Kerry Lutz's--Financial Survival Network

John joined us today. His take is that as the middle class disappears so does the middle point in our political debate, thereby leaving just the extremes. Obviously not a good thing. But attempting to wipeout or forget about our history is not the way to solve our problems. Rather history has proven to be the best teacher and an angry task master. Get ready for those who would attempt to rewrite or obliterate it. 

COT -  Commitment of traders report has turned very bearish towards precious metals. This measure has worked continually over the past 10 years and shows no signs of quitting now. Will it be a down quarter for precious metals? 

We've been hearing about the Opioid Epidemic for a quite a while now. Overdoses, deaths and the impact upon families and the communities has been profound. But overlooked is the impact of this drug epidemic on the factory floor. Large numbers of applicants routinely fail drug tests and cannot be allowed to work with heavy and potentially dangerous equipment. Safety is key. Just like you wouldn't want a stoned pilot, a stoned doctor, a stoned air traffic controller, you don't want a crane operator under the influence either. Thus the need for drug testing in many industries. The problem needs to be dealt with now. 

What's going on with the economy and the stock market? Jordan believes that tax reform, Obamacare repeal and other Trump initiatives are dead in the water. There's very little that can be done besides regulatory reform. Auto delinquencies are rapidly increasing, the student loan bubble is getting ready to burst and we're getting close to the government's debt ceiling. Not a recipe for increased confidence and prosperity. 

Andrew Zatlin is the mega-number cruncher. He believes there's trouble in paradise. The unemployment numbers appear to be range bound and this always is a precursor to a recession. Debt is escalating. Auto loans now go for 84 months. Andrew believes that the hedge funds and the smart money are getting ready to exit the market. And then things will get interesting. So batten the hatches and get ready!

What Really Happening Wednesdays with Andrew Hoffman:

Another "sleepy summer week" manipulation
-like July 4th, which led to big PM gains the following week

Bitcoin explosion, as the "ultimate monetary death cross" approaches
-i.e., crypto usurping fiat

Precious Metals and Bitcoin, the only true "scarcity assets"

-Best-ever environment for Precious Metal portfolio swaps

Etc.

The sharing economy has not been born solely out of efficiency, it's also largely a matter of necessity. Declining incomes and profits make it a major money saver for the shrinking middle class. Whether it's AirBNB for travel, Uber to get where you're going or Citibikes to use a bicycle in the City, it just makes so much sense. And we haven't seen anything yet. It's going to really take off soon once self-driving cars really hit the market. 

New trade figures from the Department of Commerce show the U.S. international trade picture continues to deteriorate. The U.S. trade deficit in June hit $43.6 billion, almost the same as the June level last year of $43.8 billion. But for the first half of this year, at $276.6 billion, the trade deficit is 10.7% worse than the year-ago figure. We are now on track for an annual trade deficit this year of some $550 billion, which would be the highest deficit since 2008. That’s some 2.8% of our GDP, a substantial contractionary force in the economy. If that spending were going towards U.S. goods and services instead of foreign goods and services, it would create more revenue, more jobs, more profit, and more investment inside the U.S. instead of overseas.

Titus Gebel is an entrepreneur who's attempting to further the concept of Free Private Cities, an idea who's time has come. Rather than your rights springing forth from a government edict or constitution, they are derived from a contract with the profit making free private city. Your duties are clearly spelled out as are their's. If you don't like the place, you can leave. It would be a libertarian haven for all. It's time to try another system for human beings to peaceably and productively live and interact together. This seems better than most. In places where parts of the concept have been adapted, success has been the rule. Imagine the Free Private City of Detroit. 

John joined us today for our usual Monday show. What's happening in Virginia is related to the underlying financial deterioration of the economy and the middle class. When things are going well, people don't have time for demonstrations, they're too busy working and earning income. Events such as this are emblematic of an economic crisis. 

Bitcoin at $4200. Bitcoin cash at $300. How does it tie into the bad economy meme? Is this truly the birth of competitive currencies? Is Tulipcoin far behind? We've already gotten Bitcohen, the Israeli answer to crypto-currencies. 

Garrett Gunderson joined us today for a very enlightening discussion. He's an entrepreneur, financial advocate and founder of Wealth Factory. Garrett brings energy and excitement to debunking the many widely accepted myths and fabrications that undermine the prosperity and joy of millions of business owners.

