# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/41 "2018-04-05T07:46:07Z")
Lighten up on Sam. I’m sure he FINALLY got the economic message. With his worldview shattered, quivering from his damaged psyche; he needs our thoughts and prayers. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/42 "2018-04-05T08:11:50Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > And he’s presumably named after a character in a John Prine song. _There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm Where all the money goes Jesus died for nothing I suppose_ Yeah, every time I see his name, I think of “_Climbing walls while sitting in a chair_”. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/43 "2018-04-05T16:25:50Z")
Sam Stone conspicuously absent…Hope he did not pop his last balloon!! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/44 "2018-04-05T18:09:28Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > Sam Stone conspicuously absent…Hope he did not pop his last balloon!! Yeah, but nine months from now - watch out. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/45 "2018-04-05T18:10:57Z")
Here we have **Shodan** : clueless as usual. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/46 "2018-04-05T19:17:28Z")
Can’t fault a guy who came back to his wife and family after serving in the conflict overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/47 "2018-04-05T19:21:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Can’t fault a guy who came back to his wife and family after serving in the conflict overseas. Especially with a monkey on his back. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/48 "2018-04-05T19:22:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Can’t fault a guy who came back to his wife and family after serving in the conflict overseas. But you \*can \*fault a guy who refused to go himself while cheering others on. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/49 "2018-04-05T19:25:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Especially with a monkey on his back. I like guys who didn’t get addicted. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/50 "2018-04-05T19:33:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Yeah, but nine months from now - watch out. > > Regards, > Shodan Google is your friend…asshat ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/51 "2018-04-05T20:12:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Can’t fault a guy who came back to his wife and family after serving in the conflict overseas. Yeah, but you can fault him for taking the easy way out, leaving them twisting in the wind. ---
**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 6, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/52 "2018-04-06T22:57:46Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 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. This is a reasonable argument to make in April 2018. It would have been absolutely delusional during the Great Recession. No harm if you don’t want to put in the effort, but if you have a cite, I’d love to see it! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/53 "2018-04-07T00:30:59Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > This is a reasonable argument to make in April 2018. It would have been absolutely delusional during the Great Recession. No harm if you don’t want to put in the effort, but if you have a cite, I’d love to see it! You can do a search. Click the “Advanced Search” in the upper search button. Thence, you can filter specifically for posts by **Sam Stone** , set the range to 7 years old and older, and put in a keyword like “infrastructure”. You will get more than one hit. However, I strongly discourage this. You would have to actually read his tedious, annoying fecal matter. For instance, this delightful excerpt is kind of close: > [@Can hosing the Republicans stimulate the economy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-hosing-the-republicans-stimulate-the-economy/531247/13): > > … > > > [@septimus](#): > > > > You do hint, correctly, that productive spending is better than non-productive spending. This is why rationalists are baffled that GOP thinks highly of ammunition for Iraq, but frowns on Obama’s domestic infrastructure repair. > > This is a glib and superficial analysis of the type that ‘rationalists’ like to make. I can easily give you a ‘rationalist’ response to both of these assertions. For example: > > - spending money on ammunition in Iraq is a good investment, because a peaceful, democratic Iraq helps stabilize the region and reduce the influence of radical islam. This eventually cause more stable energy prices, reduces the risk of an economy-wrecking WMD attack, increases trade, and ultimately paves the way for a more peaceful middle east that will require a smaller U.S. military footprint, saving money in the long run. > > - Spending money on a domestic infrastructure could easily lead to over-building, which in return leads to long-term maintenance costs. In the meantime, the forced infrastructure stimulus is likely to be timed to land after the recession is over, which means the useless infrastructure will crowd out investment in other things. > > I’m not saying that these arguments are unambiguously true - just that your opponents are smarter than you give them credit for and likely have better arguments than the simplistic caricatures you offered. > … ---
**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 7, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/54 "2018-04-07T19:04:02Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > You can do a search. Click the “Advanced Search” in the upper search button. Thence, you can filter specifically for posts by **Sam Stone** , set the range to 7 years old and older, and put in a keyword like “infrastructure”. You will get more than one hit.: I’m familiar with how to perform a search, but thank you. You already seem to understand the reason I opted not to. You may think it rude that I was requesting Voyager do work that I was unwilling to do myself. But this was not my intent: since Voyager seemed to be referring to a specific post, it seemed possible