A detailed review of some Pence history here: The radical crusade of Mike Pence.
During the campaign, Pence said he and Trump were actually very much alike: They both liked to pray, and Trump claimed to be a good Christian. His old colleagues in Indiana shook their heads and wondered if he had sold his soul.
Just came upon this discussion and thought it worthwhile, especially the comments about pension targets, investment returns and political fall out.
Underfunded government pensions to the tune of $1.3 trillion, with a gap that just can’t be filled, is the ticking time bomb facing the US economy, which faces dramatic cuts in public services and potentially riots reminiscent of Athens six years ago.
Danielle DiMartino Booth is the tough talking former Federal Reserve advisor and President of Money Strong, with an insider’s perspective on finance. As she picks apart the danger signs with the US on the precipice of recession, it’s the impending pensions crisis that’s really keeping her awake at night. Here is a direct video link.
Also see her recent article Blinding flash of the obvious, where she offers a reality check to those expecting economic miracles from the new US leadership, “Dear President Trump.. here are the obvious issues”:
1. The biggest challenge is what got you elected, that is the sense among millions of Americans that they’ve been on the outside looking in on the so-called economic recovery which technically started in 2009.
2. Time is the second obvious element that is not on your side. Next Thursday marks the beginning of the third longest expansion in the post-World War II era. Recession will be a reality on your watch, and perhaps sooner than later.
3. As you’ve recognized yourself, the financial markets are wrapped in bubble. You name it, they’re overvalued, some more than others.
4. And finally, your central bank is, as my former boss Richard Fisher said, “a giant weapon that has no ammunition left.”
S&P 500 price to revenue ratio charted here since 1986, much worse than the 2000 market bubble: today at 2.45 versus historic average of 1. A retreat to just 1.3 would take stock prices down by 50%. (See: On Governance.)
“The problem our nation faces is a serious one. We have now paired a massive speculative bubble with an errant pin that has every prospect of creating disruption. A steep financial retreat was already baked in the cake prior to the election. My concern is that having reached this precipice, there are few policies that have the capacity to make the consequences substantially better, but many that could make the outcomes substantially worse.” –John Hussman, January 30, 2017
