Chapter 17 -  What You Need To Know About Real Estate & Terrorism Risk

Chapter 18 -  Solutions To New Regulatory Burdens and Risks
Case Study # 10 Inadequate Due Diligence
Case Study # 11  Be Careful When Banking Offshore
Case Study # 12  The Snitch Factor

Section Five - How To Build Safe Protected Wealth

Chapter 19 - New & Enhanced Post 9/11 Wealth Planning & Protection Techniques

Chapter 20 - How To Choose an Investment Or Wealth Planning Advisor 

Chapter 21 - The Swiss Inner Circle

Chapter 22 - Other Global Consultants, Publications & Organizations 

Section Six - You’ve Protected Your Wealth Now Restore Your Liberty 
 
Chapter 23 -  Back To The Articles: Restoring the Republic With the Swiss Confederation Institute     

Chapter 24 – FreedomFest: Where Free Minds Meet  

Chapter 25- Don't Delay: Start Today To Preserve Your Wealth & Liberty  

Chapter 26 - Are You Willing To Pay the High Price For Freedom?  

Case Studies  

Resource Guide  

About the Author  

 

Real Estate Presented By Ronald Holland A Broker/Realtor with Wolf's Crossing Realty. Your mountain home & lot expert for the Wolf Laurel, Preserve & Wolf Ridge Resort areas. Toll Free: (888) 541-1738 Office: (828) 689-5058 Fax: (828) 337-9571 Email Agent  Other Realtor.com Listings Visit Website

THE SWISS Preserve SOLUTION
Ron Holland's politically incorrect guide to defending your wealth & liberty
from internal and external threats in our new 21st Century world. 
 

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Chapter 8 – Be Aware of the Foreign Policy Risk to Your Wealth & Liberties

Talking Points:  America's global military interventions and foreign policy are increasingly viewed around the world as the actions of a new empire - the Washington Empire. The past impact of previous empires on the liberty and the economy of their citizens clearly shows how the transition from a republic to empire now threatens your wealth, investment portfolios, and financial freedom.  Defend yourself and your portfolio from this new foreign policy or empire risk. Note: much of this chapter was a speech given at an investment seminar sponsored by Anglo-Irish Bank in Vienna, Austria.

"The civil wars in the 1st century B.C. put an end to the Republic...then, Caesar crossed the Rubicon and it was a new era in Rome, an era of Empire."  - Bill Bonner, Editor of The Daily Reckoning e-mail financial newsletter. 

There are the usual reasons American investors should diversify a portion of their wealth offshore.  These typical benefits include:

·         The relative out performance of international equities to US stocks.

·         Currency fluctuations on foreign stock returns expressed in US dollars, or in other words, the potential for currency gains.

·         The reduction of portfolio risk and volatility from a globally diversified portfolio.

·         Substantial asset protection benefits from a portfolio in a jurisdiction outside the United States.

      You can read about all of the benefits in many books and financial websites, so I will not repeat the global diversification benefits here.  The main topic I want to discuss is a new threat to your wealth, arising from the cause and effect actions of a new world empire, the Washington Empire.  It is not just a problem of big government, nor some secret cabal or conspiracy. My problem with empires throughout history is the threat their policies create for the wealth and liberty of their own citizens. Thus, the foreign policy/empire risk today is creating a new reason for global diversification with benefits far exceeding the traditional ones listed above.

America's Fall from Republic to Empire

       In America today, both our politicians and the legal system have become the major plunderers of our wealth.  A study of history clearly shows that government theft is nothing new.  The problem facing productive, wealthy Americans is that we no longer have a constitutional republic form of government with limited federal powers in which state governments and individuals are sovereign. This lack of political checks and balances in Washington is why the federal government is out of control.

       The United States has evolved from an isolationist republic with a balanced foreign policy and a government with limited powers at home, into a world empire with troops and dominion over a large portion of the world like the former British Empire.  Even though we may have good intentions (like the earlier British Empire), the negative effects on personal liberty and wealth will, in the long run, be identical to all earlier empires. The structure of empires makes stealing wealth and power for government almost inherent.  They are also characterized by producing profits for favored industries and the business establishment, while the consequences for the individual citizen is often negative both in prosperity, tax rates, and on investment markets and retained liberties.