he would have the cite handy or have a shortcut in mind to find it. ---
**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 7, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/55 "2018-04-07T20:04:10Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > This is a reasonable argument to make in April 2018. It would have been absolutely delusional during the Great Recession. No harm if you don’t want to put in the effort, but if you have a cite, I’d love to see it! [Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=506350&highlight=infrastructure+employment&page=2) is the thread. Post 93 is what I mean. > [@Sam Stone](#): > > A lot of this money just can’t be justified as a ‘stimulus’, because no one knows how to spend the money quickly, and because the recipients are already in fields that have close to full employment, so the money will simply crowd out private investment. This is from early 2009, not exactly a time of full employment anywhere. [This thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=549477&highlight=infrastructure+Voyager) from 2010 is interesting also. Nothing about employment there, but he does predict that our excessive stimulus spending compared to Europe would wreck the US economy. I think this is before Europe chose austerity. As it turned out stimulus beat austerity quite nicely, and we don’t even have to note how horrible the economy has been since 2010. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/56 "2018-06-25T18:58:42Z")
This one is pretty dreadfully out of touch, > [@George Will says vote Dem in November](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-says-vote-dem-in-november/816619/8): > > … The big gain in Trump support didn’t come from Republicans - it came from blue-collar Democrats who felt disaffected by the Demoxrat party’s turn away from working class issues and towards identity politics and hard leftism. The “Demoxrat” Party has gone hard left? What kind of shit-stained bubble does one have to abide to be thinking that? I think maybe he used to be kind of articulate, but his braincells are dropping like flies. Then, we see him respond to irony, > [@We Stop Emitting CO2, Methane, Other Greenhouse Gases Tomorrow - Now What?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-stop-emitting-co2-methane-other-greenhouse-gases-tomorrow-now-what/805530/22): > > > [@We Stop Emitting CO2, Methane, Other Greenhouse Gases Tomorrow - Now What?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-stop-emitting-co2-methane-other-greenhouse-gases-tomorrow-now-what/805530/10): > > > > Opening up of the Arctic for further energy exploration, which melts more ice, which allows for further energy exploration, which [increases profits.](https://i.redd.it/k0gfhzllma501.jpg) > > Or, you know, opening up northern sea lanes, which would reduce the energy required for worldwide shipping. > > Also the conversion of millions of acres of tundra into arable land. And the reduction in heating energy in the populous and wealthy northern regions of the globe. > > The truth is, moderate global warming (2C or less) may actually be a net economic benefit to the planet for these reasons and others, while still being damaging to equatorial countries and coastal regions. At some point the costs outweigh the gains, but the exact temperature at which this point is reached is really unknowable. The economy and ability of humanity to adapt to new conditions makes this a very hard thing to figure out. (Follow **marshmallow** ’s link to get the joke.) … with his insane hard-line Austrian-school economics. He has a one-track mind, and where that track leads, no one wants to go. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/57 "2018-06-25T20:09:38Z")
I hates von Mises to pieces! ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/58 "2018-06-26T00:04:09Z")
Rundown of various theories of the rise of nativism in the US by the economist Noah Smith. > **[Thread by @Noahpinion: "1/Why nativism? Why Trump? Why now, and not in the...](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1011319094103035904.html)** > > Thread by @Noahpinion: "1/Why nativism? Why Trump? Why now, and not in the 1990s, when immigration was much higher? Here are a few theories. spair theory: Declining economic prospects and social dysfunction (opiates, family breakdown) in exurbs and s... Once upon a time, Sam was able to engage with such arguments. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/59 "2018-06-26T11:23:44Z")
> [@andros](#): > > A nine-month-delayed Pitting? I mean… really? > . I thought I showed great forbearance. 🙂 I asked the question **“According to you, Obama’s excessive regulations held back the stock market. In fact the Market Quadrupled! What would it take for you call Obama’s economy a success? The stock market Quintupling? Sextupling??”** But nitwit was unable to compose a quick answer. Should I have reposted the question once a week? I think waiting nine whole months showed admirable patience. If he can’t come up with an answer in the next 12 months or so, I may re-ask the question in 2019. Similarly, I mentioned [Braess’s Paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27s_paradox) as a very simple but intriguing example where _ **“free markets” cannot produce an optimal result** _. It was intended to refute the kindergarten-level of economic “thinking” Stone and his ilk engage him. He posted back some gibberish implying that there was a simple refutation to Braess’s Paradox. I was intrigued enough to ask for a preprint. That was several _years_ ago. I’ve not been nagging him — Google suggests that I’ve not asked him for his refutation since 2015. So … **“Hi Sam! I’d still like to hear more about your refutation of Braess’s Paradox. Google can’t find it – Did you publish on the Dark Web?”** ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706/60 "2018-06-26T11:48:03Z")
Eh, you can see the simplicity of Connedservative group think re: economics by their slavish devotion and purposeful misunderstanding of the Laffer curve. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-sam-stone-i-pit-the-blathering-bullshit-about-stock-market-movements/811706.md?page=4)