Outside the Box

I’m Worried

John Mauldin

April 10, 2012

I debated with myself about what to send as this week's Outside the Box. I have decided on a recent short but important post from my friend David Kotok, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Cumberland Advisors. He calls it "I'm Worried." There are some very thought-provoking ideas here, but what makes it particularly interesting is that I'm running into this sentiment more and more as I travel around the US; and when I'm abroad I also hear from people who are worried about the US. These are folks who rightly realize the world needs a strong US, both as an economic engine and as a leader – a chairman of the board, if you will – of a growing world. (Can the world grow and prosper without us? Of course, but not as easily, and the transition will not be pretty.)

So this "worried" theme is one I hear, read, and see firsthand more and more each passing week. It's that gnawing feeling that things are just not going right and that our leaders are simply not up to the task of setting the ship on a steady course, even as they almost universally acknowledge we are on the wrong course and assert that the deficit must be dealt with. As with David, this concern is most vivid for me at the close of the day as I review my own thoughts and think on the future of my family and friends.

This deficit of ours is the single most important political and economic question of our time. How we address it, or fail to address it, will set an economic course that can once again turn vibrant and hopeful, or one in which we find ourselves sideways to some monster waves, and capsize. We watch Greece and Spain and worry as we look askance at our own fiscal situation and wonder whether we will be able to kick the can around the deck for "just one more year," before our ship is on the rocks. There is a growing sense that the last one more year may be fast approaching, through the fog. Europe is already there. Can our own denouement lie very far ahead?

I have known Kotok for the better part of a decade now. Mostly, he is a quite bullish and optimistic fellow; and, as he notes, he is fully invested in his client accounts and has caught the latest ride. He organizes the annual Maine fishing trip that has become quite the gathering of economists and writers. There, he has often chided me in the wonderful Maine evenings for what he perceives as my bearish views, although last year with Nouriel Roubini there I was at least not the most bearish of the group.

My main view, say a 60% probability, is that we do in fact deal with the deficit here in the US in 2013. I will enjoy becoming bullish once again and telling my kids to look to the future with hope. But like David I am worried. What should be just a bump in the road for the US and the free-market world can become mountainous if we do not face the real problems before us, if we do not recognize that "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

I choose to remember that David, in his brighter moments, is not quite so brooding. A good night's sleep may help. And yet, he voices a concern that is moving from the backs of our minds to the forefront with increasing urgency, across the full political and social spectrum. The drumbeat is becoming insistent that something must be done, and soon.

(You can read more of David's commentaries at www.cumber.com.)

I was in New York last Wednesday, and Tom Keene of Bloomberg TV was kind enough to invite me on his show for an extended interview and thoughtful exchange, not the usual two-minute drill. You can see that interview on johnmauldin.com. The link is on the left side of the page.

Have a great week. I think I will write to my friend Louis Gave and tell him to send me something bullish for next week's Outside the Box. I can usually count on him to find the silver lining. And now if someone can just arrange for some sun in San Francisco this weekend, I am sure I will get more positive about the world. David, maybe we should invite Louis to Maine to perk us up?!

Your really believing we Muddle Through analyst,

John Mauldin, Editor
Outside the Box

Like Outside the Box?

Then you'll love John's premium publication, Over My Shoulder. Each week, after sorting through vast amounts of economic, political, and investing news, John sends Over My Shoulder subscribers his pick of the week's most important commentary and data.

It's your opportunity to get the news John thinks matters most to your finances.

Learn More About Over My Shoulder

I'm Worried

David Kotok
April 8, 2012

A note to readers. This 2000-word commentary is a longer-term view; think in terms of years, not months or days. The essay is not in conflict with the fully invested position currently held at Cumberland. The words reflect my personal thinking only. Some of my colleagues disagree. In my personal view, the future is uncertain (of course) and may be unattractive for the longer-term outlook. In my…

Discuss This

17 comments

We welcome your comments. Please comply with our Community Rules.

Comments

Page 1 of 2  1 2 > 

Michael Norton

April 15, 2012, 12:12 a.m.

