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Transport 21 is an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005.^[1] It aims to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time.

The plan includes continuing investment in Ireland's road network, along with investment in public transport in the form of buses and rail.

A significant portion of this investment will focus on the creation of an integrated rail network in Dublin. Projects include a tunnel under Dublin city centre connecting Heuston Station with Pearse Station and Docklands station at Spencer Dock. This will facilitate the expansion of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system from one line to two. Also included are several new Luas lines, a metro system, and tighter integration between all rail systems, particularly at the planned St. Stephen's Green interchange. This will create a single integrated rail network in Dublin that serves the north, south, east and west of the city.

Other rail investment includes the planned Western Railway Corridor, redevelopment of a rail link from Navan to Dublin and upgrading and extending suburban rail in Cork.^[2]

Also included in the plan is the significant expansion of the Dublin Bus passenger-carrying capacity, completion of the motorway system linking all the major urban centres on the island, and better integration of all transport systems.^[3]

Luas - Dublin[link]

St. Stephen's Green to Luas Red Line (Line BX)[link]

The RPA (Rail Procurement Agency) has announced the new preferred route extension from St. Stephen's Green to Luas Red Line (Line BX). The route would continue on from St. Stephen's Green towards Dawson Street, Grafton Street Lower, College Green, Westmoreland Street, O'Connell Street and Parnell Square.

The projected completion date is currently under review.

Connolly to Point Depot (Line C1)[link]

• Map

The route for the Red Line extension (Line C1) from Connolly to the Point Depot was fixed in the early 2000s and the Railway Order was signed by the Minister of Transport in December 2006. Construction works got underway in June 2007, with the centrepiece being a new bridge at the Harbourmaster Place end of Mayor Street.^[4] The line opened on 8 December, 2009.^[5]

Sandyford to Brides Glen (Line B1)[link]

• Map

The route for the Green Line extension (Line B1) from Sandyford to Brides Glen has been chosen by the RPA and the Railway Order was signed by the Minister of Transport in August 2006.^[6] The line opened on 16 October 2010.^[7]

Brides Glen to Bray (Line B2)[link]

• Map

The route for this line has been selected (Route 2). Public consultation is ongoing.^[8]

Belgard to Saggart (Line A1)[link]

• Map

A Red Line extension was planned from Belgard to Saggart to be built as a Public Private Partnership Initiative (PPP). The line received planning permission in June 2008 and construction got underway in February 2009. The track from Belgard began preparing for track laying on January 11, 2010 by closing the Belgard Stop. It will become operational in early 2011.^[9]

Line BX to Liffey Junction (Line D)[link]

• Map

Luas Line D is currently at the Preliminary Planning Stage. Public Consultation initiatives will commence as plans for Luas Line BX progress. It is believed that route will use the former Broadstone rail alignment.

City Centre to Lucan (Line F)[link]

• Map

Luas Line F is currently at the Preliminary Planning Stage. As possible route options are identified Public Consultation initiatives will start focusing initially on Route Selection. It is believed that it will join the proposed Green line (Line BX) extension at College Green and will travel down Dame Street, passing by Christchurch and Intersecting the Metro West at Liffey Valley.

Light Rail Metro - Dublin[link]

A metro for Dublin had been discussed for many years. It has now been decided that a light metro system similar to the Porto Metro in Portugal will be built.^[10]

Stephen's Green to Belinstown (Metro North)[link]

Map

The RPA has announced the Metro North from St Stephen's Green to Belinstown north of Swords via Dublin Airport and has sought public comments on the route. A total of 17 stops are planned, and the length of each train would be 90m. There will be a frequency of at least one Metro every two minutes on this service. At peak times, the frequency would be one Metro every 90 seconds.

