According to a well-known Congressman, nothing is more potentially dangerous than a broke and desperate government.
Is America in that state?
Maybe not yet, but it surely will be soon… our ever-growing pile of federal debt can only end in a real currency crisis.
Other nations and their citizens are simply losing faith in the U.S. dollar.
Do you know what has happened in the past when the U.S. government was up against a wall of debt? History shows that the government often feels free to rewrite the rules during these times, and ordinary Americans suffer the most when the system fails.
Retirees are especially at risk. There is currently $23 trillion dollars invested in retirement accounts today: too much money for politicians to ignore. Some experts believe that it is only a matter of time before the next financial crisis forces the government to rewrite the rules.
Unconstitutional? The courts have consistently sided with the government in the past and you won’t find redress there.
History Shows: When the Going Gets Tough, The Government Comes for Your Assets
Governments will do almost anything to protect the integrity of their country’s financial systems.
The Continental Congress issued Continentals (bills of credit) because it was dead broke. Years later, each Continental dollar ended up being worth a penny.
President Lincoln changed the money system by creating greenbacks to pay off government debt and soldiers’ salaries during the Civil War. Greenbacks lost 66% of their value over time.
In 1933, President Roosevelt gave Americans 30 days to turn in their gold to the Federal Reserve System or face forfeiture, fines and imprisonment. Americans lost 41% of their savings overnight.
In 1971, countries lost faith in the U.S. dollar and President Nixon declared that U.S. dollars would no longer be redeemable in gold. According to Paul, Nixon’s decision ushered in inflation, high unemployment and economic dislocations that exist to this very day.
No government can create prosperity by printing money out of thin air. If you own stocks, bonds or any asset priced in U.S. dollars, your wealth is clearly at risk.
U.S. Debt Will Rise No Matter Who Is Elected
The U.S. will soon be borrowing more than its entire economic output. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the plans of each of the three remaining presidential candidates will cause debt to rise higher from today’s unsustainable levels.
Under Bernie Sanders, debt is estimated to climb to 154% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Hillary Clinton’s policies would cause the debt to become 86% of GDP. Lastly, under Donald Trump, debt would go up to 129% of GDP.
The following trends are the current signs of our fraying financial system:
Lingering unemployment
Volatility in stock and bond prices
Civil unrest
Erosion of personal liberties
New capital controls
Erosion of any form of privacy
Authoritarian clampdowns
Get Prepared: Own Gold
No matter who becomes the next President, the laws of finance and economics will not be suspended. The U.S. cannot continue to borrow more than it produces. The dollar-based assets in your retirement account and pension will be under pressure for years to come. And if we suffer another financial crisis like in 2008, the government could destroy your wealth with the stroke of a pen.
No matter how improbable the scenario, owning physical gold coins will protect your wealth in the next financial crisis. The value of gold cannot be manipulated by broke and desperate governments and is critical to have in times of long lines at the ATM machine, bank closings and market crashes.
(Sources: “Recent U.S. Presidential Candidates Warning: Financial ‘Martial Law’ Could Seize up to 80% of Your Lifesavings Overnight,” ronpaul.com; “2016 Fiscal FactCheck, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; fiscalfactcheck.crfb.org; 5/19/16; “‘I’m sort of waiting for Trump to become a libertarian,’” The Hill, 5/18/16.)
