The Man Who Predicted The Economic Meltdown

As one in a small group of analysts who publicly predicted the collapse of the American financial system, Peter Schiff was a lonely — and much maligned — voice on cable's financial news shows.

In August 2006, Schiff, the self-confident president of the Connecticut-based brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital, warned viewers on CNBC that the U.S. economy would be hampered by "too much consumption and borrowing and not enough production and savings."

"What's going to happen is that the American consumer is basically going to stop consuming and start rebuilding his savings, especially when he sees his home equity evaporate," he said. "And when you have the economy 70 percent consumption, you can't address those imbalances without a recession."

MSM interviews with Peter Schiff are usually entertaining as well as informative. The interviewers are generally baffled and confused and unable to comprehend his views because they are fully convinced that government has the answers. Case in point is this NPR article. The writer, David Folkenflik, admits Schiff predicted our present plight but, towards the end, scoffs at his proposals to improve the situation.