In October 2006, RPA published an initial route for Metro North, with a revised route appearing in April 2008. This route is to be a Public Private Partnership initiative (PPP) and in September 2008 the RPA applied to An Bord Pleanala for a Railway Order. Because of the current economic climate, Metro North has been deferred until further notice.^[11] Metro North is expected to cost over 1 billion euro less than initially indicated due to a 20% drop in Irish construction costs

Tallaght to Dardistown (Metro West)[link]

Map

The RPA has announced the Metro West from Tallaght to Dardistown, and has sought public comments on two route options. On 5 July 2007 the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor was announced. The route runs from Tallaght to Metro North at Dardistown, south of Dublin Airport via Clondalkin, Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown and is approximately 25.5 km long. This route is also to be a Public Private Partnership Initiative (PPP).

There is no timescale available for the Metro West project.

DART - Greater Dublin Area[link]

Map

Under the Transport 21 Plan, the DART network will go through a fundamental change from the coastally-focused north/south line which currently exists, to a two-line system which crosses the city. One of these lines (DART Line 1) would run from Maynooth/Pace-M3 to Greystones via Connolly station, while the other (DART Line 2) would run from Balbriggan to Hazelhatch, south of Celbridge, via the Interconnector. Both lines will intersect at Pearse Street Station.

Maynooth to Greystones (Line 1)[link]

The existing DART line from Greystones to Connolly will remain unchanged. However the current service from Connolly to Clontarf Rd and beyond will no longer continue. Instead, trains after Connolly station will divert to Druncondra Station on the Sligo/Maynooth line, which will be electrified and continue onward to Maynooth.

Balbriggan to Hazelhatch (Line 2)[link]

The existing DART line from Malahide/Howth to Clontarf Rd will remain unchanged. However the current service from Clontarf Rd to Connolly and beyond will no longer continue. Instead, trains after Clontarf Rd station will divert through East Wall to a new underground extension called the Interconnector, heading into a new Docklands station in Spencer Dock. The extension continues to Pearse Station, where interchange will be possible with Line 1, and onward to Heuston Station. The extension will go overground at Inchicore where it will join the existing Kildare line, which will be electrified as far as Hazelhatch Station. At the other end, the existing Northern Commuter line between Malahide and Balbriggan will be electrified.

Kildare Route Project[link]

• Map

When the DART is extended from Heuston Station to Hazlehatch, it will quickly find itself in trouble, as the busy Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway Intercity service as well as the Kildare and other Commuter services use the same track. This would cause major interference to the DART frequency and service. So Iarnród Éireann decided to quadruple the track (currently 2 track) from where the Interconnector goes overground at Inchicore to just past Hazlehatch station. This will physically separate the DART service from the busy Intercity and Commuter service and guarantee a regular frequency, not only for the DART but the Intercity and Commuter services. The Railway Order was signed by the Minister of Transport in December 2006. Construction is well underway, with several new train stations already open. The project is anticipated to be complete in early 2010.^[12][13]

Interconnector[link]

See full article: Interconnector

The Interconnector is a tunnel, currently costed at €1.3bn, which connects the Northern DART line to the Kildare line. It will have underground stations at Spencer Dock, Pearse Station, Stephens Green, High St (Digital Hub) and Heuston Station and it will form a part of the new DART Line 2 (see above).

The Interconnector is one of the most important public transport projects as it will fundamentally change not only the DART but other public transport systems, as well as road traffic in the Greater Dublin Area. As a result of cutbacks, construction has been postponed.^[11]

Commuter - Greater Dublin Area[link]

Docklands Station[link]

Under Transport 21, a new Docklands railway station was built in the Spencer Dock area of Dublin city centre. Its purpose was to increase the capacity and frequency of rail services that operate along the Sligo rail line, which was restricted by the heavily congested Connolly Station.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for a temporary location for the new station were held on 9 March 2006 and the station opened in March 2007.

