democratic Party
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:45
#57401
It is impoossible to embarrass the Democrat party.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:46
#57402
Clear repeat
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 14:16
#57849
Democratic Party is an embarresment
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:42
#57394
Pete Stark is why that corrupt scumbag Charles Rangel continues to have a seat in Congress. Does anyone really want this ignorant fucking assclown running Ways & Means?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:44
#57398
If Stark believes the shit coming out of his mouth, then he's a moron. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt--he's a lying sack of shit.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:46
#57403
Helfeld is nothing more than a baiter. Please. You're becoming Fox News.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:24
#57460
Agreed. With this and the paranoid H1N1 fantasies, ZH is quickly descending into shrill irrelevance.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:38
#57584
Hey! Ranting about monetary policy in a garden shed while smashing Chinese made electronics is a legitimate form of debate.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:47
#57405
He is making the same argument that Ken Fisher makes.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:50
#57409
Hey,
Stark is right. With the Federal Reserve System debt is money. At least we are suppossed to believe that. Look at your dollar bill.
This is what happens when crooks are allowed to create a monetary system based on indebtedness.
The problem is the hidden crooks are asking for our hard assets in exchange for their worthless paper (created out of thin air). The dollar is debt based - a cycle of stagnating IOUs.
If defies all rational thinking.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:14
#57438
That is exactly what I wanted to say ... debt is money in a fractional reserve banking system.
The problem with this system is that it requires exponential economic growth to support the payback of the principal+interest.
Exponential growth is impossible to maintain indefinitely unless we move to other planets or start exporting to aliens.
Another consequence of the exponential economic growth is the destruction of the natural environment, because of the ever increasing need for resources.
I think it's time we figure out how to live in balance with the rest of the planet so that we can truly advance in a sustainable manner.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:51
#57410
What I think many people forget is that what we are experiencing now is the logical conclusion to Regan era policies of expanding government spending beyond revenue.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:39
#57479
I believe that Reagan had a democratic majority to work with in Congress and they, not he, control the pursestrings.
Nice try, though.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:45
#57595
UMM, tell me what year the Reagan administration submitted a balanced budget? Try this for starters
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/198112/david-stockman
This is in no way meant to disregard the culpability of the Dems, both parties have been a disaster for this country for several decades now.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:53
#57412
That was fun to watch. Stark had a point in that the interviewer was ignoring the difference between interest payments in nominal dollars versus real dollars. That said, Stark's behavior was straight out of junior high. "That's why you didn't graduate from a good college." Your momma's ugly, too!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:15
#57754
No, Stark wasn't trying to make a point. It was obvious to Jan, to Stark and to those informed on the matter that debt and interest is/had been increasing at alarming rates both on a nominal and a real basis, so it wasn't necessary for Jan to go into unnecessary sidebar explanations. Stark knew he was cornered and all he could do was try to stir up the sand and muddy the water.
If Stark really had a point, he would have been able to say that real debt rations and interest payments have not accelerated at an alarming rate though nominal dollar figures might look that way. But since he knew the answer to his question would hurt his argument, he wouldn't address it and was hoping he could confuse Jan, and apparently, he managed to confuse some viewers in the process. Sad, really.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:55
#57414
Moron or not, you all have to remember he will be the one in that house committee to replace charlie rangel if Rangel is guilty of his tax problem and out of office. I heard this from Chuk Todd this morning.
We are furked way up, and I don't know how we can get out the mess we are in.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:04
#57424
Thank you for that clip! Pete Stark is fucking awesome.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:06
#57427
Classic...don't you wish there was some basic testing to become eligible for public office (at least high levels)? Kind of an SAT for government officials?
Wonder what the score would be if it were implemented now and given to people in office? Pelosi and Stark (sadly both from California) would bring the average down about 10% alone.
Pathetic.
This is probably the biggest "tell" on how/why we are all in this mess. The wizards of Oz are simply just a bunch of morons.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:07
#57429
"The [St Ronnie de Astrology] Reagan era polices of expanding govt spending beyond revenue"
That's right, by postponing taxes, St Ron and George da man 2 hv a beer with never cut taxes, they postponed taxes to make govtmint cheaper today so you can hv more of it, but more expensive tomorrow for the children. And the troops.