We are presently headed for higher taxes and higher spending. So the fire extinguisher is charged with propane. It looks like Gov. Romney may be the one selected to lead a different approach to our problems, applying lower taxes, lower spending, or both. What concerns me is I am old enough to remember 1948. I lived in Chicagoland then; the famous “DEWEY BEATS TRUMAN” headline was delivered to our door. Gov. Romney is bright, articulate, a Washington outsider, and attractive. So was Gov. Dewey. Dewey never connected with “regular people”; Romney hasn’t yet. Is this going to be a 1948 redux?

claudia driver

April 12, 2012, 4:34 p.m.

” Faced with increasing poverty and restlessness among the masses, and with the imminent danger of barbarian invasion, he issued in A.D. 3 an edictum de pretiis, which denounced monopolists….”

There seems to be general agreement that things are bad on all sides of the political spectrum. It’s as easy to use history to prove a point as it is to use a sacred text - take your pick, the Bible seems rather useful in this country.

I’m no expert on the history of Rome, so I wonder what caused the increasing poverty and restlessness among the masses.

I read Kevin Phillips’ book Bad Money during the spring of ‘07 and found it very persuasive.

Jari Searns

April 12, 2012, 3:48 p.m.

The article by David Kotok is excellent and yes, extremely thought provoking; however, what is even more worrisome and thought provoking are the variance of the comments received in response to “I’m worried”.  There was a time in this country when we could reasonably (if strongly) disagree on a topic and have a reasoned debate to express a variety of points of view.  As we get closer and closer to the precipice of loosing a sound US economy, our voices are becoming more and more shrill and our reasoning is becoming weaker and weaker.  We no longer debate, we simply shout at one another.  How sad.

In short, it is a time to be worried…very worried!

Nelson Swanberg

April 12, 2012, 6:14 a.m.

What do we hear from other consevative voices? Don’t worry about the deficit, it is big enough to take car of itself. Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter. If you owe somebody 500 dollars you have a problem. If you owe somebody 1.4 trillion dollars they have a problem and the problem they have is making sure you have a vibrant economy that can service the debt or they run the risk of having a 1.4 trillion dollar bill handed to them. I understand George W. Bush’s picture is on that 1.4 trillion dolllar bill.

Mark Soderberg

April 11, 2012, 3:37 p.m.

Great writing…...Truer truths were never written.  I was especially touched by the part:
“Thousands of Romans, to escape the tax gatherer, fled over the frontiers to seek refuge among the barbarians. Seeking to check this elusive mobility and to facilitate regulation and taxation, the government issued decrees binding the peasant to his field and the worker to his shop until all their debts and taxes had been paid. In this and other ways medieval serfdom began.”
This part sure rings true and prophetic when we see the current attempts to control now….. the new Barbara Boxer (D CA) attachment to the congressional Bill that would give the IRS power to suspend/terminate ones Passport if unpaid taxes went unpaid…...a rather startling development in our advance to “serfdom.”

Don Braswell

April 11, 2012, 1:18 p.m.

Small correction (which may have occurred in the original):  Diocletian was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305 (the last century before the 400 A.D. collapse) not in 3 A.D.  Augustus was the first emperors in 3 AD whilst the empire was expanding and gaining power.  The barbarians were always there - just in 3AD they were being forced back - by 300 A.D. they were pushing forward…

Alex Hammond-Chambers

April 11, 2012, 9:21 a.m.

I hate to oversimplify it but our malfunctioning democracies have induced poor political leadership based on promising prosperity beyond our means in return for political power.  Hence it is that living beyond our means becomes institutionalised.  Until we have some political leader - particularly one in the US - who is prepared to state that “he/she has nothing to offer but blood, sweat and toil ...”  There is no live-beyond-our-means-now-and-pay-later solution.  When we elect an Iron Lady because she says so, we will have started the recovery process.

Clyde Martin

April 11, 2012, 6:25 a.m.

I enjoyed the article, as I do all of the articles written by Mr Mauldin or reference articles. I do believe
conclusions drawn in this article are correct and the US and a major portion of Europe will be sliding
into the background of world affairs. Doesn’t this always happen to aggressor nations? This has been what the US has been throughout our history, we acquire by destroying our perceived enemies. The government controls the population by preying on fear! After all, this is how sheepies are controlled without the realization they are being led. But I digress.