By by-passing Connolly and using the new Docklands station, it is now possible to add extra services on the Maynooth and Longford Commuter services and a brand new service on the re-opening of the Clonsilla to Pace-M3 Line. (see Commuter - Greater Dublin Area below)

Clonsilla to Navan[link]

The former Clonsilla to Navan railway line was closed in 1963, but the trackbed was largely preserved. Under the Transport 21 plan, a section of the disused Navan rail line will run from Clonsilla station in west Dublin to Navan in county Meath (42 km). It will use the newly open Docklands Station in Dublin city center. The first phase of the line (Clonsilla to Pace) will include 3 new stations. It is currently under construction and will open in 2010. The second phase will complete the line as far as Navan and is expected to open in 2015.^[14]

Commuter - Other[link]

Mallow to Midleton - Cork[link]

Map

This project, to reopen part of the Cork–Youghal railway line as far as Midleton, started construction in November 2007. New stations were to be built on the Northern Line to Mallow from Cork's Kent station and on the Eastern Line to Cobh and Midleton, as well as a new 10 km section of rail line from Glounthaune to Midleton. A total of 7 new or reopened stations were to be constructed, in addition to the existing 7. The Cork Suburban Rail got increased funding under Transport 21 and in the coming years most parts of Metropolitan Cork will be connected by rail.

The spur to Midleton piece of this project opened in July 2009. The 7 new or renovated stations will follow during 2010.

Western Railway Corridor - Phase 1[link]

Map

Under Transport 21, the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) from Ennis to Claremorris will be re-opened in 3 sections.

Ennis to Athenry[link]

This section re-opened on March 30, 2010. An Intercity service is now provided between the cities of Limerick and Galway. On the 26 September 2006, the Minister for Transport announced that the Government had approved funding for Iarnród Éireann to proceed with the development of the section. Work began in 2008.

Athenry to Tuam[link]

This section is expected to re-open in 2011. The Government has approved funding for the development of the Athenry to Tuam section, subject to completion by Iarnród Éireann of a fuller appraisal of this section.

Tuam to Claremorris[link]

This section is expected to re-open in 2014. With this opening, the Westport - Dublin, Galway - Dublin and Limerick - Dublin lines will be connected together and will help to facilitate the provision of inter-regional services within the BMW Region.

Regional Airports[link]

A total of €86million has been allocated to regional airports around Ireland with the main focus on improving safety and security. The airports included in the scheme are Ireland West Airport; Kerry Airport; Sligo Airport; Donegal Airport; Waterford Airport and Galway Airport.
€38.7million will be spent on projects aimed at improving safety and security, including better fire fighting equipment, new Instrument Landing Systems and navigational aids and the provision of Runway End Safety Areas at a number of airports.
The remaining €48million has been approved for projects aimed towards catering for prospective businesses at these airports and will support investment in a range of facilities.^[15]

See also[link]

• Dublin Metro
• Dublin Area Rapid Transit
• Luas
• Dublin Bus
• Iarnród Éireann
• List of rapid transit systems
• History of rail transport in Ireland
• Rail transport in Ireland
• National Development Plan
• Gluas

References[link]

External links[link]

• Transport 21 Official Site
• Val de Durance Marseille North Cost Estimations per kilo-metre normal track works 5&10M€ per kilometre; Viaducts 50M€ per kilometre; Tunnels 30-70M€ per kilometre.
• Navan Railway Project.com - Website tracking progress on reopening the disused Meath line
• Platform 11 Information on Transport 21
• Department of Transport Press Release
• Iarnród Éireann Press Release
• Rail infrastructure History
• irrs.ie pages
• RPSI online
• Midlands Gateway ATM Midlands Gateway

Launch Documents[link]

• Transport 21 Summary
• Speech by Tánaiste, Mary Harney
• Speech by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen
• Transport 21 Timetable
• Department of Transport Rest of Ireland Map
• Department of Transport Greater Dublin Plan Map