Republicans luv guvmint, it always expands under Republicans. Look at that holy man So Carolina guvnor, Fed gunmint pays his airplane bills to visit his concubines.
Who wouldn't luv that?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:52
#57448
By far, the most appropriate headline of the day: Quebec's pension fund risk manager is on sick leave
<remaining content removed by Sacrilege>
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:43
#57488
Mr. Stark, happily, is right.
You owe 400,000 to the bank, and can't pay it, you got a problem.
You owe 40,000,000 to that bank, you are wealthy and the bank has a problem.
Makes perfect sense, if you can find some greater fool to lend you millions that you can squirrel away, as many wealthy 'bankrupts' have done.
You can bet if this writer could have found a bank to lend me a billion or so, I'd darned well be wealthy.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:45
#57491
From Wikipedia: Stark lives in Maryland, although he maintains a townhouse in Fremont, California.
This guy doesn't even live here in California...
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:46
#57493
If those Yankee dollars were used to purchase capital goods he (Stark) might have a point but I guess they weren't and so I guess he hasn't.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:48
#57495
Underlying some of his arrogance is an assumption that it is OK for Govt to borrow billions and build up their debt, because they know how to use the money more intelligently than the folks who are taxed to pay it off.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:50
#57498
The San Francisco Chronicle editorialized on Stark, "Only a politician who assumes he has a job for life could behave so badly on a semi-regular basis by spewing personalized invective that might get him punched in certain East Bay taverns. Would-be challengers sometimes sense a whiff of opportunity, but the reality of taking on a 16-term Democrat in solidly liberal terrain is nothing short of daunting. Surely there must be someone along the shoreline between Alameda and Fremont who could represent the good citizens of the district with class and dignity. It's not the case now."
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 10:58
#57520
just another piece of evidence that supports the fact we have idiots running the show.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:03
#57529
pete stark is right.
a creditor who has borrowed wealth from a debtor possesses the wealth. he is wealthier FOR THE TIME BEING than his debtor.
the difference between reality and pete's statement is that reality changes ( something he didn't feel inclined to explain to the audience because of the rudeness of the interviewer) , and loans come due. america cannot continue on a path of borrowing more and more without destroying the purchasing value of the dollar as well as its ability to conituously refinance its national debt.
furthermore the debtor countries holding unheard of ammounts of dollars are not interested, nor would they be allowed to purchase ( for protectionist reasons) large swaths of american land and its durable assets. there is only so much they can do with their dollars besides attempt to blackmail the united states for x reason with a threat of suddenly crashing the u.s. dollar by dumping it on the market.
i can guarantee you that china will be having its way with regard to taiwan for the next few decades.
on Sun, 09/06/2009 - 11:31
#60889
thanks
the jan guy was out of his element.
stark's twisted rhetoric was
confusing. neither pushed for an
understanding. and stark was rude.
i liked your point about the lenders
not wanting to lend to use forever.
we don't need degrees to understand
... neither a borrower or a lender
be.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:10
#57530
This video was from about 1995. This kind of magical thinking was very common. The dot-com bubble didn't even come close to popping. Everything was great. And then idiots like the interviewer come along with their cautious thinking. Phhhht!
1995 is about the time TD was cutting his/her teeth in the financial industry and would defend Pete's nonsense to the death.
When everyone that writes for ZH is back working for GS/Chase/BofA will they defend Pete-think 2.0? Probably.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:12
#57545
I'm off to get a big loan in order to be wealthier!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:46
#57597
Pete Stark is my man, a genuine hero that speaks his mind.
I love the part where he says "Get the fuck out!"
And did you see the air of superiority when he found out his tormentor attented college in Puerto Rico. Whoo Hoo!
Besides I would love to be trillions of dollars in debt!
Anyone know a good accountant, I have a ponzi scheme I'd love to sell ya!
Madoff, Stanford, all brilliant men, their only fault, their inverted pyramid became to top heavy.
