5 Forms of Wealth the Government Cannot Steal From You
Become rich in these five ways and you'll never be poor again, no matter what happens politically.
Hello friends!
The topic of today’s newsletter is admittedly morose, but I don’t think it’s entirely irrelevant. These times are unprecedented, for reasons that I hope are obvious to you by now, and I think we must face the reality that a fundamental political shift toward “totalitarianism” in the West is at least conceivable.
I’m not saying that’s where we are headed! I’m saying that, for the first time in my life as an American, a major loss of liberty is at least conceivable.
Let’s not forget that The World Economic Forum has promised a vision of a future where “You’ll own nothing, and be happy.” I don’t know about you, but I like owning stuff. As a matter of fact, I see ownership as a key foundational component of “western civilization.”
“Own nothing” means zero wealth. Zero savings. ZERO!!!!!
Wealth is the very lever by which we achieved ALL the modern conveniences we enjoy today. Doug Casey spelled it out in this quote:
“The way a person or a society becomes wealthy is by producing more than they consume and saving the difference. That difference, savings, is how you create capital. Without capital you’re reduced to subsistence, scratching at the earth with a stick.”
Government wealth confiscation isn’t some far-off future danger - it’s already here. The two favored and (sadly) accepted forms of government theft today are through taxation and inflation, both of which appear to be increasing today in scope and effect.
I’m well aware that many of my readers will see taxation as perfectly normal and reasonable. Even though this stance is provably wrong both historically and philosophically, I’m not going to burn precious words toward making that argument today.
Maybe down the road…
I’m more concerned today with the possibility of out-and-out overt government confiscation of wealth as seen previously by governments like the Nazis, the British, the Australians, and yes, even right here in the United States.
If you think it couldn’t happen here, then you probably don’t know history.
Again, I don’t necessarily expect it, but I think we need to prepare for it. Sad but true.
I’ve thought a lot about “worst case scenarios,” and the following are what I believe to be forms of wealth that any government will have a heck of a time robbing you of:
The Five Forms of Wealth You Can Keep:
#1 - Who You Know
A little known fact about the upper class is that they spend vast amounts of time and energy building out their contacts. They see “who they know” as critical to their ongoing success and happiness, and so should you.
Doug Casey, quoted above, is an excellent example of this. Doug has spent his entire adult life making friends and contacts from all walks of life and every corner of the globe. Doug knows authors, military generals, famous speculators, hobos, and even world leaders.
Yes, Doug Casey has worked out a formula for meeting presidents of countries. He has several stories of meeting heads-of-state within 48 hours of arriving in a country he’s never been to before.
Like so many wealthy people, Doug knows that his contacts are priceless even if he loses his entire fortune.
I see my own contacts in much the same way a general manager of a football team sees their players. The GM is looking for team players, certain skills and talents, etc. I do the exact same thing.
For example, if I run into a legal question, (and if I don’t want to run up an instant bill from one of my own attorneys), I have several attorney friends I can call just for a quick check-in.
Medical question? No problem - I’ve got several doctor friends.
Surround yourself with smart, experienced friends and you have a built-in “advisory board” any time you’re facing a particular challenge. Governments can’t touch your relationships!
#2 - Your Skills
I believe we’re entering an era where the people who really know how to do things will fare better than the rest of us. My welder friends are already sitting pretty, and I expect they will continue to be just fine no matter what happens to the economy. The world will always need welders.
My nephew Brian can build a car completely from scratch if given the parts. Imagine we’re living in “Road Warrior” days, and Brian is wandering through the desert with a social psychologist named John. A band of hungry outlaws happens upon the pair and detains them.
Once they have figured out who their prisoners are and what they can bring to the group, what happens? I’ll tell you what - John gets eaten and Brian is welcomed with open arms.
The right skills travel well and in certain situations can be the difference between life and death. Let’s not forget that while most Nazis were facing execution by the Allied Forces, Wernher von Braun was on a plane to America to build rockets for “the good guys.”
Skills are valuable and can be learned by anyone.
The advent of YouTube gives us an endless stream of excellent content teaching real-world skills such as plumbing, carpentry, gardening, auto mechanics, photography, animal husbandry, and on and on and on. Load up on these skills and the hungry hoards will never eat you. You will be infinitely more valuable alive than dead.
#3 - Your Education
Let me start out by making a distinction. I see “education” as vastly different from “schooling.” Schooling is the process of sequestering children in a confined setting with a contrived and controlled curriculum for a period of roughly 15,000 hours by the time it’s all done.
Education is the knowledge you might attain in spite of schooling, it is self-directed and can be gained through reading, traveling, experimenting, observing and any number of other activities which help you recognize and understand the real world.
If you want a PHD-level course on what it takes to become an educated person, get yourself a library card and read The Autobiography of Ben Franklin. This one book can act as a complete blueprint for self-directed education.
Educating yourself is a life-long process. Schooling, thankfully, usually ends by the time you are in your early twenties.
In my view, a broad and accurate understanding of history is perhaps the most valuable “possession” anyone can have. Amazingly, this knowledge can be obtained for little to no money and the government can never take it away from you!
Don’t get me wrong - the government will TRY to rob you of your education by funding propogandists to write utter works of fiction passing as history, but your self-directed education, gained step by step, will inoculate you against these paid liars.
#4 - Real Money
I distinguish fiat currency from real money. Governments of course vastly prefer fiat because they can steal wealth by printing money “out of thin air.” What results is inflation, and a gradual (in the beginning) diminishing of the buying power of the currency.
So if fiat is bad, what is “real money?!” Aristotle listed his five criteria for ideal money in the 4th century BC. They are:
Intrinsically valuable - A good money is wanted/desired by a broad range of people. The holder of such a money will have reasonable certainty that someone else will accept it in exchange for goods and services.
Convenient - Good money can’t be a pain in the butt to carry around and use. It should pack a lot of value in a small amount of space/mass.
Consistent - Good money should be extremely uniform and recognizable unit to unit.
Divisible - If you break up the money from larger parts into smaller parts, each part should retain its relative value.
Durable - Good money is built to last and can maintain its intrinsic qualities across endless transactions.
So what is ideal money? Well, it’s GOLD of course!!!
You should own some gold. You should have it in a place that is accessible to you.
“But Tony, can’t the government steal my gold?” YES IT CAN. This is why you should bury it somewhere. I’m not kidding.
Gold ownership saves you from theft via inflation. You are on your own to save your gold from confiscation!
#5 - Your Faith
This tip may not be for you, or maybe it’s not for you RIGHT NOW. Do know that history shows faith can pull a man through any hardship short of death.
I saw for myself how my Dad’s faith carried him through his battle with Alzheimer’s disease. It was amazing. It was transformational, frankly.
My Dad kept a little prayer book by his bedside from the day he was diagnosed until the day he died. His faith gave him an endless reservoir of grace and serenity through it all.
No matter where you are starting from on the “faith spectrum,” I want you to consider two ideas:
You are not God.
Your government is not God.
Start there and work backward. Wherever you end up is where you’re meant to be.
Of course this issue is all about “wealth,” so maybe I should describe the particular wealth we can accumulate through faith. What we’re after here is a quiet strength that can move mountains.
How could anyone with that particular kind of “wealth” ever be truly poor?!
Thank you for reading this issue of “The Secret Sauce.” Money is great to have, of course, but if all you ever had was money, I think you’d be selling yourself short.
I hope you found some “food for thought” within this issue.
Hey, why not share this goodness with someone you know?:
Until next time, remember that YOU ARE GOOD!!!
Tony V