Since the enactment of NATFA, I believe, we have been led quickly down the road toward a one world government. Actually the beings started with the United Nations, IMf and the list could go on and on. When will this actually take place, who can tell, all steps are small but in the same direction.
The carving out of the middle class in the US, I believe, was a planned and controlled program, what better way to make the mass of people defendant on the government?  Never believe what is in the media one must look 2, 3 or 4 possible moves down the road to see the expected path.

This entire post seems negative and with the thoughts there are conspiracies behind every tree, but this is not the point. The point is that history does repeat, leaders generally do not learn from history and therefore why spend our time and energies fighting at windmills? The game is rigged and the allusion is that we are able to change the direction of events. Leaders come and go, nations rise and fall. The question is: does this make a difference in the grand design of things? What is at issue is how we as persons/selves run our lives. Whether this government falls and is replaced by another is not relevant. The only thing that is relevant is how we conduct our selves in relation to other selves. Remove oneself from the circus and focus on what is really important. Realizing this main point at our time of death is to late.

Doug Pedersen

April 11, 2012, 4:01 a.m.

Great article - and terrific to see investment professionals thinking about history and the sweep of human change - because for truly long term perspective, it is this kind of liberal arts style thinking that we need.

Kennedy’s view is a good one - and it is clear that RELATIVE to its trading partners, the US standard of living is likely to decline.  This does not mean, as some on this thread think, that there must be absolute decline.  After all, even middle income Greeks, Romans and Spaniards live better today than middle income Greeks, Romans and Spaniards at their heights of empire.

I also think the US holds many, many advantages, not just geography, work ethic, and a legal system that generally respects property rights - the system may not be completely equitable, but you know the rules and can reasonably predict what will happen.

The article is right to put much of the risk on the POLITICAL system - where we increasingly focus on the short term: focusing on the next election and trying to kick the can down the road.  In Europe, where I live, we are watching the slow disintegration of the social democratic state.  It will be painful, because it is forcing many people to address the fact that they cannot have what they thought they could (economic stability, strong growth and strong protections negating the vicissitudes of life).  It turns out that the first is the enemy of the second, and without the second you can have neither the first or the third.

I have some hope that we will come to grips with our problems.  My scepticism arises less from looking backward than looking forward.  As countries age, they simply become less dynamic.  There is less risk taking among older people, who instead look to preserve what they have.  Among those things they strive to preserve with maximum vigor is the social safety net that primarily benefits themselves.  Old people take a short term view, mostly because they don’t have a long term perspective.  Boomers, insatiable narcissists, are likely to exacerbate this trend going forward.  Worse, Boomer politics consists mostly of trying to make the other guy wrong (which is easier than making yourself right).  It puts everyone’s attention on the other guy, leaving you free to hand out perks to your friends and family.  If your own behavior is indefensible, make sure you spend your time pointing out that the other guy is no better.  This is dysfunction - it is a soap opera or an episode of Rikki Lake.  It is not serious politics.

Look at the proposed “solutions” to the entitlement crisis: keep high benefits for existing retirees, (necessitating high taxes on current workers), but cutting the benefits on the same workers.  This is pretty much the first step to serfdom: you are tied to the payroll tax and forced to work 1 day a week on the old folks plantation.  They are busy with their leisure activities.

If there is hope, it is that a new generation of leadership is rising.  This generation, born after 1960, knows and has known for decades, that it was being set up to take the shafting for the insane benefits handed out to those who retired earlier.  But even the rising generation of political leaders: Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, who are trying to address these challenges, and doing more than anyone has done before, are still mostly working at the margins, or are afraid to engage in a national conversation where EVERYONE (including current beneficiaries) has to make a contribution to pay the piper for the last 80 years of expanding government liabilities.

The crisis of social democracy is upon us, and whether and how we address it is the big political challenge of this decade (with a major “clash of civilizations” in the mid east and rising Asian powers as the foreign challenges).  But as Kennedy wisely tells us, an effective foreign policy can only be carried out by a country that has the economic means to produce, field and project military power.  Foreign crises will be both more probable and more intractable, with less favorable outcomes (at least for the US), if our economic house is not in order.