Gotta find a way to start my own government with over 300 million saps to fund my debauchery.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:15
#57555
is Jan allowed to be in DC anymore? lol. gr8 vid
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:19
#57559
Seriously..... This is from 1995 and while it's slightly relevant, it's a bit of a stretch to put this up with so much else going on.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:25
#57565
We get the government we deserve.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:27
#57569
Surprisingly, Pete Stark's voting record has been very fiscally conservative.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:31
#57574
Pete Stark is correct. Especially when saying that what is true for an individual or company is not true for the nation. If the private sector as a whole across the world is running a surplus, the public sector is running a deficit.
http://neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com/2009/08/teaching-fallacy-of-composition-federal.html
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:50
#57813
Yeah, absolutely, look at Zimbabwe! Money
printing made it the richest country of Africa.
No no, Uncle Sam is not a company. What
kind of bullshit are we talking about here?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:38
#57581
They are both right. Debt can be used very successfully to fund growth especially when growth is constrained by a lack of cash flow. Ask any businessperson this and you'll see it's true. Debt also cost money and can burden the business or government down the road if unchecked.
The sad part is the dumb-ass congressman is way too self-righteous and arrogant (and possibly too stupid) to explain the concept in a congenial way. He comes off looking like a total jerk.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:43
#57592
Not Stark's brightest moment but this man has been correct from day one about the Iraq War. He was brave enough to stand up and call it a sham and has been proven right.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:12
#57620
Granted this was from years ago, but you must understand that we literally have self described communists and marxists advising the president of the united states and memebers of congress. If you think that will end well for us, you are wrong.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 14:52
#57891
Can you back up this statement please? List of presidential advisers who are self described marxists and communists and please refer to where they made those self descriptions. Or did you not literally mean literally?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:17
#57626
The reporter was too pushy and talked too much. The congressman was trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. They are both morons.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:34
#57653
Wow. I didn't know there was a new "Naked Gun." Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) stars as a Congressman.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 12:58
#57710
Why do Amricans choose such leaders? Birds of a feather flock together.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:01
#57720
About Pete Stark! I have met Pete any number of times and have had conversations with him. This goes back 15 years! Even though I had no problem with Pete as a person and supported his progressive positions, I never lost site of the fact that he was and still is a politician! Like so many of our congressmen and women, he I believe has been severely compromised over the years and has become cynical as a result. No matter liberal or conservative the key player's (in my view) have all been compromised one way or another! This is why I sincerely believe in term limits for all federal, state, and local elective offices! Neither Thomas Jefferson or John Adams believed that politicians should be allowed to hold elective office indefinitely. It is why they term limited the President! Fear of intransigent corruption!
The American people are finally begining to wake up to this fact and do not know what to do about it! They're pissed off and frustrated! Many of the key Democrats (in my view) have completely under-estimated that frustration and anger. Some of what we're seeing on the tube (town hall meetings) is part of that. I say "out with the skaliwags"! Throw them out! Conservatives, liberals etc. Throw them all out! To many of them have done this nation a great disservice! They have sold us out as a result of their spineless, greed based, power hungry, self centered, sociopathic, flawed policies and legislation. I say throw them out!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:58
#57833
Neither Thomas Jefferson nor John Adams limited the terms of the president. This limitation did not occur until after FDR.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 14:09
#57843
"They have sold us out as a result of their spineless, greed based, power hungry, self centered, sociopathic, flawed policies and legislation. I say throw them out!"
Out a fucking window...
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:03
#57726
In his defense, this is only his day job...the rest of the time he is Iron Man.......or is that his brother Tony??
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:09
#57745
One man's debt is another man's income.
My fiscal(taxpayer debt) is Pete Stark's wealth.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:19
#57760
Actually I think the reporter is kind of a moron. Incredibly naive. I would have thrown him out, too.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:21
#57766
Did anyone bother to check that Stark voted against the 2008 farm bill and 2008 bailout because of excessive cost? It seems to me that Jan should have done his homework better, if he's going to attack Stark because of the deficit. Not that I support Stark (in fact, I just now have heard of him for the first time), but at least take the time to read the Wikipedia page on the guy you're about to interview.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 18:38
#58191
Yeah because Wikipedia "always" tells the truth bwaahaahaa.