Joan Burton TD
Minister for Social Protection
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2011
Preceded by	Éamon Ó Cuív
Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Human Rights
In office 20 December 1994 – 26 June 1997
Preceded by	Tom Kitt
Succeeded by	Liz O'Donnell
Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare
In office 14 January 1993 – 15 December 1994
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office May 2002
In office November 1992 – June 1997
Constituency	Dublin West
Personal details
Born	(1949-02-01) 1 February 1949 (age 63) Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Pat Carroll
Children	1
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Website	www.joanburton.ie

Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Minister for Social Protection. She is a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency.^[1]

Burton was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1992 general election. From 1995–97, she was Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs. She lost her seat at the 1997 general election but was re-elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2002 general election.^[2]

Early and private life[link]

Burton is a native of the Stoneybatter area of Dublin. She was adopted by the Burton's as a baby and brought up in Inchicore. Her adoptive father worked in the local iron foundry. She was educated at St Gabriel's NS, Cowper St and St Joseph Sisters of Charity Secondary School, Stanhope Street and University College Dublin (UCD) where she graduated with a degree in Commerce. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. She has worked as a lecturer in Accountancy in the Dublin Institute of Technology and the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Political career[link]

She first stood for election at the 1989 general election, when she stood as one of two Labour candidates in the Dublin Central constituency, failing to get elected.^[3] At the local elections in 1991, she was elected to Dublin County Council for the Mulhuddart electoral area.^[3] Burton was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1992 general election, representing Dublin West in the 27th Dáil.^[3] She was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare in the Fianna Fáil–Labour Party coalition that was formed after that election. With the breakdown of that coalition and establishment of a Rainbow Coalition between the Labour Party, Fine Gael and Democratic Left in early 1995, she became Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, a position she held until the coalition's defeat at 1997 general election.^[3]

She lost her seat at the 1997 general election to Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party. Joan was re-elected to Fingal County Council in the 1999 local elections, on this occasion winning a seat in the Castleknock electoral area. She was re-elected to the Dáil for Dublin West at the 2002 general election.^[3] She was then appointed the Spokesperson on Finance. She was a candidate for the deputy leadership of the party in 2002, obtaining 24% of the first preference vote, but was unsuccessful. She became deputy leader of the Labour Party in September 2007.

She was voted by political journalists as the Magill TD of the Year 2007 and 2008.

Burton was re-elected to represent Dublin West at the 2011 general election, topping the poll on the 1st count with 9,627 votes,^[4] and was the first TD to be elected in the country for the 31st Dáil.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joan Burton

• Official website
• Joan Burton's page on the Labour Party website

Peter Schiff

Austrian School
Born	(1963-03-23) March 23, 1963 (age 49)
Nationality	United States
Field	Financial Economics
Alma mater	U.C. Berkeley (B.B.A.), 1987[1]
Opposed	John Maynard Keynes,[2] Alan Greenspan,[3][4][5] Ben Bernanke,[6][7][8] Paul Krugman,[9] Christopher Dodd,[10] Barack Obama,[11]
Influences	Irwin Schiff, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard

Peter David Schiff (pronounced /ˈʃɪf/; born March 23, 1963) is an American businessman, investment broker, author and financial commentator. Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist^[1] of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut^[12] and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York City.^[13]

Schiff frequently appears as a guest on financial television and is often quoted in major financial publications. He is host of The Peter Schiff Show, a radio show broadcast on terrestrial and internet radio. He is a frequent guest on internet radio^[14][15][16] as well as the host of the former podcast Wall Street Unspun.^[14][17] In 2010 Schiff ran as a candidate in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat from Connecticut.^[18]

Schiff is known for his bearish views on the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while bullish on investment in tangible assets as well as foreign stocks and currencies.

