Steve Forbes

As a forerunner in the proposal of the flat tax, Forbes is adamant that the flat tax issue should be on the forefront of the Presidential agenda. He states that it not only needs reformed, but health care and social security for young Americans must also be addressed.  He goes on to discuss public opinion and his belief that although the flat tax will make the most sense long term, public opinion will be something that will need to be monitored and addressed as well and his suggestions on how to do that.

It’s the complexity of the current code that creates the  problem. He sited a study where one average family’s tax information was given to 45 of the best preparers in the country and they came out with 45 different results on the amount of money the family owed.

Forbes continues the discussion by candidly addressing what he would have done differently if had been elected and the different place that would have put the country.  He offered suggestions and support of off-shore drilling and nuclear power plants, saying it would offer 1 million new jobs, manufacturing and construction jobs, highly skilled and highly paid jobs, thus increasing jobs, energy and national security.

He finishes off the discussion by referencing some fundamental moral problems that have left America in the spot it is in today, demographics, social security, medicare and medicaid and his suggestions as how to fix the issues.

***

09.21.08 – 1718

• Steve Forbes – President and CEO of Forbes Magazine and author of Power, Ambition, Glory: The Stunning Parallels between Great Leaders of the Ancient World and Today . . . and the Lessons You Can Learn
• Thomas E. Woods, JR., PhD – Senior Fellow at Ludwig von Mises Institute and author of Meltdown

During this conversation centering around the financial crisis, Thomas Woods asserts that people are tired of conventional wisdom.  Guest, Steve Forbes believes most of the present problem in the breakdown of the free market economic system was caused by huge government errors. Forbes contends that the Federal Reserve printed too much money and made it artificially cheap. In addition lenders such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac underwrote too many junk mortgages.

“If private business makes a mistake they pay for it, if government does, we all do. Wall Street underwrote and securitized, but government distorts the free market.”

Thomas Woods touches on his new book, Meltdown,  and the reason he pushed hard to have the book released early. He believes having a free market perspective on the credit crunch is essential for people to understand what has truly happened. He says, “the government and the Federal Reserve’s fingerprints are all over this situation.”

Dennis addresses the Fred Foldvary prediction of a real estate depression in 2008.

They conclude with comments on the speculation in real estate, the magnificent money creation machine government made and how this was an artificial stimulus to speculation.

—
1801 – 09.27.09

• David Boaz, CATO
• Doug Casey, Casey Research;
• Daniel Mitchell,CATO
• Steve Moore, Wall Street Journal
• Richard Rahn, CATO
• Steve Forbes, Forbes Magazine
• Thomas Woods, author of the controversial best seller, MELTDOWN

We look forward to hearing your comments on our blog or through Twitter.

During his short interview, Steve Forbes, President and CEO of Forbes Inc. says,

Capitalism will save us. It did not cause this problem, government did. It’s going to take a grass roots effort, a strong dollar and low taxes will do the rest.

[flashvideo file=wp-content/uploads/Freedom%20Fest/SANY0006.flv /]

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Freedom Fest, an annual festival where “free minds meet” to celebrate “great books, great ideas, and great thinkers” in an open-minded society, was founded and is produced by Mark Skousen (who’s been a guest on our program). Freedom Fest invites the “best and the brightest” from around the world to talk, strategize, socialize, and celebrate liberty.

Stay tuned for more from Freedom Fest!

Thanks for joining us,

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
The McCuistion Program

“Cash For Clunkers” An Artificial Program Shields Auto Industry

[Auto Industry] “Ford (F) makes better cars than it did last year, or at least there is better demand for them. The “cash for clunkers” program put together by the US government helped sell cars, a fact that Ford admitted.

The “clunkers” stimulus which allowed consumers to trade in old, fuel-inefficient cars for new fuel-efficient ones, lasted about a week. The government withdrew the package, either because it ran through its $1 billion of funding or because it was too complex for dealers to manage. Media accounts cite both reasons…”

Auto Industry: Cash for Clunkers Hits Goal in Five Days!

[Auto Industry] “As a co-architect of the federal Cash For Clunkers (CFC) program and advisor to various congressional offices on the issue, it is gratifying to see how quickly it has been adopted by the American people. CFC achieves multiple goals — it stimulates auto sales while increasing the efficiency of the U.S. fleet.

Congress passed the program in June of this year and it went into effect this past weekend. The $1 billion has now been used up in one week! That translates to more than 250,000 guzzlers and pick-up trucks traded-in for more efficient cars…”

Auto Industry: ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Going Broke

[Auto Industry] “The Obama administration is telling lawmakers that its much-touted “cash-for-clunkers” program is already running out of money, according to three Senate aides familiar with the discussions.

The program — aimed at giving at boost to the U.S. auto industry — was supposed to expire at the end of October. But in the one week since it took effect, it appears to have run dry of the $1 billion allocated to it, aides said Thursday…”

***

Freedom Fest is an annual festival where “free minds meet” to celebrate “great books, great ideas, and great thinkers” in an open-minded society.  It is independent, non-partisan, and not affiliated with any organization or think tank.

Founded and produced by Mark Skousen, (who’s been a guest on our program, A Conversation with Mark Skousen) Freedom Fest invites the “best and the brightest” from around the world to talk, strategize, socialize, and celebrate liberty. Mark comments,” Freedom Fest is open to all and is purely egalitarian, where speakers, attendees, and exhibitors are treated as equals.”  Freedom Fest has separate forums on philosophy, science and technology, art and entertainment, economics, geo-politics, finance, and literature, among others.  There’s a debate room, where a new hot topic is debated every hour, general sessions with world-renown experts, and a special one-hour time with 6-7 “bright new stars” – up and coming scholars who have something to contribute.

McCuistion and Brock interviewed Steve Forbes, who commented, “Capitalism will save America from the excesses of the Federal Reserve, the Bush Administration’s excesses and the stimulus packages of the Obama Administration. Tea parties and other indications show that we will turn these problems around.”

They spoke with Fred Foldvary who said:  “The Depression of 2008 was laid out in a paper I wrote in 1997 and a booklet published in 2007. A combination of loose Federal Reserve policy combined with real estate speculation caused the problem.”

-AND-

Michael Tanner of CATO, “The Obama health care plan will not cut costs or cover all the uninsured or increase quality.  What it will lead to is increased costs, delays in getting care and a massive bureaucracy allocating resources for consumers and healthcare professionals.”

Stay tuned for more comments and upcoming on the spot video interviews, live from Las Vegas.

Thanks for joining us,

Niki McCuistion
Producer- McCuistion TV