Times are changing. They have been changing for a long time, but it appears that the pace of change is picking up at a breakneck pace. It looks to me like we are headed for a showdown of some kind in the near future.
While the price of the stock indexes continues to rise- mainly because of just a few names- the economy below continues to contract at an increasing pace. While the economic numbers are showing contraction the numbers that we are fed every day include GOVERNMENT SPENDING (DEBT) as growth. What would those numbers actually look like if the government stopped the massive spending on social programs, food stamps, conjuring up cash to cover tax shortfalls for Social Security and Medicare, and endless wars? I believe our economy would be revealed to be in shambles. Even with TRILLIONS being conjured up to prop things up we are still falling.
Gone are most mom-and-pop shops that have been run out of business by large corporations and gone with it is customer service, a feeling of community and support of local economies.
In addition, we have a MAJOR problem with our borders being WIDE open and a government along with NGOs spending like drunken sailors to provide millions of people who have entered the USA illegally with things NOT being provided to our own citizens. Let me get this straight- those who pay taxes get NOTHING while those here illegally get the benefits? It appears that way!
Another concerning matter is that most of this illegal immigration is being dominated by military aged men from around the globe. I was watching a broadcast of Redacted with Clayton and Natalie Morris. In one episode they revealed that there is a UN army that was trained in the Middle East here in the USA Right now.
They had JJ Carroll- a 24-year veteran of the Border Patrol on and he really crystallized my thinking about how this may all play out.
Mr. Carroll went to the south side of Chicago and interviewed Mark Carter (Community Activist) and many others that exposed that they are paying black residents $1000.00 to move out of their homes. The reason the landlords want the tenants out is because the illegal aliens have $9000.00 in rent assistance. Over $3 BILLION in funds have been allocated for illegals and NOTHING for US citizens.
This is an area that has been downtrodden for a long time. I remember going to a White Sox game in 1977 and a car backfired. We all hit the deck at that time. Things are FAR worse now.
Many of our residents are living in tents while the immigrants are living in luxury right next to them.
All I know is that the gangs in the South side of Chicago are well-armed and based upon what I have seen they are getting mighty upset with any “money” being spent going to immigrants while our own are being ignored. In winter they even have buses that are running 24 hours per day to keep people warm but are available ONLY to immigrants.
Many interviewed said “We are going to war.” Could this be the real reason the DNC may want to do their convention on ZOOM?
Closer to home I was at a meeting with a local judge who told me that in our own area- unbeknownst to me- there were 40 Venezuelan gang members living in a local home. The reason he knew about this is that there was a shootout and six were arrested. Here, unlike in many major cities, these criminals will likely be spending a significant amount of time in jail- leading to more strains on scarce resources.
Many people ask me why my view of things is so different from what they see on the financial game shows and the mainstream media. My answer is that I am looking at everything and I am not being paid large sums of money to distract or deceive the population.
Sometimes in the mainstream media you get some truth- particularly when the events on the ground totally contradict the narrative being pushed out by those “in charge.”
According to Bloomberg:
I could use about any area of the country, but I saw this report about Texas.
- Texas Services Sector has been in contraction for 24 STRAIGHT MONTHS and is accelerating to the downside. (Ditto the entire economy!)
- Sales Index fell from -10.4 to -16.4 meaning retail sales fell more than in the previous month. Keep in mind that this has taken place with inflation raging and prices rising.
- Retail Labor market indicators fell from 0.5 to -5.2 while the hours worked fell to -4.2
- Respondents to the survey said “Trucking is definitely in recession. Truck Freight in both volume and price per mile is way down.” We are seeing the impact of the high interest rate environment starting to impact our customers and our customers prospects. “Interest rates remain a concern. This is the worst we have seen in the real estate market since the great recession.
There is MUCH more but you get the picture. Over 70% of our GDP is consumer spending and it appears that many people are hitting a brick wall on spending. But things are Great!!
In addition to our inner turmoil, we can clearly see that the rest of the world is starting to shun the use of the US Dollar in international trade. This is probably the biggest threat to our financial well-being. Just in the past week we have seen:
- ASEAN (Asian Trading bloc) announce that local trade would be done with local currencies.
- India and China (BRICS members) have agreed to trade in local currencies for imports.
- BRICS has announced a partially gold-backed currency. It appears that an agreement has been reached to move forward and the particulars are being attended to right now. I would expect an announcement at the BRICS meeting in October. Just a guess.
It is also obvious that the rest of the world is also not as fearful of our military as Iraq, Nigeria and many other countries are actively kicking us out.
What this all has to do with our investments is simple. We are all invested and transact in dollars. It is all we have ever known. The world is rapidly moving on and this could cause the greatest loss of purchasing power that we have ever seen. With the country divided as it is it does not appear to me that we will have any easy answers until it gets so bad that we will all need to work with each other again.
We all need to get it together spiritually, mentally, physically and to have a plan ready when the dollar starts to resemble the Venezuelan Bolivar. For those who think it cannot happen here- just watch!
My plan is simple. Have as little debt as possible and as many ASSETS as possible- preferably ASSETS that have intrinsic value and utility like gold, silver, natural resources, and companies that are well-run and produce necessities. Personally, I am shunning most “assets” that involve someone else’s promise to repay. In looking at the level of debt in every category there is NO Chance that this debt can ever be repaid with our currency retaining even a fraction of its VALUE. You may get paid in full but if lunch costs $2500.00 what VALUE did you receive in return?
Be Prepared!
Any opinions are those of Mike Savage and not necessarily of those of RJFS or Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. The information in this report does not purport to be a complete description of securities, markets or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources deemed to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions, or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct.
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