# Hi, Sam Stone! -- I Pit the Blathering Bullshit about Stock Market movements **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 3, 2018, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706 "2018-04-03T10:42:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/21 "2018-04-03T16:15:02Z")
You aren’t saying I’m \*wrong \*about him. Whoever the hell you are, that is, as if anyone would care. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/22 "2018-04-03T16:15:06Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Now that it’s creeping back up to a trillion dollars, without the excuse of a Great Recession, I haven’t seen word one from him. I do read this board less these days than I did then, so I’d be happy to be shown wrong. From within the last month: > [@Democrats and Farrakhan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/86): > > The Republicans have completely abandoned fiscal conservatism, and their huge deficits are going to be a gigantic problem. They also seem to be abandoning free trade, which will cost the economy hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Unless it kicks off a trade war, which could easily trigger a deep recession. They should be ashamed of themselves. This is a very silly thread. Does **Sam Stone** see the world through his ideological prism? That’s just another way of asking: Is **Sam Stone** a human being? Yes, he is in fact a human being, and we all share ideological bias to a greater or lesser extent. I’ve been profoundly frustrated by him in the past, but at least he is principled, which is more than some of his critics here can say. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/23 "2018-04-03T16:22:29Z")
Sometimes he does come up for air, but he always dives right back in. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/24 "2018-04-03T16:30:59Z")
As I often do, I tried to kill two birds with one post. My intent was to Pit Trumpists who credit their MAGA man any time the stock market ticks up but are strangely silent this last week. Rather than starting a new thread I Searched to find a “Isn’t Trump’s stock market wonderful!” thread, saw the humorously ridiculous nonsense by Stone, and decided to share the fun! Come on! Stock market Quadruples (with a Q!) and Stone blames Obama’s regulations for sagging market? :smack: 😕 😕 The market should have _Quintupled_? But having gotten that far, I added Sam Stone to the thread title. Yes, yes, I know he really does have a 100+ IQ and is one of the smartest right-wingers here. (That’s not saying much, of course.) _ **But he annoys me and is consistently rude to me.** _ In a recent thread about roulette he makes two (2) clearcut errors in a brief post; I politely correct the errors; no acknowledgement from Sam. In another thread … same thing. Annoyed at his failure to acknowledge I was slightly rude when he posted his usual ignorant right-wing blather about government spending … and he whines! (I’m sure he Reported my supposed “ad hominem” hoping I’d get banned.) TL;DR: Yes, Stone probably does quite well on IQ tests. That just makes his bizarre ignorance about economics and government policy more pitiful. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/25 "2018-04-03T16:42:27Z")
Standard Republican Regulatory Idealism is that regulations are uniformly bad and counterproductive and if we just got rid of them altogether, everything would be fine. Of course, that’s a completely absurd position, but it is a simple position for a complex issue that they’ve used forever to fight regulations of all kinds. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/26 "2018-04-03T16:46:01Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > _ **But he annoys me and is consistently rude to me.** _ Dear God NO!!! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/27 "2018-04-03T17:25:54Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Sometimes he does come up for air, but he always dives right back in. Lately I see him as at least useful in the sense of making people like me aware of the ugly [del]critters from the deep[/del] ideas that ‘smart’ conservatives are swallowing nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/28 "2018-04-03T17:34:23Z")
He has publicly stated his admiration and affection for Warren Zevon. That’s good for ten points, right there! ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/29 "2018-04-03T17:52:20Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He has publicly stated his admiration and affection for Warren Zevon. That’s good for ten points, right there! Goddamn right. Additionally, I generally and thoroughly disagree with **Sam** on a large number of political and economic points. But all my interactions with him (few as they have been over the years) have been civil and productive. And he has some really useful input in a number of areas, whether I agree or not. Regardless of my personal experience with the guy, I get your frustration **septimus**. I’d just ask that if you ever come for me, you don’t wait the better part of a year before you do. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/30 "2018-04-03T18:16:23Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He has publicly stated his admiration and affection for Warren Zevon. That’s good for ten points, right there! are pit points worth _more_ than other internet points or less? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/31 "2018-04-03T19:09:52Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He has publicly stated his admiration and affection for Warren Zevon. That’s good for ten points, right there! His take on _The Walking Dead_ is also spot on and well needed. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/32 "2018-04-03T21:29:14Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He has publicly stated his admiration and affection for Warren Zevon. That’s good for ten points, right there! And he’s presumably named after a character in a John Prine song. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/33 "2018-04-03T21:37:25Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > MAGA man (Quoted post snipped) Worst video game series ever ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/34 "2018-04-03T21:45:42Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > Classic pit response. “The OP is actually the dumbhead and I’m the smartest in the room.” You’re being very petty. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/35 "2018-04-03T22:38:36Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You’re being very petty. Are you joining Morgenstern and following me around the pit too? 😕 I’m actually honored! Honestly though we should really be more friendly to each other. 🙂 I’ll be right over to help you drag your computer tower out of your double wide so that we can back over it and laugh and laugh. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/36 "2018-04-04T00:03:15Z")