Early life and education[link]

Peter Schiff was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, Irwin Schiff, is a prominent figure in the U.S. tax protester movement, currently serving a 13-year sentence for tax evasion.^[19] Peter Schiff attended Beverly Hills High School in California,^[20] and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 with a Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting.^[1]

Financial career[link]

Schiff began his career as a financial consultant at a Shearson Lehman Brothers brokerage.^[1] In 1996 Schiff and a partner acquired a small brokerage firm that had been founded in 1980, reincorporated it in California and renamed it Euro Pacific Capital.^[21][22] The company today has more than 15,000 clients^{[citation needed]} and six offices nationwide, with its headquarters in Westport, Connecticut.^[12][21][23]

According to a 2005 article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut Schiff relocated the firm to Darien, Connecticut to find brokers "who think like him". The New York Metropolitan Area, Schiff says, has the biggest concentration of brokers in the country, making it easier to recruit employees.^[24] The company has offices in Newport Beach, California as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona, Palm Beach, Florida, Los Angeles and New York City. Euro Pacific Capital also holds the exclusive rights to broker some Perth Mint gold products in the United States.^[25]

Economic forecasts[link]

Peter Schiff voices strong support for the Austrian School of economic thought, first introduced to him by his father.^{[26][27][28][29]}

2002–2008[link]

In his 2007 book Crash Proof, Schiff wrote that United States economic policies were fundamentally unsound, and predicted that the United States dollar would lose much of its value.^[3] Schiff believed that the imbalance between the amount of goods the U.S. consumed and what it produced would eventually lead to problems for the U.S. economy.^[30][31] As a remedy Schiff favored increased personal savings and production which he said would stimulate economic growth.^[32] Schiff cited the U.S.'s low personal savings rate as one of the causes of its transformation from the world's largest creditor nation in the 1970s to the largest debtor nation in the year 2000.^[33] Schiff attributed the low savings rate to higher inflation and the artificially low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.^[34]

In a May 2002 interview with Southland Today, Schiff predicted that the economic downturn triggered by the bursting of the dot-com stock market bubble, an event that he had also forecast well in advance, would lead to a bear market likely to last "another 5 to 10 years."^[35][36] Later that year, following a 30% decline in the Dow Jones, Schiff reversed his call, and became bullish on U.S. stocks in nominal terms. However, he remained bearish in gold terms. In November 2002, as Schiff predicted, US stock indexes began a nominal bull market uptrend that held steady for five years,^[37] until reversing course in 2008, when they began a decline to less than half of their peak 2008 values,^[38] followed in 2009 by the Dow climbing 61% from its low point over the following year.^[39] However, priced in gold, U.S. stocks remained in a bear market the entire time. In May of 2002, the date of the Southland Today interview,^[40] the Dow Jones was worth over 34 ounces of gold. By 2011 the Dow fell below 6 ounces of gold, a nine-year decline of over 80%, in line with Schiff’s 2002 forecast.^[41]

In an August 2006 interview he said: "The United States economy is like the Titanic and I am here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States."^[42] On December 31, 2006 in debate on Fox News, Schiff forecast that "what's going to happen in 2007" is that "real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth".^[42]

As part of these exchanges on Fox News and his repeated appearances on financial news network CNBC, Schiff had mentioned factors such as speculators and "the absence of lending standards" which are now seen by many^[43][44] to indeed be contributing factors to the housing crisis which began in 2007. On December 13, 2007 in a Bloomberg interview on the show Open Exchange, Schiff further added that he felt that the crisis would extend to the credit card lending industry.^[45] Following this observation, it was soon reported on December 23, 2007 by the Associated Press that "The value of credit card accounts at least 30 days late jumped 26 percent to $17.3 billion in October from a year earlier at 17 large credit card trusts examined by the AP... At the same time, defaults -- when lenders essentially give up hope of ever being repaid and write off the debt -- rose 18 percent to almost $961 million in October, according to filings made by the trusts with the Securities and Exchange Commission."^[46]

