Can I Rant A Bit?
I don’t want to talk about politics. I want to talk about the government in general terms. Depending on your politics you could easily misconstrue the point I am about to make. Please don’t do that. I am only going to talk about this information as it pertains to my role as a financial advisor and caring for our clients and their families.
Please consider what happened in Afghanistan (and continues to happen). On the withdrawal, it is hard to fathom the ineptitude of our GOVERNMENT (not any political parties). I believe that government and the military are now so massive that they are not governed by coherent strategies. Because of that, many poor decisions continue to be made by all the parties involved in government. Our government could not create a successful strategy even when American lives were endangered.
Here’s another ridiculous example of government failing at all levels. Headlines in August revealed that 89 percent of the money earmarked for rental relief during the pandemic had not made it to renters or landlords. Many lives have been disrupted, even harmed, by the government’s lack of organization providing these benefits. This isn’t even real money. This is money they printed so they could prevent renters and landlords from being harmed. Yet, because government continues to fail at every level, many Americans do not receive either the assistance or the benefits they have been promised. Even when not delivering those benefits becomes life threatening.
If these life-threatening situations do not cause government to rise to a level of efficiency, what can we expect for programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? Can the government effectively employ new revenue streams allowing them to raise the revenue they need to run our country? When will they be able to determine when they have printed too much money or reduced the interest rates to such a low level that those low interest rate cause more harm than good?
I know everyone will place blame on one side or another. I am NOT doing that. Couldn’t you ask the same question about flooding, forest fires, job creation or access to an education that builds the skills necessary for a good job? What about pollution of the water and the air? Are we being protected from the invasion of our personal information on the internet? Does everyone have enough to eat and is the government skillful at creating quality healthcare?
I could go on and on. Government is not tremendous at any of these things. If you and your family and business chose to rely on government for any of these things, for the most part, you will be sadly disappointed.
I’ve said it before, economic danger is everywhere! The biggest threat to the American people as a group is the “Stealth Tax”, inflation. It is becoming ever increasingly clear that the only way governments will be able to provide the benefits they have promised is by printing more and more money.
Our government is currently exercising that option in spectacular fashion. 40 percent of all the U.S. Treasuries ever printed have been printed since January of 2020. And, 78 percent of all the money our government has ever been printed has been printed since January of 2020. And this, across two administrations.
Our country has sold the Kool-Aid to the rest of the world. Every country on planet Earth that can print money is doing so and in exorbitant amounts. Huge problems, both known and unknown, will arise due to the unintended consequences of using inflation as the solution to governments’ spending problems. Stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate and interest rates will experience dramatically increased volatility. This volatility can be planned for and strategies created that prevent harm while still offering opportunity.
There are solutions available to deal with inflation and the Stealth Tax. There are strategies to consider when it comes to future changes with Social Security. There are opportunities to be had to confront low interest rates.
The time is now to work through these and find the right answers for you and your family. If you think these issues won’t affect you, think again. And probably worse, they will have a larger effect on your children and grandchildren.
What are you doing to protect yourself and make sure those you love are taken care of?