Get a clue...
on Wed, 09/16/2009 - 16:56
#71660
Yes, that's that's exactly why you check Wikipedia... to get a clue. Good point.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:31
#57779
Pete Stark ia an asshole!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:33
#57784
Stark is an education elitist (someone who believes you're incompetent unless you have degrees from the "right" institutions). He is furious with the reporter because he (stark) can't explain his beliefs. He has to have someone w/ the "right" pedigree tell him what to think. That is all it takes for me to put him on my "throw the bums out" list.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:58
#57829
Yeah, he couldn't explain it so he basically said the guy was unable to understand it, copped out by condescending. Not an endearing habit. What Stark wasn't saying, or was unwilling to say, we are only more wealthy with a large debt if we debase the currency the debt is in. The problem with saying that is foreigners don't want to fund your spending if they know that's the policy.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 15:46
#58017
exactly.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:48
#57805
Its not hard to vote against a bill if you know its going to pass. Its token resistance.
Calling the Gulf War and Iraq War what it is? You deserve credit for that? An 18 year old could tell you (I hope, I knew by that age). Really, it is disgraceful that it is the exception to "tell it like it is", it is not praiseworthy by any means.
If the government spends the money wisely there is no problem with debt. Is that the case? I don't think so. They have started taking on debt to co-opt the lower levels of society. Pretty scary stuff, if you think about it.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 14:07
#57837
Degree from a good college huh... That's code for have you been brainwashed by the right liberal professors.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 15:09
#57934
I'm an unemployed Canuck. Can I move to California and run for Congress?
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 15:12
#57939
Guys, he just mean that MORE OF YOUR DEBTS = MORE OF THEIR WEALTH Fed is printing money not out of thin air as popular belief explains but print against collateral in the form of US Treasury Bills, so more feds borrow on your behalf, more new money goes from Fed to banks, thus more money banks have to bribe feds futher. That's the main point of fiat currency Mega-Ponzi-scheme. But I bet they explain it in a bit different way in their "top" colledges:)
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 15:12
#57942
The only thing that pisses me off more than this POS are the people that keep voting him into office!!
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 16:15
#58056
Haven't listened to the video yet (no speakers @ work), but read up on this guy.
[edit] 2008 financial crisis
On September 25, 2008, Stark and Oregon Democrat Rep. Peter DeFazio signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proposing a one quarter of one percent “transaction tax” on all trades in financial instruments including stocks, options, and futures. On September 29, 2008, Stark voted against HR 3997, the bailout bill backed by President Bush, House Speaker Pelosi and Presidential Candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, and the bill subsequently failed to pass. Explaining his vote, Stark stated:
"President Bush tells us that we face unparalleled financial doom if this $700 billion bailout is not approved today. He and his Treasury Secretary – a former Wall Street fat cat – tell us that we have reached the point of 'crisis.' That is a familiar line from this President. It sounds like the disastrous rush to war in Iraq and the subsequent stampede to enact the Patriot Act. As I opposed the Iraq War and the Patriot Act, I stand in opposition to his latest rush to judgment."[30]
On October 3, 2008, Stark voted against HR 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. With this vote, Stark became the sole member of the House of Representatives from the San Francisco Bay Area to oppose the bill. [31] Explaining his vote, Stark stated:
"You're getting the same kind of misinformation now, the same kind of rush to judgment to tell you that a crisis will occur. It won't. Vote 'no.' Come back and help work on a bill that will help all Americans." [31]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Stark
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 17:19
#58110
Ok, so I'm thinking... a light beer commercial... We Salute you,... Congressman Stark ( and other fishy dems ) who knows very well how government debt = wealth! A trillion here... a trillion there and we're all rich! ( I'm reporting this threat to fishy.gov )
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 18:00
#58154
What a fucking idiot. He should be shot.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 19:57
#58277
Stark has no medical degree but sure proposes a lot of health care legislation.
on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 21:52
#58354
Reporter = Constitution: Window = Discount Window
Representative = Zero Interest:
What does it mean? Judgment cometh!!!
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 04:37
#58448
It's true.
But by "we" he means him & the anational banksters not working serfs.
