MARK SKOUSEN OVERTIME: BONUS Q&A

QUESTION:

Is Elon Musk acting as his own “Elon Indicator?” (and, in effect, controlling bitcoin?)

First, he’s ALL-IN on bitcoin… then he’s NOT accepting bitcoin as payment for his Tesla cars… and now suddenly he’s back in, again?

MARK:

Elon Musk is a bit of a chameleon. You never know what he’s going to say. But in many ways he’s a genius, and we have made good money investing in Tesla through the Baron Partners Fund.

QUESTION:

If social media giants Twitter and Facebook, for example, take even small steps toward regulation – the government claims they’re stifling free speech. And if Twitter and Facebook do NOTHING, government claims they’re culpable. How do you square these two things? And is there a “bridge too far” when it comes to what can be expressed as Free Speech on Social Media today?

MARK:

Facebook and Twitter, as well as Amazon other new tech companies, certainly have the right to managing their companies and set rules, but they are making a big mistake censoring their customers, imposing their views on others, and trying to edit their content. It will eventually destroy their monopoly power.

QUESTION:

You’ve described the coronavirus pandemic as a “Black Swan” event. What is the #1 investment idea in your mind that has emerged from this global crisis?

MARK:

The big winner in the 2020 crisis was business – they were the ones that solved the problems associated with the pandemic: Amazon delivered home products; Zoom offered online education and meetings; Netflix provided entertainment; and most importantly, Pfizer and other drug companies discovered a new vaccine in record time. Our tech stocks have been big winners.

QUESTION:

Mark, you’ve been to 77 countries, so far. Of all your world travels, what would you say is the most rewarding experience you’ve had?

MARK:

Well, probably the time when I moved my family to the Bahamas. It was life-changing. I call it life in living color.

I firmly believe I’m a better economist and financial advisor as a result of my many travels and opportunities to find out first hand what’s going on and what is on the minds of investors and subscribers to my newsletter, Forecasts & Strategies (now in its 41st year).

I learned the value of traveling from Sir John Templeton, the founder of the first foreign-based mutual funds. Templeton said he became a better investor and money manager by living in the Bahamas. I also lived in the Bahamas for two years, as well as London, England. It gave me a broader perspective.

Every year now, I put on my own international conference called FreedomFest, and it changes people’s lives. Thousands have changed their way of acting and thinking — one couple altered their estate and set up a “job-creating” foundation as a result of a session… a consultant landed a major contract with someone he met at our conference (he’s done it two years in a row now)… Investors bought a stock that doubled in a year… a man created a successful blog after following the advice of a speaker… a father brought his son, who converted to free-market economics at the end of the show. The son said, “Dad, promise me we’ll come back next year.”

There was also a group of five students from South Africa (who called themselves the “Vegas Five”) who went home and created a whole new libertarian movement that has taken their country by storm… and one speaker made the cover of Forbes magazine because Steve Forbes heard him speak at a luncheon. Anything is possible. We’ve even had a couple go on their honeymoon at FreedomFest.

QUESTION:

There’s nothing more controversial in finance right now than bitcoin… highlighted by a recent TV debate between the founder of Pantera Capital on the bullish side – his stance is that bitcoin is a worldwide disruptor like Tesla…

And on the other side a distinguished Harvard law professor, taking the bearish view – suggesting bitcoin will crash and hit amateur investors hardest – because they’re always late to the party.

Where do you lean in this bitcoin debate, and where do you want to be positioned as an investor?

MARK:

Bitcoin is still too new to be called money or a store of value. It has definitely become an asset class, and I own some. But I think it best serves best as a speculation that you buy and sell. We doubled our money in three months investing in bitcoin!

QUESTION:

Mark, you’ve called the “meme stock” trend a a dangerous phenomenon and a distortion of the markets… and you’ve called out the “Geek Squad” for pumping up the stock price of GameStop, among others.

How do you respond to those who say that it’s “fair game” for this community of “activist traders” to compete against the hedge funds – at their own game?

MARK:

Speculating in meme stocks is the closest thing to gambling on Wall Street. Timing is critical to making money – the longer you hold on, the greater your chance of losing. Meme stocks are for speculators only. Stocks that have very little fundamental value do not belong in our portfolio.

QUESTION:

Mark, you’ve been helping individual investors for 41 years. What’s your favorite subscriber story?

MARK:

Years ago, I was visiting St. Kitts in the Caribbean for the Liberty Forum conference. As I was standing in line to go through immigration, the man next to me said, “Are you Mark Skousen?” I said “yes,” and he said, “I’m a lifetime subscriber, and you’ve made me a rich man. In fact, I’ve made more money from your newsletter than from my business as a trial lawyer!”

