When all else fails … they take you to war.

Sorry, but I am not buying ANY of the excuses that are being offered by our “leaders” and the complicit propaganda media for the reason for this, in my opinion, TRAGIC war. It is not just tragic for the children and others being killed but also for you and me.

This “war” is likely to just accelerate our loss of the dollar’s reserve status and lead to inflation that none of us have ever seen before.

I am extremely leery of the excuses I am hearing about why we had to act now. There is NO history of Iran attacking anyone. Of course, they had a war with Iraq but the USA goaded Sadaam Hussein into starting it. (Shocker huh?)

I believe the real reasons that we acted now are:

• Israel’s government is in BIG trouble and Netanyahu could be in jail on corruption charges without these wars taking place.

• The President needs a distraction. I would not be surprised to see martial law imposed BEFORE the midterms because the inflation and job losses could weigh HEAVILY on those who are in office now. The spin and lies can only go so far. When people are struggling- as MANY are- they will vote for change. I believe Trump knows he needs to stay in office because the day he is out- look out.

• $2 TRILLION of private equity funds (marketed as stable) are blowing up all over the place. Blackrock has halted redemptions on over $25 BILLION, and a number of “cockroaches” (Jamie Dimon) have already seen funds that were on the books at 100% value fall to ZERO in a matter of days to months. Obviously the “values” did not exist anywhere but on the paper. This section of the market has NO oversight and there is rampant fraud being discovered where some companies (Tricolor as an example) got multiple loans using the same collateral numerous times. Keep in mind these are loans that the banks would not make.

• Nations are dumping US debt while we have $10 TRILLION of Treasuries maturing in 2026. Add in the fact we have a $2 TRILLION deficit (not including wars, VA benefits, SS and Medicare spending) and we are looking at a perfect storm for a financial disaster. Of course, who is talking about that- we are lobbing bombs!

• The stock “market” is EXTREMELY overvalued and could be in danger of a MAJOR correction. The spending on war may put off that day of reconning- for a while.

• The economy is shedding jobs and productivity and prices are rising. This all started LONG before the war started but it appeared to me that inflation was really ready to explode higher. The war now gives cover to those truly responsible- the central bank and our “politicians” who allow this “printing” to destroy our purchasing power and to steal the VALUE of our labor.

I am sure I am missing a lot of other reasons, but the economic decay cannot be hidden anymore. It is so bad that all of the massaged numbers and happy propaganda will not sway those who are struggling to pay bills or even keep assets that they have amassed.

Record amounts are being withdrawn from 401k’s with the most common excuse being to pay off debt or pay bills.

It is also not a shock that January saw a record number of homes listed for sale. That will happen when you have a million layoffs in 2025 and 64% of all people live paycheck to paycheck. Also, finding a job today is a herculean task for many, as the economy is not only stalling- it is in freefall. Without the “PRINTING” to pretend we are still productive and solvent we would all find out real fast.

I believe we are RAPIDLY approaching a time when many people will start to realize that many, if not most, promises to repay will not be happening. Private credit is already cracking. Many companies that are overleveraged are in deep trouble as the economy contracts and rates rise. Many states are drowning in debt and many also have tragically underfunded pension obligations. It is obvious that as people lose jobs that debt is an albatross that makes the situation FAR worse.

Of course, many will argue that the USA can “print” money and will always pay. I agree with that, but the question SHOULD be if they conjure up tens or hundreds of trillions to do it- what will you be able to BUY with it? I used to laugh about a $50.00 happy meal. I am not laughing anymore as that could be a reality far sooner than most can imagine.

All of these reasons are part of my belief that we all need HARD ASSETS.

Gold- has preserved purchasing power for five thousand years. Gold is MONEY, all else is credit. (JP Morgan)

Silver- Can be used as money but is in MASSIVE demand for industry also.

Oil- Lifeblood of our current economy.

Natural gas- the power that will enable AI and data centers to exist.

Critical Minerals- the building blocks of green energy and also tragically for WAR.

Food, water, etc. ALL ASSETS AND NOT ANYONE’s PROMISE TO REPAY.

Companies that have strong balance sheets (FAR MORE ASSETS THAN DEBTS) and good cash flow that produce these necessities could also be considered as we go forward.

Think long and hard about promises- particularly those that are far off into the future. We cannot really predict the next few weeks let alone the next few years or decades.

Be Prepared!

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