He is the NY Times best-selling author of Killing Sacred Cows and more recently, What Would the Rockefellers Do? He’s appeared on TV shows including ABC’s Good Money, Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox and CNBC’s Squawk on the Street — and his firm was named to the Inc. 500. Most importantly, Garrett makes personal finance for entrepreneurs simple, immediately actionable and even enjoyable.

The situation with North Korea shows no signs of resolution. But how much control does China have? It would appear they have a lot, but as in all Frankenstein situations, eventually the creator loses control of his creation. And you know what happens then, mayhem and destruction. But there's a lot more going on than this. Listen and and find out what's going to happen next. Oh, by the way, Bitcoin $4k and gold and silver are going up. Surprise!

Mike's been to China 5 times. While he doesn't know everything about product sourcing in China (nobody does) he feels that he's getting closer to mastery. The wholesale market we visited has gotten even bigger with 1.7 million products and 55,000 stalls. You get to see the products up close and personal and many vendors will even let you purchase samples. You find products at the market and then go back to the hotel where Mike and Matt help you analyze the products to determine the likelihood of profitability. 

We just moved our home, office and studio. Moving is the ultimate test of keeping your cool. You have to manage logistics, finances, interpersonal relationships and major stress. We managed to survive it and get everything up and running within a day. Most of you probably didn't even notice, but the new studio has a slightly different sound than the old one. 

North Korea, what will be? Is it all about China. We'll know soon enough. Just in case get your fallout shelter ready now. 

How Martha's Vinyard is adapting to the cutback in H2B visas to foreign seasonal workers. Are they hiring more Americans as a result? Good question to which MSN provides zero answers. Just remember it's always cheaper to higher a foreigner to do a job. 

Andrew Agemy is concerned about the retirement crisis. It's time to create your own pension plan if especially if employer doesn't offer one. Companies are getting rid of the traditional pension plans and fewer and fewer people are going to have a retirement income besides Social Security. Some will have 401(k) plans and other savings, but most won't have a guaranteed or promise income for their retirement.

It's not that people necessarily need $1 million or $2 million or $3 million at Retirement. What they need is a check to replace the check that has stopped now that they have stopped working. They may use that $1, $2, $3 million to help them do that but typically that won't be a promised or guaranteed income. Most often it means withdrawing from there Funds with no guarantees or promises - just hope.

There are things that people can do to guarantee themselves and income at retirement – creating their own pension. There are also ways to receive a promised income that they can count on although it's not guaranteed.

David believes that there's one explanation for Wall Street's constant gains, people love to gamble. It's always been that way and it always will be. They're not investing unlike the greats such as Warren Buffett. Breaking this addiction is crucial. It's the only way you can protect your assets. David believes that a return to fixed income investing is the only way to insure that your assets won't be dissipated. Time to reevaluate and change your investing behavior. 

What's Happening Wednesdays with Andrew Hoffman:

Wednesday's "most precious metal bullish quote ever<https://www.milesfranklin.com/the-most-precious-metal-bullish-quote-ever/>"

-Trump, re: weak dollar

Today's soon-to-be-released "DID I SAY YESTERDAY, THE MOST PRECIOUS METAL BULLISH QUOTE EVER? WELL, TRUMP TOOK JUST 24 HOURS TO TOP IT!"

-Trump, re: North Korea "fire and fury"

Yesterday's HUGE crypto event

-"Bitcoin SegWit Activation - the Gold Cartel's worst nightmare<https://www.milesfranklin.com/bitcoin-segwit-activation-the-gold-cartels-worst-nightmare/>"

All contributing to the premise of July 27th's "the most precious metal bullish I've ever been<https://www.milesfranklin.com/the-most-precious-metals-bullish-ive-ever-been/>"
Etc.

Our old friend Jeff Clark joined us today for a close look at the precious metals markets. Jeff, formerly of Casey Research, is now with GoldSilver.com, a place that suits him quite well. While the more things change, the more they stay the same, this time really is different. The political system has no ability to address and solve the current economic problems. In fact, the system is trying to do the opposite, by denying their existence and refusing to deal with existential issues. If that's not a reason to own gold and/or silver, then you need to rethink everything now. 

Michael Eastham is concerned that Consumer spending inched up just 0.1% in June
Americans increased spending in June by the smallest amount in five months, partly because it cost less to fill up at the gas pump.

Consumer spending rose 0.1% in June, matching the smallest increase of 2017, the government said Tuesday. That was in line with the Marketwatch forecast of economists.
Income growth and inflation, meanwhile, were unchanged.

