Eighteen financial superstars on how to thrive in Obama's bad economy

• 

• • 

    How to survive President Obama's tax policies

  • 

    Brian and Wayne Allen Root

  • 

    Who's right about the economy: stocks or consumers?

It has now become clear that President Obama’s economic policies will continue to kill jobs, damage the private sector, and destroy the economy in the next four years. After all, they are the same policies that have led to the collapse of the European Union's economy which happening now before our very eyes.

But there is good news amidst this terrible economic crisis. Did you know that there were more self-made millionaires created during the Great Depression than in any other period in history? While the vast majority of citizens were crushed, a select smart few Americans made fortunes. That’s because crisis, decline and collapse create great opportunity for those with vision, courage and a unique understanding of what is happening.

So how can you capitalize on this same scenario today? Much like the first Great Depression, we are about to experience “the greatest wealth transfer in world history.” You’ll need to get on the right side. You’ll need a detailed plan that will empower you to do better, even as the economy gets worse. And it will get worse -- Obama’s political policies guarantee that.

Crisis, decline and collapse create great opportunity for those with vision, courage and a unique understanding of what is happening.

The first thing going in our favor is that Obama is so predictable. He’s going to do what he’s always done: encourage more big government spending and massive cradle-to-grave entitlements. That much is clear as a bell.

Despite the president’s reckless policies and insane levels of spending and debt, your path to success is to create your own "Booming Personal Economy" in the midst of economic collapse. 

As I write in my new book, “The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide,” I turned to 18 of the smartest and richest superstars of business and finance for help. 

I was honored that the most talented and successful businessmen in America agreed to give my readers their valuable advice and game plan for the next four years.

Here's a small taste of what they told me:

First, let me demonstrate something: If you had invested $1 million in 1913 (kept your money in the bank, or put it under the mattress), your assets today would be worth about $40,000. But if you had instead invested in gold, your assets would be worth $87 million.

Our reckless and spendthrift politicians and inept government have let it happened again and again. 

In 1971 if you had invested the same $1 million in the dollar, today it’s worth $200,000. If you had chosen gold instead, you’d have about $47,000,000. How about the year 2000? Today your $1 million investment in the dollar would be worth $663,000. If you chose gold, it’s worth about $5,700,000.

The smartest bankers in the world concur. In 2012 Central Bankers of the world's industrialized nations bought more gold to protect their countries than in all the years since 1964 combined.  They know what my 18 business superstars know: bad times are coming. If you don't invest in precious metals to protect your assets, you are playing Russian Roulette with your family's future.

And now it’s the perfect time to buy… old and silver have had a large decline in the past week. Count your blessings. You can now buy at a big discount! 

The masses are (as usual) headed for disaster—panicking and selling gold at its lowest point in years…and crowding (like a herd of cattle) into stocks, bonds, and the U.S. dollar at their highest points. History suggests this is not a good move. My 18 millionaire and billionaire friends are using this drop in price to buy gold with both fists!

The superstars of finance also agree that you should do the following: 

- Move to a no tax state like Texas, Nevada, or Florida. Over the course of a typical 40-year working life you can save an extra $1,000,000 for your retirement, without actually earning one dollar more or working any harder. You save the extra money simply because you keep more of what you earned.

- Invest in energy stocks. Instead of complaining about the price of gas and heating your home, prosper from it!

- Invest in farmland and agriculture stocks. Instead of complaining about the dramatic rise in the price of food, prosper from it!

- Invest in medical real estate, and medical stocks. Instead of complaining about how much the government is wasting on ObamaCare, prosper from it!

- Invest in foreign stocks, bonds and real estate. You already have a home, a career, and a pension fund invested in America. It’s time to diversify. Obama was right about one thing: you must “spread your wealth around”—to countries that have lower taxes, more opportunity, better demographics, and a brighter future than America under Obama.

This is just the tip of the iceberg – and you'll need a very sturdy lifeboat to weather this storm. As I detail in my book “The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide, ” you’ll need an 18-point plan I call "Y-PODS" --  Your Personal Obama Defense Shield. These investment ideas will allow you to survive, thrive and prosper, even while many around you lose their jobs, assets, incomes and belief in themselves and America.

When it comes to Obama's economy, first get mad, then get even. This is how you do it!

