Dave Ramsey vs. Peter Schiff on the US Economy

[Paulitician]

I haven't read much from this Ramsey guy, but this article actually makes him sound really smart. I happen to agree with the assessment on gold. In a gold-backed reserve system, it does act as a counter to credit expansion. However, in nearly all other cases gold is a terrible investment. It significantly underperforms the rest of the market (and even inflation).

The goldbug argument is that although the returns now aren't so good, just wait for when the collapse happens. Well, first off, I see absolutely no collapse happening any time soon. And even if there were one on the brink, I still wouldn't use gold as my emergency stash. If the entire economy and monetary system fails, not a single person is going to want some shiny, useless metal.

Actually, I think the goldbug argument is that precious metals have no counterparty risk. You seriously don't think people wouldn't accept gold as money? I know most don't now here in the United States and probably other parts of the world, but that's because we haven't experienced using gold in transactions for 3/4 of a century. I'd definitely take the gold. It might be useless to you but not to many other people.

[NocturnalC]

I haven't read much from this Ramsey guy, but this article actually makes him sound really smart. I happen to agree with the assessment on gold. In a gold-backed reserve system, it does act as a counter to credit expansion. However, in nearly all other cases gold is a terrible investment. It significantly underperforms the rest of the market (and even inflation).

The goldbug argument is that although the returns now aren't so good, just wait for when the collapse happens. Well, first off, I see absolutely no collapse happening any time soon. And even if there were one on the brink, I still wouldn't use gold as my emergency stash. If the entire economy and monetary system fails, not a single person is going to want some shiny, useless metal.

LMAO! Take a look at where gold was 5 or 6 years ago and where it's at today. Peter Schiff predictions have been spot on with the economy so far. Dave.......not so much. Peter Schiff has not only protected his clients, but has made them great dividends. Dave..........not so much.

[Cleaner44]

Dave Ramsey is very useful in his lessons of living debt free and having a savings. His plan was great during the 1990s when mutual funds were profitable. He unfortunately does not recognize that the equity market is not strong and that the commodity market is. He is right that gold was not profitable during the 80s and 90s, things have changed.

Ramsey teaches good basics for the general population but is limited in his thoughts and formula. Remember, his lessons came from the fact that he went bankrupt. I have no doubt that Peter Schiff has superior knowledge and insight.

[NocturnalC]

Dave Ramsey is very useful in his lessons of living debt free and having a savings. His plan was great during the 1990s when mutual funds were profitable. He unfortunately does not recognize that the equity market is not strong and that the commodity market is. He is right that gold was not profitable during the 80s and 90s, things have changed.

Ramsey teaches good basics for the general population but is limited in his thoughts and formula. Remember, his lessons came from the fact that he went bankrupt. I have no doubt that Peter Schiff has superior knowledge and insight.

Agreed with those points.

And it seems pretty obvious that the people that listen to Dave are mostly people in lots of debt. They are being told half the truth by Dave (get out of debt and save........well DUH!!! Here's your sign). People that listen to and invest with Peter's firm have their fundamentals straight and are reaping the rewards of the complete TRUTH.

[dirknb@hotmail.com]

My wife and I have been following Dave Ramsey's plan for getting out of debt for about 3 years now. I HIGHLY recommend it. Our only debt left is our house, and it should be paid off in less than 2 years.

However, Dave's investment strategy is based on historical performance on Wall St. and is way too narrowminded. He basically recommends putting virtually everything into mutual funds. If the multitudes of his followers follow that advice and those who pull the strings at the top pull something like they did in 1929 most of Dave's devotees will be wiped out. The powers that be have now given him a show on Fox. He could be playing right into the Elite's hand, although I don't think it's on purpose because I just don't think he understands the big picture. He talks a lot about debt and taxes and even occasionally rails against socialism but never mentions our fucked monetary system itself.

[RSLudlum]

He talks a lot about debt and taxes and even occasionally rails against socialism but never mentions our fucked monetary system itself.

Dave is about taking responsibilty for your own financial decisions, which I highly respect but...

The one thing that bugs me about Dave is his rants about people not paying taxes. He says he can't stand taxes as much as the next guy, if not more, but rails people for not paying taxes. I understand his arguements but I guess he's just not much of a Henry David Thoreau fan?

[Matt Collins]

Yes - Dave's investment advice leaves a lit to be desired. It's an ok plan, but if you follow it, you can earn a lot less than what you would've made if you had followed the advice of a competent fee-only adviser who divides things up into proper asset categories.

Also BUYING GOLD IS NOT AN INVESTMENT!!! It's a speculation. For something to be an investment it must produce. Buying stock in a company is an investment because the company is (expected to) produce something. Buying a commodity is speculation. The distinction might seem minute, but it is actually very significant.

[Matt Collins]

Dave is about taking responsibilty for your own financial decisions, which I highly respect but...

Yes - Dave's show is more about personal behavior as it relates to finance than anything else.

If you want an investor radio show check out this guy:
http://paulwinkler.net/

[foxtrotterz]

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[tangent4ronpaul]

I wrote to Dave Ramsey once. The letter went something like this:

Dear Dave,

I am writing you for the benefit of a very suborn relative of mine who is in a financial hole. His name is Sam. Sam has extensive real estate holdings all over the world, each with an extensive staff. He insists on spending more with each passing year, to keep up with inflation, but is getting deeper and deeper into the red. Every year he borrows a significant amount of money to pay off the interest on his past loans and maintain his lifestyle but never pays off any of his loans. He has even raided his employees pension funds and left IOU's...

yadda, yadda, yadda...

Do you have any advice you could give my uncle? He won't listen to me.

He never wrote back and I'm fairly certain he never covered it on his show It would have been awesome if he had!

-t