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Scott is joined by David Stockman to talk about the economic issues facing the world today. To start, Stockman explains where the American economy stands today. He argues that the crash of 2020 represents the next stage in a 50-year evolution of the boom-bust cycle. They also touch on the labor markets, which Stockman argues are not doing as well as the news would have you believe. Next they turn to China, where Stockman says an accelerating slide back towards central planning that’s all built on an absurd level of debt should dispel the idea we’re headed for a world run by Beijing. He also debunks the myth that China has been waging an effective economic war on the U.S. since the 1990s. Instead, Stockman says America’s economic troubles are all the Fed’s fault. Lastly, Scott and Stockman take a step back and look at how the dollar is faring on a global scale. 

Discussed on the show:

• David Stockman’s Contra Corner

David Stockman is the ultimate Washington insider turned iconoclast. He began his career in Washington as a young man and quickly rose through the ranks of the Republican Party to become the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan. After leaving the White House, Stockman had a 20-year career on Wall Street. He is the author of Trumped!, The Triumph of Politics, and his history of the financial crisis, The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Thc Hemp Spot.

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Joey King of Veterans for Peace discusses the School of the Americas protest this weekend (Nov. 16-18) at Fort Benning, GA; the 200-year history of interventionist US foreign policy in Latin America; and how the War on Drugs is giving the US military a foothold in Guatemala and elsewhere.

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Joe Lauria, journalist for The Wall Street Journal, discusses the IDF’s assassination of Hamas military chief Ahmed Jaabari; the Palestinian bid for non-member observer state status at the UN, and the legal rights conferred if successful; the similar political timing of Israel’s current aggression and Operation Cast Lead in 2008; US ambassador Thomas Pickering’s threat to “bring down the entire UN” in 1989 when Palestine last sought observer state status; and why Israel’s government is perfectly happy with the status quo in the occupied territories.

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Asia Times journalist Pepe Escobar discusses the credentials of Sheikh Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, the newly elected Syrian opposition leader;  how non-vetted videos and news sources drive the mainsteam media’s coverage of Syria; talk of a Western-imposed no-fly zone and more weapons for Syria’s rebels; Kurdish autonomy movements that transcend national borders; and why a partial rebel victory/secession in Syria is really no victory at all.

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Asia Times journalist Pepe Escobar discusses Israel’s opportunistic aggression in Gaza while the news cycle is fully occupied with other things; the Arab Spring counterrevolutions led by Persian Gulf monarchies; how the US could be weaned from Middle East oil (and politics) within ten years; and the ongoing developments in the Benghazi/CIA/Petraeus scandals.

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Jeffrey Kaye, a psychologist and regular writer for Truthout, discusses his article “The Forgotten History of David Petraeus;” the media’s fawning adoration of Petraeus despite his record of failure and links to torture and death squads; the legal system’s failure to constrain the US government from waging aggressive warfare and torturing at will; and indications that Petraeus was ousted by his own agency.

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Emptywheel blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses how David Petraeus’ resignation scandal is related to the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack that killed the US ambassador; Paula Broadwell’s claim that the CIA was holding prisoners in Benghazi; numerous theories about who wanted Petraeus out, and why; and the US’s nation-building failures from Iraq to Libya.

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Alfred W. McCoy, author of Torture and Impunity, discusses his article “Beyond Bayonets and Battleships: Space Warfare and the Future of U.S. Global Power;” the integration of killer drones, cyber-surveillance and global biometric identification; and why the US continues to lose wars despite having enormous (yet unsustainable) military and technological advantages.

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Anthony Gregory of The Independent Institute discusses Murray Rothbard’s 1965 essay “Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty;” why Libertarians have more in common historically with the Left than the Right; how the political spectrum has been redefined over time; and how government regulation helps big corporations and punishes potential competitors.

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