We've all been plagued by the late night commercials where a New York Lawyer, in an ugly cowboy hat and ill fitting designer suit, harangues us to let him handle our case for Social Security Disability Benefits. His voice is winy and you'd probably just give him the case to shut him up. However, little do most of you know, he's cleaning up on the deal! The Binder & Binder firm grossed $88 million last year, and the Binders went home with one quarter of the gross, $22 million! This is so shocking, it almost restores our faith in free enterprise. Except, firms like these are gaming the system because they know there's really very little legal opposition to obtaining disability benefits for their client. The Federal Government thinks these cases are so piddly, they usually don't even assign a prosecuting attorney. The only thing standing between Binder and their legal fees is an overworked and under-appreciated Administrative Law Judge.

In 2001, roughly 7 million disabled Americans collected Social Security Disability. Today, there's nearly 11 million collecting. Have we gotten that much sicker as a nation? Or is there something else going on? Much of the increase could be attributed to states that have encouraged welfare recipients to apply for Social Security Disability Benefits because over time it helps reduce the state's Medicaid roles as recipients get switched over to Medicare, for which the states contribute nothing.

The next time you're wondering why Social Security is quickly becoming insolvent, look no further than Binder & Binder, after all, "You have enough to worry about."

Please send your questions to kl@kerrylutz.com or call us at 347-460-LUTZ.

Direct download: TLR_147.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:51pm EDT
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The International Forecaster joins us again, this week for our bi-weekly chat. Bob and I discuss the gold and silver New Year's take-off. We touch upon the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's review and investigation of the CME group. The C.F.T.C.'s has been tasked with looking into the leading causes of the MF Global failure. Check out a great interview Bob posted about this at www.theinternationalforecaster.com.

Most of us thought Jon Corzine was finished, we were all sure he would never work on Wall Street again. However, Corzine is rumored to be going back into business and is even looking for new office space near the New York Stock Exchange. MF global is attempting to get everyone their money back, but why didn't CME stand behind their clients from the beginning? Regardless of who's really at fault, Bob predicts major changes in the way the Comex and other exchanges operate and a whole new level of transparency. There's really no other choice if we expect markets to continue functioning.

Bottom lime, these government agencies aren't helping the public. Instead, they aim to serve the industry or group they are supposed to be monitoring, and this is upsetting the gold and silver markets. You should always remember there's two sides to debt, and when it comes to taking customers' funds, a thief like MF Global can never pass good title to stolen goods. Gold and silver are doing well, and at present, notwithstanding government manipulation to the contrary. Bob predicts the next stop is 1700, then 1800 and 1900. The fact that gold and silver are increasing while the dollar's in a up trend and the Euro's getting slammed is a major bullish indicator. Never forget one of the International Forecaster most telling lines, "inflate or die." It really explains everything you need to know about financial markets.

Please send your questions/comments to kl@kerrylutz.com or call us at 347-460-LUTZ.

Direct download: Bob_Chapman_01-11-12.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:43pm EDT
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