Despite a stable economy and the best labor market in years, Americans remain cautious spenders. Still, they are spending more than enough to sustain an economy now in its ninth year of expansion and encourage businesses to hire more workers.

Households spent more on health care in June, but they saved on gasoline because of cheaper prices at the pump.

Lower inflation is giving Americans some extra cushion.

The PCE index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, was flat in June. What’s more, the 12-month rate of inflation stood at 1.4%, down from 2.2% earlier in the year.

Inflation had surged in 2016 and early 2017 to an eight-and-a-half year before leveling off. Slower inflation has prompted the Federal Reserve to reconsider when it next raises interest rates.

Most analysts believe the central bank will wait until December.

U.S. futures markets pointed to a higher opening for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.28%

Ivan Eland joined us today to talk about the latest North Korea developments. Seems like there's always trouble in this workers' paradise and the US just doesn't know how to handle it. Ivan thinks that Trump is just doing more of the same as did Obama, Bush and Clinton before him. Will the recent stiffened UN sanctions be enough to make a difference? How mad is Kim Jong Un really? All good questions for which we have no answers. 

A little more than a decade Keith Weinhold started his real estate empire. He bought a quad and lived in one of the units for three years. He kept buying and buying. There's many benefits to real estate investing, cash flow, tax reduction/deferment, 3rd party debt pay down, inflation hedging and of course the possibility of appreciation. These factors literally turbo-charge your returns and its why Ken keeps buying properties. In hind sight, Ken believes he didn't take one risk minimizing step, geographical diversification. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket. 

Illinois has over 63,000 government workers (an oxymoron) making over 100k per year or more. This is a prescription for disaster. And they're going to receive pensions based upon these bloated salaries. Something has to give. The courts won't let them cut the pensions without a constitutional amendment. What's a taxpayer to do? Move out, and more and more of them are doing exactly that. Especially after the 1/3 tax increase that was just passed over the governor's veto. 

New Orleans has flooded again. No Cat 4 hurricane this time, just good old fashioned torrential rains. The city's 24 pumping stations just can't keep up with it. Very reassuring when you consider they're only 1 hurricane away from another Katrina type event. I thought the billions in tax dollars were supposed to stop a repeat performance. 

Time to stop subsidizing Elan Musk and the Tesla Car Company. The average Model X buyer makes over 500k and the average Model S purchaser is good for over 250k. Is that where we want our tax dollars going? 

And finally, LA County spent over $1.3 billion on welfare for illegal aliens! California spent over $25 billion in 2013 and you can be sure the total is much higher now. Is this any way to run a state? Heading for insolvency just like the rest. 

They're out to get Trump. They couldn't beat him in the election and they're probably not going to be able to do it now. While the White House might look chaotic now, it's really not going to make a difference in the long run. Wayne believes Trump should fire Meuller and take the consequences. He's really got nothing to lose. How it will actually wind up is anyone's guess. 

The Millennials certainly have their issues. Thus far they've avoided things like houses, autos and equities. Now they're piling into equities and RV's. Is this the ultimate contrarian indicator that's now time to flee the markets and anything with wheels on it, including tricycles? 

Ed Karr, is president, CEO and Chairman of US Gold. A new FSN sponsor, he's extremely bullish about the price of gold and the company's ability to leverage its three projects to capitalize on it. Ed's been in mining for decades and believes that the current policies being followed by governments around the world will have two definite results, currency debasement and higher precious metals prices. The company has two projects, Keystone and Gold Bar in Nevada's Famed Cortez Gold Trend. Infrastructure here is first class and all indications are that these could be extremely productive and profitable. In addition, there's the Copper King project in Wyoming. A PEA has already been done and Ed is planning to advance the project through a Pre-Feasibility Study and permitting strategy, and then continue to expand upon the current 1.5 million ounce gold equivalent resource. If things keeps going right for US Gold, there's a very bright future ahead. The stock is traded on the NASDAQ and the catchy symbol is USAU. 

Robert Spencer wants to know how much longer are we going to let our freedom of speech dissipate?

Unfortunately, the progressive campaign to limit what you can read, say, and think about radical Islam has only just begun. New York Times bestselling author and director of Jihad Watch Robert Spencer is putting an end to the silencing.

His eye-opening new book, The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies), exposes the dangerous and disturbingly successful campaign that aggressive Muslims and their appeasers have mounted against free speech in America, and gives you the information and tools you need to fight back.