Perhaps nobody shaped the modern world more than John Maynard Keynes.
Those who have studied economics are surely familiar with his name. But I’d wager most of the population isn’t… which is ironic given that his theories have directly impacted all of us.
John Maynard Keynes was the preeminent British economist of his generation. He lived from 1883 to 1946.
It was his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money that made Keynes so influential. But only because government and Academia loved his general premise.
Keynes effectively flipped economics on its head. And he single-handedly undermined the great stride of progress that had flowed from the classical economists of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Central to Keynes’ theory was an idea so preposterous, even my 9-year old could quickly debunk it. He asserted that the government should issue debt and spend more money whenever things were slow in the economy. This is where the modern idea of “stimulus” comes from.
This is what made Keynes so popular with government officials. He gave them a green light to run up debt and launch all kinds of uneconomical spending programs.
To be fair, Keynes did say that government should reduce its spending when the economy was humming. He didn’t advocate the perpetual public debt binge that’s occurred over the last few decades.
But policy-makers conveniently ignored that part of Keynes’ theory. And it’s easy to see why. With intellectual cover to issue debt and later print money, governments became massive monoliths that now command multi-trillion dollar budgets.
This is what created the Age of Paper Wealth. It lasted from 1982 to 2022.
During this time, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) consistently cut interest rates and flooded the financial system with cheap money. This kept borrowing costs abnormally low and sent the stock market soaring for forty years. Because… “stimulus”.
But low rates and cheap money fueled a debt binge of epic proportions.
As I write, the US government is now $34 trillion in debt. And the American private sector has run up its debt burden to nearly $20 trillion.
At the same time, the policy of creating trillions of dollars from nothing year after year has triggered serious consumer price inflation for the first time in decades.
We see this in the form of skyrocketing prices for houses, cars, groceries, and other necessities.
But these items aren’t getting more expensive because they cost more to produce. They are getting more expensive because inflation erodes the value of our dollar.
That is Keynes’ legacy. His ideas almost single-handedly gutted America’s once vibrant middle class.
Fortunately, the Age of Paper Wealth died in 2022… and Keynesianism died with it. The normalization of interest rates that we discussed yesterday guarantee it.
But here’s the key…
It’s Keynesian policy that financialized everything and pushed the stock market higher and higher for forty years – taking everyone’s 401(k) and IRA up with it. But now those retirement accounts are left to fend for themselves.
That’s where our investment membership comes into play.
As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve spent the last several years building out an investment program geared for the financial world we are entering… not the one we are leaving.
From 1982 to 2022, interest rates only went down and stocks only went up. The pillars of traditional retirement planning were based upon this dynamic – with the assumption that it would never change.
But it just changed.
With our program, we account for this with a comprehensive approach. In fact, we don’t advocate “retirement planning” at all.
Instead, we help everyone first achieve “financial security”. And once there, we then help members achieve “financial independence”.
Financial security is about creating a bulletproof asset portfolio. And financial independence is about creating extra income streams. Once your extra income surpasses your expenses, you’re financially independent.
We have a step-by-step approach for both. And we provide personalized support and access to a larger professional network every step of the way.
And we do something that everybody else shies away from. We focus on efficient tax-planning. Think about it this way…
If you have an IRA or 401(k), you’re going to work much harder and longer than you should… and end up with a lot less money for your effort. Why?
Taxes and simple math.
Say you retire with a cool $1 million in your retirement account.
You don’t really have $1 million. Because you’ll be taxed at the ordinary income tax rate every time you pull your money out.
Even worse, you’re drawing down your savings… depleting all that capital you worked so hard for.
This is the WORST possible way to plan and live out your retirement.
Now, what if told you there is a way to grow your savings and live off it?
A $1 million nest egg can throw off $70,000 to $80,000 a year after taxes – without the need to sell any assets or draw-down your savings. In fact, you could use this income to build up your savings and increase your legacy.
That’s this vision underlying our investment membership.
And we’re putting plans into practice right now. Our members are bulletproofing their money and growing their income consistently.
So if you’re ready to do money and finance the right way – the way that will work going forward – give the membership a look right here.
But please don’t delay. Our doors are only open until Sunday at midnight. And due to inflation, this will be the lowest price we’ll ever be able to offer.
-Joe Withrow