Since 2007, Schiff has stated many times that if the government doesn't change course there will be hyperinflation in the US.^[3] Schiff is one of a minority of economists credited with accurately predicting the financial crisis of 2007–2010 while "nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs".^[47][48] In his book Crash Proof, he described several aspects of the U.S. economy that would lead to a recession.^[3]

A YouTube video entitled "Peter Schiff was right" became popular in late 2008 and 2009.^[49][50] The video consists of a compilation of clips of his many appearances on various financial news programs from networks including CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC and Bloomberg, most of which took place from 2005 to 2007. In the video segments Schiff explains the fundamental problems he saw with the United States economy at that time. Schiff's warnings of a coming economic collapse earned him the moniker "Dr. Doom."^[22][51][52]

2009–present[link]

Despite predictions regarding the housing bubble and automotive industry difficulties coming to fruition, as early as 2009 Schiff was receiving criticism due to the performance of some of his client's accounts in 2008, as well as controversies over the predictions themselves. In January 2009, economic blogger and investment adviser Michael Shedlock reported, "I have talked with many who claim they have invested with Schiff and are down anywhere from 40% to 70% in 2008."^[53] Later that week an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal reporting that Schiff's broker-dealer firm, Euro Pacific Capital Inc., "advised its clients to bet that the dollar would weaken significantly and that foreign stocks would outpace their U.S. peers" and that instead, the dollar advanced against most currencies, "magnifying the losses from foreign stocks Mr. Schiff steered his investors into."^[54]

The Director of Communications at Schiff's investment firm responded to the original Shedlock piece by saying, "While it is true, that our accounts have suffered badly in 2008, a fact that we have never disputed or ran from, [Shedlock's] estimates for the size of our typical client losses are exaggerated and unfair."^[55][56] Schiff personally responded to Shedlock's criticism by saying, "to examine the effectiveness of my investment strategy immediately following a major correction by looking only at those accounts who adopted the strategy at the previous peak is unfair and distortive" and called Shedlock's blog entry "nothing more than an overt advertisement (and a highly deceptive one at that) to use my popularity to advance his career," adding that losses were felt mostly by recent clients and not by others.^[57]

Schiff responded similarly to criticisms made by Wade Slome of Sidoxia Capital Management, LLC. in a September 2009 blog entry entitled, "The Emperor Schiff Has No Clothes."^[36] Schiff stated not only were the losses suffered by his clients in 2008 highly exaggerated, but also that most of those losses have already been recouped, stating that many who were down then are now up, and most long-term clients were never down at all, but merely temporarily lost some of the profits they had earned over the years.^[36]

The January 2009 Wall Street Journal article discussed the value of Schiff's predictions, and stated how deficiencies "made mincemeat of investors who took his advice in 2008."^[54] In an interview the following week Schiff likened himself to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, saying they were both "buy and hold" long-term investors. Contrasting his negative press he compared claims about accounts managed under Schiff's firm to the stock market value of Buffett's company, saying: "His approach is you buy stocks and you never sell them—you hope to never sell them—and Berkshire Hathaway is down 40% in the last thirteen months; I don't see the Wall Street Journal saying 'Warren Buffett made mincemeat out of his clients.'"^[58] The Wall Street Journal also published a letter written by Schiff in response to his critics saying: "My central investing premise, a weakening dollar and safety in gold, commodities and foreign stocks, didn't materialize in 2008. But all the ingredients were (and remain) present for those movements to occur. Over the past year, market reactions that I didn't foresee—massive global deleveraging, a knee-jerk 'flight to quality' into U.S. Treasuries and a sharp counter trend rally in the U.S. dollar—have kept the scenario from playing out."^[59]

In a November 2009 videoblog, Schiff said that five stocks he picked for Fortune Magazine in January 2009 had gained a total of 360%.^[60][61]

In a March 2009 speech Schiff said that it would be impossible for the U.S. debt to China to be repaid unless the U.S. dollar's value is substantially diluted through inflation. In September 2009 Schiff said that "I would not be surprised to see [gold] at $5,000 over the next several years" and that the 2009 stock market rally was a "bear market rally".^[62]

