Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
I recently had a chance to discuss wealth confiscation with John Rubino of DollarCollapse.com.
He reminds us of what governments do when under pressure; time and time again we have
seen wealth confiscation. Inflation is an easy way to steal from your population, you
have taxes, laws altered to take your money, and then as things get worse, the wealth confiscation
just gets more extreme. Citing a few examples from the Roman Empire,
John also covers a few things that have happened in U.S. history.
* 1942, after entering World War II, FDR moved all Japanese citizens living in the U.S. to
concentration camps and sold off their property. The detainees were released in 1945, given
$25 and a train ticket home - without being reimbursed for their losses.
* During the U.S. Civil War, Lincoln with the help of Congress passed laws confiscating
property used for "insurrectionary purposes" and of citizens generally engaged in rebellion.
* 1933, FDR banned the private ownership of gold, gave those who surrendered it $20.67
per ounce and then devalued the dollar to $35 an ounce, effectively stealing 70% of
the wealth of those who surrendered their gold.
Obviously you want to diversify your assets here in the U.S. and offshore in multiple
countries. My favorite store of value
The biggest advantage to holding precious metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum, & Palladium)
is that no one really knows you have them. They are liquid assets outside of the system,
easily portable, and are rare metals that have to be mined giving them a real and lasting
value. I recommend 5-10% of your net worth in physical
precious metals, think of gold specifically like an insurance policy. Many people ask
me all the time about what the gold price is going to do next... To me, this is like
expecting a return on investment from my auto insurance, healthcare, or ADT alarm system
that protects my house. Gold is a protector of wealth, it is your financial insurance,
don't let the day to day price consume you, because you don't want gold to pay out!
Believe me, you do not want gold $10,000. That puts oil in the hundreds of dollars,
gas over $15 a gallon, and who knows what we would be paying for food.
However, if we were to see a major systemic shock to the system, like a disorderly end
to the U.S. dollar, owning gold will be one of the most prudent decisions you ever make
in your life. On a side note, as the middle class continues
to shrink, I would expect more civil litigation to rise as people want to put the blame for
their own obstacles on someone else, so be careful, and actively take steps to protect
your wealth.