Wayne Allyn Root is capitalist evangelist, entrepreneur, and Libertarian-conservative Republican. He is a former Libertarian vice presidential nominee. Wayne's latest book is "The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide: Secrets to Protecting Your Family, Your Finances, and Your Freedom." For more, visit his website: www.ROOTforAmerica.com. Follow him on Twitter@WayneRoot.

View the original article here

Detroit is in financial emergency, state-appointed review finds

DETROIT –  The fiscal crisis plaguing Detroit is now in the hands of Michigan's governor after a state-appointed review team determined the city was in a financial emergency with "no satisfactory plan" to resolve it.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has 30 days to decide if Detroit needs an emergency manager to take charge of its finances and spending, and come up with a new plan to get the city out of its financial mess.

After spending weeks looking at the city's books, the independent review team released a report Tuesday saying Detroit's deficit could have reached $900 million last fiscal year had it not borrowed enormous amounts of money. The city's long-term liabilities, including underfunded pensions, are more than $14 billion.

The report also said the city's bureaucratic structure makes it difficult to solve the financial problems.

Some fiscal experts believe the city's only way out may be municipal bankruptcy, but state Treasurer Andy Dillon said answers could be found if the city and state work together.

"It's our hope at the state level that this is a partnership. It doesn't have to be adversarial," said Dillon, a member of the review team. "A lot of the ingredients for the turnaround of the city are in place. Now we just need to execute. I do believe strongly that Detroit is fixable."

But over the last nine months, that relationship has been strained. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the nine-member City Council entered into a consent agreement with Snyder in April that allowed some state oversight and help with Detroit's finances -- short of cash infusions -- in return for certain fiscal reforms. However, the city often missed deadlines and benchmarks.

The ongoing cash crisis has threatened to leave the city, which has a current budget deficit of $327 million, without money to pay its workers or other bills. Dillon said the city has been running deficits since 2005, and masking over them with long-term borrowing.

"I stand with Detroiters and other stakeholders that the pace of change has been frustratingly slow," said Gary Brown, City Council president pro-tem. "The political will has often not been there to make the necessary and bold fiscal reforms. ... Without a doubt we need the support and accountability that a State of Michigan partnership offers. We cannot address our legacy obligations alone."

Under state law, Snyder has 30 days following the review team's finding to decide for himself whether there's a financial emergency. Bing would have 10 days to request a hearing. The first-term governor could then revoke his decision or appoint an emergency manager.

The emergency manager would be responsible for overseeing all of the city's spending. Bing and the City Council would keep their jobs, but the manager would decide all financial matters. And only the manager would have the power to authorize the city to take the bankruptcy route.

James McTevia, president of a Michigan-based firm that specializes in turnaround management, said an emergency manager could halt the city's borrowing, freeze debt and restructure finances, including voiding contracts.

"The checkbook needs to be taken from the politicians," he said.

However, others said that even with an emergency manager, municipal bankruptcy may be the city's only option.

"Is it imminent? Well, not tomorrow," said Doug Bernstein, managing partner of the Banking, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Practice Group for Michigan-based Plunkett Cooney law firm. "You need to give a financial manager the opportunity to formulate a plan and let the plan have a chance to succeed or fail. It may not avoid a bankruptcy, but you don't need to do a bankruptcy today."

Bing said Tuesday's report shouldn't have surprised anyone.

"My administration has been saying for the past four years that the city is under financial stress," Bing said in an emailed statement. "If the governor decides to appoint an emergency financial manager, he or she, like my administration, is going to need resources -- particularly in the form of cash and additional staff."

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said the governor will carefully review the team's report.

"He won't make a determination immediately, but sooner rather than later," she said. "The governor believes that a strong and successful Detroit is key to Michigan's continued comeback."

If Snyder appoints an emergency manager, Detroit would be the sixth and largest city in Michigan to have one. The cities of Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Pontiac, Flint and Allen Park are currently under state oversight. School districts in Detroit, Highland Park and Muskegon Heights also have managers.

A new state law taking effect in late March gives local governments the chance to choose their own remedy when a review team finds a financial emergency exists. However, Detroit loses those options if an emergency manager is put in place before the new law goes into effect, said Department of Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton.

The six-member review team began looking closely at Detroit's books in mid-December. Another team had done the same about 12 months earlier, but stopped short of declaring a financial emergency. That team's findings eventually led to the consent agreement in April.

View the original article here