Let's consider for a moment the Washington foreign policy threat to your liberty, wealth and investment portfolio. Although there is some debate as to whether we are an empire or not, many non-Americans around the world certainly consider us an empire. History has shown that empires have additional risks and this is further increased by the terrorist threat facing our nation.                        -- Cover detail from American Empire, by Andrew Bacevich

       Contrary to foreign and leftist propaganda, the United States certainly is not a purely evil empire but, with military bases and troops in over 100 countries around the globe, America often appears heavy handed at best to most Europeans and Middle Eastern peoples.  More importantly, 9/11 has shown how we are in a world terrorist environment where those who hate us have the opportunity to take out their frustrations on our foreign and diplomatic policies with relative ease, and we have little real defense against these actions.

We have come a long way from the time of George Washington, when he said, "The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations we have with them as little political connections as possible. It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world." 

       Can the United States today still follow the advice of George Washington? Apparently we can not, although for decades, countries like Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, and Sweden have followed this wise counsel to the benefit of their economies and financial markets.

       History shows that empires have political and military risks. Former empires like Germany, France, Russia, and even the United Kingdom have paid the price and discovered the real cost of global empires and constant warfare. Today the American Empire is at extreme risk because, although we are the major economic and military power on the earth, our Achilles heel is the extreme risk of our financial infrastructure and investment markets to future terrorist attack.

       The history of world empires, including their rise, their overreach, and their subsequent falls is one of the best indicators that major diversification outside U.S. investment markets and the dollar is necessary.  Histories of previous empires also explain why it is especially appropriate for American investors to build a wealth preservation plan and investment portfolio specifically designed to reduce this foreign policy or empire risk. 

"Just look at history. You know, I teach college classes here in New York. My students sometimes ask me what they should study if they want to be successful. I tell them to read history and philosophy. They say, 'shouldn't we be studying accounting or business...?' I say, 'No, you've got to study history because that is all we have...a record of all we've learned or should have learned.'"            --Jimmy Rogers His URL is http://www.jimrogers.com

Empires Are Subject To Risks Other Nations Are Not

       The problem since 9/11 is that the weakness of our financial structure has been exposed. Whether it is Bin Laden, or another foreign or domestic terrorist entity, America really has little or no defense against another terrorist attack by extremists on a target like New York City and our financial system.

       I believe this is the real unstated reason why the new Bush doctrine of "Preemptive Military Action" has been instituted. Since the American military can not hope to successfully defend against the many terrorist attacks or threats to our still relatively open society, our new policy is to take preemptive military action against all potential nations and terrorist organizations that might threaten us with weapons of mass destruction. 

       Only time will tell if this new preemptive strategy will successfully defend our nation or whether it will only create more terrorist recruits and lead to more attacks against the United States. Still, if you closely follow our foreign policy regarding Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and other nations since 9/11, you can only come to one conclusion. Our leaders have made this dramatic shift in foreign policy because they fear a future attack with a weapon of mass destruction on our nation.

       The old Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) military philosophy worked well against the Soviet Union because they had everything to lose in an exchange of weapons of mass destruction. This policy also works well against China because they are taking the long view of what they want in Asia, and thus they have too much to lose in a military exchange with the United States. 

       But against Islamic extremists who hate their own governments allied with Washington almost as much as Israel and the U.S., a major attack and an American response is the best of both worlds for them. If there is a WMD attack against Wall Street, it matters not to our enemies if we move against Iran, Syria, or any other existing Arab government because war would likely bring down existing moderate Arab governments in Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. This is the ultimate goal of the Islamic fundamentalists.  This is why Wall Street and your wealth are the real future terrorist targets—because our economic system runs so counter to the beliefs and views of the Islamic fundamentalists.  What other reason explains why Islamic terrorists have targeted New York City and the World Trade Center twice in the last ten years?

       This is a major concern and risk you should factor into your decision as to whether to go offshore with your investments. Unlike conventional investment diversification reasons for asset protection - more investment opportunity and risk reduction - the terrorist threat could lead to a total financial catastrophe to every U.S. stock market portfolio if it occurs. This is, of course your decision, but I am factoring the potential terrorist threat into my personal investment planning, as well as for my clients.

"The government should plan how it could restrict civil liberties and enforce a sort of martial law in the aftermath of a nuclear attack" - Fred Ikle, a former Defense Department official in the Reagan administration who authored a book last year urging attack preparation, "Annihilation from Within,"