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 08:08
#58535
What about this statement coming from Warren Mosler:
Budget Surpluses Have Been Allowed to Cause Depressions
Our last budget surplus ended in 2001, and was reported as the longest surplus since 1927-1930. Do those dates ring a bell? In fact, the first six US depressions followed the first six sustained budget surpluses. In 1836, President Jackson actually paid off the federal debt and the worst depression on record followed. The last major nation to allow a budget surplus was Japan, 1987-1992, and they are only now emerging from a decade plus economic nap, and record unemployment.
It’s quite simple, government surpluses drain the financial assets we call savings from the economy, eventually destroying it. And economies do not recover until AFTER there has been a large enough deficit to restore lost equity (and income) and supply sufficient the net financial assets needed to support the next credit cycle."
from here http://mosler2012.com/?page_id=24
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 10:45
#58793
I don't like Stark's attitude, but I also wanted to tell teh interviewer to shut up. He didn't seem interested in getting an answer, and would quit talking. A poor interviewer who came across looking foolish.
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 10:46
#58798
I don't like Stark's attitude, but I also wanted to tell teh interviewer to shut up. He didn't seem interested in getting an answer, and would not quit talking. A poor interviewer who came across looking foolish.
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:14
#59227
Is it any wonder this country is in so much trouble. That is truely amazing - but what is almost as equally amazing is his stupidity is his arrogance - When are the people of this country going to start eliminating bastards like this one way or another?
on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:18
#59230
Being elected is not the same as being a leader. It only means being elected. Having access to tools, services and exercising authority during that period of time while in office are not the identifying marks of a leader either. It only means that office requires certain tools and services to accomplish specific tasks. It’s unfortunate that such elementary concepts appear to have been lost on our current crop of elected officials, but it’s up to us to teach and remind them who the servant is and who is being served. Any official who serves should not be required to serve in perpetuity, but should be allowed to retire to freedom with the rest of us. We evidently have made these positions of service too easy for them because they want to spend their lives there. Perhaps it’s time we make their lives miserable.
on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 03:22
#61434
OH - MY - GOD! ... Maybe Mr.Congressman has got some degrees at universities, but he surely has NO degree in COMMON SENSE. America ... I probably start pray for you, because it seems to be the last thing I can do even though Im not a believer.
on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 17:50
#61760
You are free to do as government tells you is not freedom.
"The coward asks the question is it safe.
Expediency asks the question is it politic.
Vanity asks the question is it popular.
But conscience asks the question is it right
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right."MLKjr
on Tue, 09/08/2009 - 22:01
#63111
The congressman was telling the reporter the truth.
The reporter was unable to comprehend because what he was being told was too much too soon. Overload. Read HJR192...read history...read people READ.
The corporate entity known as the UNITED STATES has NOT used real money for quite some time and is in fact using debt as a medium of exchange. Each of us are a corporate construct and have given up ourselves to the corporate headquarters in the District of Columbia.
That was probably too much for most people to grasp...your brains are probably locking up as you read this...you want to reject what you have read because you have been taught to be a debtor...
Read thats all you can do. Then once the lights come on ...pass it on!!
good luck
on Wed, 09/09/2009 - 21:16
#64566
I'd explain what the congressman is trying to make you all understand, but I'm going out now and buy a big fancy car I neither need or can afford. Then I'm going to quit my job and ride around the country and buy everything I see. When I'm done I will be very very rich. After I'm done I'll be back to explain how rich I will be. if we all did this we could all be rich but I don't want you out on the highway while I'm drinking and driving. Thanks.
on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 21:29
#70667
You know we have had some really bad behavior among our politicians lately.
Take for example Pete Stark, a Demorcrat from California, recently told a man he would not dignify him by peeing on his leg. I for one do not find this type of behavior acceptable in the least. Do any of you feel that he should be censured for this type of behavior?
If your interested in learning more about this I have written an excellent commentary article on my blog and your more than welcome to read about it at the link below.
http://www.surveyseeker.net/2009/09/15/pete-stark-i-wouldnt-dignify-you-by-peeing-on-your-leg/
-------------------------------------------------------
ElvenRuneLord
www.surveyseeker.net
Augmented Living Blog
Improving Your Life One Article At a Time
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on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 09:00
#88147
A pompous economic illiterate.