Jeff Ohlinger

April 11, 2012, 2:39 a.m.

“Increasing taxation is a characteristic of a declining great power.”

Apparently it is also a characteristic of a rising great power too.  US tax rates rose dramatically after the 1920’s and top marginal rates stayed extremely high well into the 60’s (and when lowered in the 60’s were still double what they are now).  Under those rates the US became the world’s great power.  Growth rates in the US under those rates were much higher than the growth rates achieved in recent decades with substantially lower rates (and the best growth of those decades came after the top marginal rate was raised!).

We’ve got lots of problems, but high tax rates isn’t one of them.

Page 1 of 2  1 2 > 

© 2013 Mauldin Economics. All Rights Reserved.

Outside the Box is a free weekly economic e-letter by best-selling author and renowned financial expert, John Mauldin. You can learn more and get your free subscription by visiting www.MauldinEconomics.com.

Please write to subscribers@mauldineconomics.com to inform us of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You must keep the letter intact, from introduction to disclaimers. If you would like to quote brief portions only, please reference www.MauldinEconomics.com.

To subscribe to John Mauldin's e-letter, please click here: http://www.mauldineconomics.com/subscribe

To change your email address, please click here: http://www.mauldineconomics.com/change-address

Outside the Box and MauldinEconomics.com is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of John Mauldin and those that he interviews. Any views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with, Mauldin's other firms. John Mauldin is the Chairman of Mauldin Economics, LLC. He also is the President of Millennium Wave Advisors, LLC (MWA) which is an investment advisory firm registered with multiple states, President and registered representative of Millennium Wave Securities, LLC, (MWS) member FINRA, SIPC, through which securities may be offered . MWS is also a Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) registered with the CFTC, as well as an Introducing Broker (IB) and NFA Member. Millennium Wave Investments is a dba of MWA LLC and MWS LLC. This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article. Mauldin companies may have a marketing relationship with products and services mentioned in this letter for a fee.

Note: Joining The Mauldin Circle is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of John Mauldin and Millennium Wave Investments. It is intended solely for investors who have registered with Millennium Wave Investments and its partners at www.MauldinCircle.com (formerly AccreditedInvestor.ws) or directly related websites. The Mauldin Circle may send out material that is provided on a confidential basis, and subscribers to the Mauldin Circle are not to send this letter to anyone other than their professional investment counselors. Investors should discuss any investment with their personal investment counsel. You are advised to discuss with your financial advisers your investment options and whether any investment is suitable for your specific needs prior to making any investments. John Mauldin is the President of Millennium Wave Advisors, LLC (MWA), which is an investment advisory firm registered with multiple states. John Mauldin is a registered representative of Millennium Wave Securities, LLC, (MWS), an FINRA registered broker-dealer. MWS is also a Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) registered with the CFTC, as well as an Introducing Broker (IB). Millennium Wave Investments is a dba of MWA LLC and MWS LLC. Millennium Wave Investments cooperates in the consulting on and marketing of private and non-private investment offerings with other independent firms such as Altegris Investments; Capital Management Group; Absolute Return Partners, LLP; Fynn Capital; Nicola Wealth Management; and Plexus Asset Management. Investment offerings recommended by Mauldin may pay a portion of their fees to these independent firms, who will share 1/3 of those fees with MWS and thus with Mauldin. Any views expressed herein are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest with any CTA, fund, or program mentioned here or elsewhere. Before seeking any advisor's services or making an investment in a fund, investors must read and examine thoroughly the respective disclosure document or offering memorandum. Since these firms and Mauldin receive fees from the funds they recommend/market, they only recommend/market products with which they have been able to negotiate fee arrangements.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS, INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS: OFTEN ENGAGE IN LEVERAGING AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES THAT MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS, CAN BE ILLIQUID, ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PROVIDE PERIODIC PRICING OR VALUATION INFORMATION TO INVESTORS, MAY INVOLVE COMPLEX TAX STRUCTURES AND DELAYS IN DISTRIBUTING IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION, ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER. Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor’s interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. John Mauldin and/or the staffs may or may not have investments in any funds cited above as well as economic interest. John Mauldin can be reached at 800-829-7273.