Kingsview CIO Scott Martin on Fox News Business Kennedy 2.6.23
Click here to listen to the full interview.
Program: Kennedy
Date: 2/6/2023
Station: Fox Business News
Time: 7:00PM
LISA KENNEDY: America is having money problems. In a new poll, 41% of Americans say they have become worse off financially since President Biden took office. I’m surprised that number isn’t higher. Another study shows more than half of Americans earning six figure salaries now say they are living paycheck to paycheck. I bet that’s higher and people don’t want to admit it. On top of that, more than 82% of middle income families report saving less or dipping into their savings due to the higher cost of living. The president says it’s all orange man’s fun. Yes.
PRESIDENT BIDEN: I take any blame for inflation? No. Why not? Because it was already there when I got here, man. Remember what the economy was like when I got here? Jobs were hemorrhaging. Inflation was rising. We weren’t manufacturing a damn thing here. We were in real economic difficulty. That’s why I don’t.
KENNEDY: You got problems. That’s a lie. All of those are lies. Oh, I don’t even. I don’t know. I don’t know where to start with this man, but he needs a stern lecture, is what he needs. He needs to handle the truth because he does not know what that means. With leadership like that, will the economy get even worse? Here with me now, Kingsview Wealth Management, chief investment officer at Fox News contributor Scott Martin is back. Welcome back, Scott. Hey, how are you so embarrassed? So I am not surprised that people aren’t saving money. Inflation is a tax. Things are too expensive. Yes, gas prices have come down a little bit, but not enough price. Food hasn’t come down, rents haven’t come down and wages are not meeting inflation. So how are people supposed to save money?
SCOTT MARTIN: Yeah, and growth stinks, too. We’re growing in the economy at two and one half, maybe 3%. Kennedy inflation at about six and change. If you go outside of the traditional measurement of inflation, a lot of stuff is up double digits year over year. Meat, eggs, housing, of course. So
Biden’s got it very, very wrong, in fact. And, you know, when he took over for the presidency from the Orange Man, as you said, inflation was under control. Roughly one and one half to 2% went all the way up to over 9% and now down into six and one half. So the reality is the economy is growing very slow. Inflation is still a problem and government policy has a lot of reason to do with it.
KENNEDY: So it’s tough for people to tighten their belts when they’ve already been tightened for some time for people who are dipping into their savings. You know, what’s what’s the relief if they’re being told that they can’t work from anywhere, they have to go back and work in person, which most major companies who aren’t laying people off are telling people to do. So. How do you weather bad leadership in a bad economy?
MARTIN: Yeah, you got to really just hang in there. I do think this will pass, though, because eventually market forces will take over and inflation will come down. But you’re right, the job market is such Kennedy where folks that don’t want to go back to work, they actually risk that job and therefore risk the pay that there’s not enough for them to even survive the inflationary picture. So the reality is the market will take care of itself, but it will be probably 6 to 9 months until we get some good government policy in there that actually helps out instead of hurts.
KENNEDY: So do you see a recession looming like so many economists have forecasted and the last part of 2023? Or are you one of those people that sees things improving with your magical crystal balls?
MARTIN: Yes, there are two of them. I actually think things are going to get better. I truthfully think the recession has already happened. I don’t think we’re going to see this robust period of growth that we saw under the Orange Man, as it were. But we are going to see growth come back and that’ll actually help, I think, alleviate some of the stress that middle America is having. But we have recession risks on the horizon and therefore you’re seeing it in the market as far as stocks go and certainly in interest rates. But the Fed is the key point here because the Fed has put the brakes on the economy. Kennedy When it looks like they’ve already gone too far.
KENNEDY: Okay. But let me ask you about that, because are the president and the Fed at odds with each other? Because obviously raising interest rates is supposed to cool the employment picture, and that means that more people should be laid off with higher interest rates. But when there are jobs reports that come out saying, hey, we added 500,000 jobs last month, isn’t that great news? That’s what the president wants to tout. But that means that inflation is going to be around even longer.
MARTIN: Yes. And that actually means the Fed has to, unfortunately, with their interest rate hiking picture. So that’s another thing, too, that I think has kind of been a very odd thing as far as statistics go, because the job market, as we all see Kennedy just from the headlines, doesn’t look that strong, but the numbers come out and they’re obviously a little surprising. So if the job numbers stay very, very strong as they have been, say, the last couple of months, you’re going to see more interest rate hikes from the Fed and therefore more pressure on the market and more pressure on wages.
KENNEDY: Do you like annuities?
MARTIN: I want to buy one from you. Can you sell me one.
KENNEDY: I think about getting into the annuity market? I don’t know if I can say that on TV.
SCOTT MARTIN: Buy Commodities Look at look at stuff like gold, look at oil, energy, things like that. Those are hanging in there. Well, even in this volatile period.
KENNEDY: You know, I love gold. I love seeing my friends on 48th Street. Yeah. They sell all the metals and it’s like Studio 54 in there. People are buying and sell them. They’re coming and going. It’s the lady on a white horse. White other stuff on the counter. No, there’s not really. But it is, it is wild seeing what’s going on with those precious metals. I love them. Scott, thank you so much. Always good to talk to you. That’s right.
