David Bronner talks about oil, terrorism and politics

MONTGOMERY – David Bronner said he could have bought the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s for $90 million.

The Retirement Systems of Alabama CEO said the price was the same as a television station he wanted to buy.

Bronner, speaking to the Center for Business and Economic Research 2007 economic summit Tuesday, said that today, the Cowboys are worth half a billion dollars or more.

One recent loser for the $30 billion state pension fund was the $250 million purchase of U.S. Airways several years ago that Bronner had to basically write off when it went South on him because of management problems, he said.

“I wish I still had it,’’ Bronner said. “The stock went from $17 to $60, and I could have made 400 percent.

But it’s worldwide economic, geopolitical, military and political issues that occupy Bronner’s thoughts these days – oil, war and terrorism, China and national politics.

Bronner said while the nation’s economy is doing well, below the surface are troubling conditions, such as most of the affordable oil is under the sands of unstable Middle Eastern countries.

He said the world is short of produced oil by about 6 million barrels a day and when the number of automobiles in China grows from 33 million to 130 million in 10 years, there will be real shortages.

He said alternative energy is a pipe dream because oil producers can drop prices and undercut markets.

“When the president talks tonight about ethanol and corn, that’s about as dumb an idea as I’ve ever heard,’’ Bronner said before President Bush’s State of the Union speech.

Bronner said the capitalist United States is using 70 percent of the world’s savings to prop up its growing deficit and, ironically, that debt is held by communist China.

He said voters outside Alabama, by electing Democrats to control Congress, relegated the state’s two U.S. senators to back-bench status, reducing their ability to secure infrastructure funds.

Bronner said Alabama is on a roll economically, but the state’s economy is tied to the nation’s and the world’s.

Dana Beyerle can be reached at (334) 264-6605 or dtb12345@aol.com.