He and his wife were coming to the Caribbean to stay at their vacation home they had bought with profits from my newsletter recommendations. He made my day. I’ll never forget that.

QUESTION:

On the topic of voting rights legislation, democrats say they want to expand voting rights in America, while adding that opposing republicans want to restrict voting rights. What’s your take… and where does the country ultimately land on this – with gerrymandering and redistricting ruling the day on the both sides?

MARK:

I would rather say that the democrat leaders want to make it easier to take advantage of the electoral system, through ballot harvesting and other methods of uninformed voting. We need to encourage informed voting, not just voting.

QUESTION:

Kevin O’Leary – the famed Shark Tank investor – headlined your FreedomFest event a few years ago… and he likes to say, “Uncle Sam’s throwing free money from a helicopter.” Where does all this Free Money eventually take us?

MARK:

Excessive printing of money and wasteful government spending are serious sins of our leaders today, the major cause of inflation and unemployment. They should all be term limited.

QUESTION:

Some say the “Deep State” is a secret cabal of government insiders – and a danger to our freedoms and liberties – while others say it’s a fictitious, manufactured “boogey-man” – to keep the conservative base emboldened. Fact or fiction?

MARK:

Big money leads to crony capitalism and influence peddling. Money is power, and power corrupts. Much lobbying is done behind closed doors, and it’s often hard to know who is doing what. Most conspiracies are secretive. We can only find out through informants (like what the CIA, KGB and Israeli Intelligence does) and investigative reporting.

I depend on my sources in and out of government to separate the truth from the rumors, especially some of the crazy conspiracy theories out there.

QUESTION:

As a “Top 20 Living Economist,” if you had to look into your economic crystal ball, what would it be telling you right now about bitcoin, how far the price can go… its chances of becoming an everyday currency… AND if the U.S. government – the regulators — decide to ban it or regulate it?

MARK:

To the extend that bitcoin and other digital currencies serve as a medium of exchange and store of value, they are real and serve a useful purpose. I fully expect the government to increase their regulations. How high bitcoin and other crypto currencies can go is hard to say. My crystal ball is cloudy.

QUESTION:

OK, Big Hot Potato here, Mark. How do you respond to conservatives who say, “oh yes, I think the presidential election was rigged,” and on the other side of the aisle – liberals, who say… “There’s literally no evidence of illegal tampering, and the courts determined that.”

MARK:

I’ve asked several investment audiences if the November 2020 election was stolen, and a large majority raise their hands. I don’t know if there were widespread irregularities or not, but I hate it when the establishment media says it’s a “false claim.” This kind of yellow journalism is new and unacceptable. One thing I do know: If President had acted civilly and presidential during his four years in office, he would have won by a landslide. But his egotistical, insulting behavior destroyed his chances and overwhelmed his largely good economic policies.

QUESTION:

A recent Supreme Court 9-0 opinion – suggesting the NCAA is in violation of antitrust laws – may have cracked open the door for college athletes to get paid by their schools in the future.

Is it time for major reform of student-athlete compensation in the NCAA?

MARK:

Let each college and university make their own rules, not the NCAA, when it comes to compensating student athletes. Personally, I see no reason why student athletes shouldn’t be paid.

QUESTION:

Final question: Is the American Dream still alive and well?

MARK:

Yes, in the sense that Americans and immigrants can still make a fortune in business and reap what they sow. But new threats are always on the horizon – taxes, regulations, crime, etc. We need freedom to be entrepreneurs, and the potential loss of our freedoms is always only a generation away.

My favorite way to profit from the American dream is my #1 recommended stock, which has really being going strong. It invests in private small businesses that are expanding their products and making huge profits doing so all across America. All my research on this company is included in my new book, the SINGLE STOCK RETIREMENT PLAN.

QUESTION:

Are stock buy-backs normally a good thing for the economy… or a bad thing… an artificial propping up?

MARK:

Stock buybacks are quite popular because paying dividends is a form of double taxation while stock buybacks are tax free. Dividends and interest should be tax free.

QUESTION:

On the issue of gun reform – a topic always being debated at FreedomFest… Are guns and assault rifles the problem, or are people the problem? And, is there a boundary to the freedom of gun ownership in America… particularly in light of the contentious debates on high-powered assault rifles and mass shootings?

MARK:

Because of the Second Amendment, America is unique. It is one of a very few countries where citizens can own and use handguns – and even semi-automatic or machine guns, which is normally restricted to the military and the police. I prefer not to call them “assault weapons,” but a more objective term.

I firmly believe in the right to bear arms and protect oneself and one’s property. We have also made good profits investing in gun stocks, mostly in my trading services.