According to economist Paul Krugman, Schiff's Austrian approach to economics led him to incorrectly predict hyperinflation in the United States.^[63]

Political career[link]

Schiff was an economic adviser to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. In support of Paul's economic revitalization plan, he said: "We need a plan that stimulates savings and production, not more of the reckless borrowing and consumption that got us into this mess in the first place. Ron Paul's plan is the only one that amounts to a step in the right direction. If you want meaningful change—for the better that is—Ron Paul is the only candidate capable of delivering it."^[64]

In 2008, Schiff also endorsed Murray Sabrin for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.^[65]

In an interview in February 2009, Schiff's position was summarized as a nonpartisan critique of American policymakers, comparing former presidents George W. Bush to Herbert Hoover and President Barack Obama to former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, with neither of the more recent incumbents comparing favorably to the earlier ones.^[66]

Schiff supports the reduction of government economic regulation, and is concerned that President Obama's administration may increase such regulation.^[67] Schiff says that the economic crisis of the late-2000s provides an opportunity to transition from borrowing and spending, to saving and producing. He is critical of the U.S. government's efforts to "ease the pain" with economic stimulus packages and bailouts. According to Schiff, the U.S. government's approach of replacing "legitimate savings with a printing press" could result in hyperinflation.^[68]

2010 U.S. Senate campaign[link]

In December 2008, Connecticut citizens created a website encouraging Schiff to campaign against the incumbent Senator Christopher Dodd.^[69][70] Approximately 5,000 people made campaign contributions using the web site.^[69] On February 21, 2009, a moneybomb raised over $20,000 for Schiff's campaign.^[71] In a May 2009 video blog, Schiff said that he was seriously considering a run for the senate and when questioned by a Washington Post reporter, he said the chance of him entering politics was "better than 50-50".^[72] In June 2009 Schiff commissioned a poll of likely voters which indicated that he trailed Dodd in popularity by four percentage points.^[73] On July 9, 2009, Schiff launched an exploratory committee and an official campaign website.^[69] He began accepting donations in an attempt to see if "people who really believe in freedom, liberty, sound money and the constitution are prepared to support that with an actual political contribution or to volunteer their services and work on this campaign." He received over 10,000 donations and many e-mails from around the world.^[69]

After giving some hints on The Daily Show^[74] Schiff officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination on September 17, 2009, during the MSNBC Morning Joe show.^[18][75][76] By October 2009 Schiff had received more than 10,000 telephone calls and letters^[69] and raised over $1,960,000 (USD) in campaign contributions.

At the May 2010 Republican convention, Linda McMahon received the most delegate votes but not enough to prevent an August primary election. U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons received more than the required 15 percent of the total votes necessary to force the primary. Schiff then collected the signatures necessary to earn a position on the August 2010 GOP primary ballot, submitting at least 400 signatures over the state requirement.

In July 2010, Schiff's campaign received endorsements from Steve Forbes and Ron Paul.^[77][78]

In the Republican primary, held on August 10, 2010, Schiff lost the nomination to Linda McMahon.^[79] McMahon collected 49% of the vote, with Simmons on 28% and Schiff 23%.^[80]

Ultimately, the election was won by the Democratic Party primary winner, Richard Blumenthal.^[81]

Broadcasting[link]

From 2005 to 2010 Schiff hosted a weekly podcast named Wall Street Unspun. In October 2010 Schiff began hosting a new radio show named The Peter Schiff Show. The show is broadcast weekdays from 10am-noon ET on internet and terrestrial radio. The show has featured guests such as Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Niall Ferguson, Dennis Kucinich, Rick Santelli, and others.^[82]

Books[link]

Peter Schiff is the author of six books published by John Wiley & Sons. His book, Crash Proof 2.0, appeared on both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

• Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse, February 2007, ISBN 978-0-470-04360-8 1
• The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets: How to Keep your Portfolio Up When the Market is Down, 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-38378-0 2
• Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse, 2nd Edition, September 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-47453-2 3
• The Little Book of Bull Moves, Updated and Expanded: How to Keep Your Portfolio Up When the Market Is Up, Down, Or Sideways, 2010, ISBN 0-470-64399-4 4
• How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes, 2010, ISBN 978-0-470-52670-5 5
• The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy---How to Save Yourself and Your Country, 2012, ISBN 978-1-250-00447-5

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Schiff

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Peter Schiff

• Euro Pacific Capital US Brokerage Firm Website
• Euro Pacific Precious Metals Coin Company Website
• Schiff for Senate Official Campaign Website
• Peter Schiff Online, Official book site for Peter Schiff
• Peter Schiff radio, Schiff's daily radio show
• Peter Schiff's Official YouTube channel

John Stossel
John Stossel outside Fox Studios after a taping of Stossel, June 9, 2010.
Born	John F. Stossel (1947-03-06) March 6, 1947 (age 65) Chicago Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Education	B.A. in Psychology, Princeton University (1969)
Occupation	Journalist, author, columnist, reporter, TV presenter
Years active	1969–present[1]
Notable credit(s)	20/20 Stossel
Spouse	Ellen Abrams
Website
http://www.johnstossel.com/

John F. Stossel (born March 6, 1947) is an American consumer reporter, investigative journalist, author and libertarian columnist. In October 2009 Stossel left his long time home on ABC News to join the Fox Business Channel and Fox News Channel, both owned and operated by News Corp. He hosts a weekly news show on Fox Business, Stossel, which debuted on December 10, 2009. The show airs in prime time every Thursday, repeating on both Saturdays and Sundays. Stossel also regularly provides signature analysis, appearing on various Fox News shows, including weekly appearances on The O'Reilly Factor, in addition to writing the Fox News Blog, "John Stossel's Take".^[2]

Stossel practices advocacy journalism, often challenging conventional wisdom.^[3] His reporting style, which is a blend of commentary and reporting, reflects a libertarian political philosophy and his views on economics are largely supportive of the free market.^[4]

In his decades as a reporter, Stossel has received numerous honors and awards, including nineteen Emmy awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club.^[5] John Stossel is doctor honoris causa from Universidad Francisco Marroquín.^[6] Stossel has written two books recounting how his experiences in journalism shaped his socioeconomic views, Give Me a Break in 2004 and Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity in 2007.

Stossel began his journalism career as a researcher for KGW-TV and later became a consumer reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City, before joining ABC News as a consumer editor and reporter on Good Morning America. Stossel went on to be an ABC News correspondent, joining the weekly news magazine program 20/20, going on to become co-anchor.^[7]

ABC is reported to believe "his reporting goes against the grain of the established media and offers the network something fresh and different...[but] makes him a target of the groups he offends."^[8]

Early life[link]

John Stossel was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, the younger of two sons,^[9] to a prominent Jewish family, and graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka. He overcame a stuttering problem so he could become a reporter, and is now a supporter and advocate for the Stuttering Foundation of America. Stossel graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Psychology in 1969 and was a member of Princeton Tower Club while there. He began his journalism career as a researcher for KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon. Stossel later became a consumer reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City before joining ABC News in 1981 as consumer editor and reporter on Good Morning America.

Career[link]

[edit] 20/20

Stossel was named co-anchor of ABC News' 20/20 in May 2003. He joined the weekly news magazine program in 1981, initially as a correspondent. His "Give Me a Break" segments featured a skeptical look at subjects from government regulations and pop culture to censorship and unfounded fear. The series was spun off into a series of one-hour specials (which, Stossel stated in an interview with ReasonTV^[10] cost ABC half a million dollars per special), beginning in 1994, with titles including: