the democrats in 1980, it's no wonder 1936. you know. and so they're stuck in the past . they're looking to a political idol and a set of political answers that answered questions from another generation. and so, you know, i have put my money on liberals because they are the ones to buy them and not have all of the right answers, there are looking at the right questions. they live in 2015. conservatives are living in the 1930's. >> for more affirmation on the recent visit by book tv to the erie, pennsylvania, and the many other cities visited by our local content vehicles, go to c-span.org / local content. >> jim rogers sat down with book tv to talk about his latest book , street smarts. in the book mr. rogers talks about his life as an investor

retiring at age 37. his post was street adventures. this 15-minute interview was conducted at planet hollywood hotel and casino in las vegas, the site of freedom fest 2013. >> jim rogers, how did you retire at 37? >> it was a long hard. resting in the market. i worked at it all the time. i love is so much. i did a few things right. a large success. i always wanted to have more than one. did not want to wake up one day and age 75 and still be watching a computer screen. i said, okay. it was not one of want to happen. apple some of them out. >> what did you do right? >> bob low and sell high. you know, the 70's or not a great time for the financial community, as you may remember or read about.

we level we were doing. we found the things that were fundamentals changing dramatically. key things were changing. and we jump jan, about a lot of money. and it works. >> what did you do wrong? >> my first wife. [laughter] what a terrible mistake that was, for goodness sake. >> street smarts. what did you do wrong. >> plenty of mistakes. the first one it talks about, in 1980i shorted oil. it's going down. you remember, not just the weekend that they went to war. needless to say it was straight up. now, i would like to say it is your fault or somebody else's fault, but it is my fault. it is my fault because i had not

done enough homework. and that was another case. somebody knew that war is going to start. you have to move troops and get ready for war. think. i was remiss and i lost money. plenty of times i have lost money. >> what does it mean to short? >> she sells something when it's going down. if you think something is going to go down you sell it. when it goes down and then you buy back. most people buy and sell. if you so short you sell and buy it is the same process. you do the same two things. >> is wall street every market today? >> as we said, not quite sure what you mean by that. >> is it a pure market. maybe that is a better question. >> a pure market, a staggering amount of government regulation the views of what happened in 2008. a huge collapse. hopeless government regulation.

mistakes and problems. the government had not been bothered with it, we might not have had the collapse. it would have been a more measured collapse. it would have happened over time rather than happening all of once. >> you have ' in your book, street smarts that i want to ask you about. this was regarding -- here it is. the sec investigated us over our investment, your investment in george soros called computer science corporation. the sec claimed that my partner, george soros, was engaged in stock manipulation, charged with selling the stock short only to cover a short sale by buying shares back at a lower price of the upcoming public offering. he was given the opportunity to sign a, a descent decree in which he and the firm admitted no wrongdoing but promise not to

do it again. why would we agree to sign disaster? why sign it if we did nothing wrong? why let it be construed by we were manipulating the market? >> that is why i did not sign it. because, you know belli still to this state -- and by the way, that was over 35 years ago. it's a little hard for me to comment too much, i just all remember. i do remember what i have for breakfast this morning much less what happened 35 years ago. add all see what is wrong if you buy something and -- so something a buyback on the offering. perfectly legitimate. the sec did not think so, and george did not want to fight them. we signed a conflict -- a decree >> you write that you were -- you were talking about shorting fannie mae, something you have been talking about for quite a while. and in your book you say that the interviewer opined that the collapse was your fault.

>> it is embarrassing, isn't it? short sellers cannot make fannie mae go bankrupt. i mean, my goodness. no ship -- no short seller went out and made a horrible loss and took out huge amounts of leverage, etc. what short sellers do, just like people who buy stock, they finesse. they see what is happening and invest. you see a great product and buy the stock, are you manipulating the stock? no, you're buying it back and try to make a profit. he sees something is falling apart and you sell it short, it might go up been hurt you very badly. you might lose money. but if it goes down because someone is making mistakes, that is another way of making money, taking action in the market. you probably bet on football games. when you bet on team acts you are betting against seymour. understand? you are betting against team white. that is what short-sellers do.

they say that it is making the same. they're betting it is going to fail. >> is short-selling give the market? >> absolutely. it holds down some of the excess. going from ten to 100, but it is a fraud. people get swept away. the short sellers come in and say 80 and starts selling is short and it never makes it to a hundred, they don't buy at such a high price. at least it limits some of the rises. on the other hand : its starts going down, since it is a fraud of probably go up, but says the short sellers have to buy it back to short sellers start buying at eight and six and five, so the poor people who bought the stock did adn said of 100. at least a little six instead of

to. so sure sellers to limit some of the excesses in the marketplace demand is very good for the market. it's bad for liquidity. everyone is begging to buy it. no one wanted to sell it. thank goodness for the short seller. they come in and provide liquidity. >> to teach you right street smarts for? >> partly for me and from my children. i have too little girls. i wanted them to know the whole story. i came late in life. i used to think that children were up terrible waste of time, energy, money. i was never going to have children. i used to feel sorry for people who have children, but i was totally wrong, absolutely 100 percent wrong. so much fun for me. in fact, if there's anyone wants an issue has not to myerson to get home and get on with it. take a date -- well, don't take a day off these days. these are perilous times. go home for lunch.

have a lunch hour. i'm telling you, it's a lot of fun. everybody should do part of it for me. >> why did you move to support? >> my liberal, i want my liberal stunt growth up knowing asia, speaking mandarin. a 19th century was the century of the uk. tweeted century was the century of the u.s. the 21st century will be the century of asia, trying to prepare them for the target for century 2000 to in 2008. remove their so that they would know asia. is that going to make them successful, but at least it would give them a leg up coming into the 21st century. >> you write in street smarts, empires always overreach and overstep. >> well, yeah. it is a pretty simple and straightforward statement. i am always under pressure, and everybody knows that.

unfortunately most people are not aware of that. that is another thing. you need to understand that. you need to understand that countries and empires fell just like stocks failed, companies fell. >> major changes in the way we work? many institutions, traditions, political parties, government, cultures and even nations will decline or collapse or simply disappear just as always has happened in times of political and economic determination. >> unfortunately that happens to be true. confirm the have been around on wall street for 150 years. been around over 80 years. disappear, gone, just like that. you will see a lot more of that. universities, institutions. it's going to be a mess. jiminy people in the run-up to much debt, and someone has to paid in the end.

>> jim rogers, is singapore more highly regulated and the u.s.? >> i don't know how you mean regulated. as far as the economy is concerned, they're one of the most open economies in the world as far as society, yes. singapore gets a bad rap. you can't chew gum. you can't. you can even buy a gun in singapore, but you cannot do is speed your down the street and put your gum under the bus seat. they don't like you doing things like that. so if you ever go, you will see is a very clean and tidy nation. they don't like people throwing things on to the street. >> the singapore have its own currency, if the reserve type? >> it has its own currency, nearly every nation does these days. does have a central bank. but since it is a country of 5 billion people, it cannot have quite the influence on world affairs at, say, the united

states, 300 million people, the world's largest economy. singapore is a truly successful country. no one has done a good a job as they have. but having said that, they got huge results, use results. having said that, they're only 5 million people in the country. no matter how influential and how correct and maybe, they cannot influence. >> you look -- you right to, ben bernanke, look at the numerous projections that ben bernanke has made over the years. it quickly becomes evident that he has seldom been right. >> if you can find me, i will certainly give him credit. i mean, does not have a clue. it is not miss an economics. as i understand finance.

is understand currency. all he understands is printing money. he will ruin the nation for all this before is over. >> to you have a date when that will start? i mean, the markets, as we're taping this, the markets are recognized. >> they certainly are. bernanke is going to leave in the early 2014 s. agassi try to get out before it collapses. come sometime after early 2014. if i were a betting man i would probably say maybe 2015, it's all coming apart. and what they keep doing, they keep printing more money. that is wonderful. the people are getting more money and having a fabulous time as you pointed out. markets are making new highs, but they're right. this is going to be disastrous. you cannot have an artificial system based on a lake of -- floating on the like a printed money. it is going to end very badly

for all this. so be careful. the next presidential election, be very careful. >> today the united states alone graduates 200,000 mbas year as opposed to a 5,000 annual in 1958. this is a waste. >> first of all, we don't need. by the way, the rest of the world. so 300,000. we don't need 300,000. by the way, 1958, those powerful country in the world. all these, now we are the largest debtor in the history of the world. i mean, they have not done much for the united states. some of them have done well for themselves. now we have massive competition, finance. we have huge leverage in the financial community. governments a coming down hard against us. financial types, stocks and

regulations. getting an mba in 2015 will be a challenge. >> is there a politician in this case today you think is protecting? projecting the right message? >> well, rand paul, he certainly understands most of what is going on in the world. is actually good, but he is no longer. there are not many. as i said, america is now the largest debtor in the history of the world. in the whole history of the world, the united states is the largest debtor nation in history and the debts are going higher and higher. that is not a very good record. surely show me someone who has been against that command will tell you. >> we have been talking with jim rogers, his most recent book to me -- street smarts, adventures on the road and in the markets published by crown business.