Best be careful, not all of us in the trailer-trash community are as easy going and genial as I am. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/37 "2018-04-04T05:46:13Z")
> [@Hellestal](#): > > From within the last month: This is fair, and yes, I missed it. Of course, **Sam** should realize that the Republican party as a whole never believed in fiscal responsibility in the first place, but… baby steps… ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/38 "2018-04-04T10:08:04Z")
> [@Hellestal](#): > > From within the last month: > > > [@Sam Stone](#): > > > > The Republicans have completely abandoned fiscal conservatism,… > > … > Does **Sam Stone** see the world through his ideological prism? That’s just another way of asking: Is **Sam Stone** a human being? Yes, he is in fact a human being, and we all share ideological bias to a greater or lesser extent. I’ve been profoundly frustrated by him in the past, but at least he is principled, which is more than some of his critics here can say. Pretending to oppose deficits is a shibboleth for the Tea Party and their ilk. One must look a little further to understand their ideology. In his recent post > [@Sam Stoen](#): > > … an increasingly larger percentage of the federal budget is going to mandatory spending (entitlements and interest) … Stone shows no interest in cutting military spending, nor in restoring taxes. When I asked about this, he refused to answer. And he doesn’t even seem to know that government spending hasn’t risen much over the past several decades — _the deficit is largely due to **unsustainable tax cuts** _. So, all we know from his words is that the problem is “entitlements” (which I will synopsize as SocSec and Healthcare) and interest payments. Let’s look at these, with a little more intelligence than Stone does: (1) Social Security. No lazy government workers here; For every $1 collected toward the pension, about 99.9¢ are paid out. You can view this as active workers paying retirees, or as your younger self saving for your older self — either model is valid. If the pension service were privatized and called Koch Brothers Pensions Inc., the wingnuts would be prattling about how efficient it was. It’s fairly sustainable, due to reforms made decades ago, but the important point is that it’s straightforward transfers. Even calling it “government spending” is to deliberately misunderstand it. Many wingnuts would like to see SocSec canceled. Can you imagine the suffering that would result if SocSec checks stopped going out? Or if today’s workers no longer had SocSec to rely on? Sure, some would save the money, invest it and, with luck, be rich by old age. Is government supposed to test citizens for financial acumen? (2) Healthcare (Medicare, VA Health, etc.). America has a real problem with rising health costs. This is a problem regardless of whether the spending is by government, by employers, or by employees. Many human beings want to address those rising costs, while still caring for the sick. Technically, as **Hellestal** points out, inhumane right-wingers like **Sam Stone** are “human beings,” but they begrudge any of their tax dollars being spent to care for the poor. (3) Interest on the debt. 😕 The mind boggles to grasp what point it thinks it’s making. Interest is paid on debt. Debt results from stupid tax cuts. Yes, sending retirees to the death camps is another way to reduce deficit and debt. Were Stone smart enough to connect dots himself, he’d see this is what he and his ilk effectively advocate. ETA: BTW, **Hellestal** , do you care to comment on Stone’s claim that Obama’s policies hindered stock price growth during the epoch that the NASDAQ Index Quadrupled? You’re defending the cretin; what is he trying to say? That the Index should have Quintupled? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/39 "2018-04-04T23:54:03Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Everyone has their favorite Sam story - mine is probably that I was arguing with him around the time of Obama’s stimulus in early 2009. Sam was incensed that it would create (paraphrasing) ‘trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see.’ I pointed out that none of the budget projections actually showed trillion-dollar deficits beyond a few years, but he was having none of it. Of course, history showed him to be wrong, with the deficit dropping well below $1T for all of Obama’s second term. Now that it’s creeping back up to a trillion dollars, without the excuse of a Great Recession, I haven’t seen word one from him. I do read this board less these days than I did then, so I’d be happy to be shown wrong. Sam also said then that the infrastructure initiative would never work because construction workers were fully employed, and so there would be no one to do the new work. Maybe true in his part of Canada. Sam is smart, but he has big blind spots. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/40 "2018-04-05T00:02:52Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > ETA: > BTW, **Hellestal** , do you care to comment on Stone’s claim that Obama’s policies hindered stock price growth during the epoch that the NASDAQ Index Quadrupled? You’re defending the cretin; what is he trying to say? That the Index should have Quintupled? I’ll get back to you with an answer about what another human being is actually thinking after I’ve consulted with my crystal ball. It’s on order. Should get here any month now. Feel free to open a Pit thread nine months from now, if it hasn’t shown up by then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706.md?page=3)