Richard welcomes a maverick economist who is warning of yet another economic meltdown. He says that the BP oil spill will have huge ramifications on the US economy as the dispersants mixed with the oil and other gasses associated with the spill and the clean-up efforts become toxic rain that will soak farmlands and residential areas in the Eastern U.S. Some areas of the East may eventually become practically uninhabitable, crippling the U.S. economy, he says.

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The economic ripple will hit investors soon. As a result, many millions will be looking for safe havens for their money, and over the the last few decades, gold has been one of the safest of harbors. He feels that gold will continue to soar, perhaps upwards of $2,400 per ounce. Back in 1979, gold reached $800 per ounce, and everyone thought that bubble would burst, too. But it didn’t then. Instead, the Reagan administration cut spending and stopped printing money. Until the Obama administration does the same, he says gold will soar in the wake of the economic and environmental disaster of the gulf oil spill as toxic rain hits the heart of the American economy east of the Mississippi.

Guest: Howard J. Ruff is financial adviser and writer of investing newsletter The Ruff Times. Ruff is the author of Famine and Survival in America (1974), How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years (1979), Survive and Win in the Inflationary Eighties (1981), Making Money (1984), and other books. He has recently updated and re-released his most successful book, re-titling it How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century (2008).Ruff advised investors to avoid stocks and bonds and instead to put their portfolios into gold, silver, platinum group metals, and collectibles such as art and numismatic coins. He also advised his readers to store a year’s supply of food in preparation for hard times. Ruff believed (as of his 1979-1981 writings) that the United States was headed for a hyperinflationary economic depression.Ruff gained a sizable mainstream audience for a while during the late 1970s until about 1981, because those who had been taking his investment advice and buying precious metals saw large capital gains during that period. The New York Times labeled Howard Ruff “The Prophet of Doom” after his book How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years reached the number #1 seller in 1979.

 

 Economic Meltdown - Part Two? [109:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: conspiracy, economy, oil spill, The Ruff Times