It's Time To Prepare Your Portfolio For
Obama's Next Four Years...
America faces a defining moment in its political and economic history. We've been living beyond our means for decades. We've grown an ever-accelerating amount of debt. In the last 4 years, we added more to our national debt than we did in the previous 17 years.
We're putting ourselves further in the hole at a rate of over $1 trillion per year.
As of the election, our national debt is now 5 times the tax revenue Washington collected in 2011 – and that goes up to 7 times if you include what the government owes itself.
Just imagine what would happen if you lived beyond your means for decades. If you built up a personal debt that was 5 times your income and showed no clear plan to rein in spending, much less reduce your debt.
How long would it take before your creditors said "No" to your next loan?
It can happen to countries, too. In fact, it has – over 200 times in the last two centuries. A country borrows too much or shows signs it won't be able to repay its debt, and its creditors say "No" to the next loan. Famed Harvard economists Reinhart and Rogoff call this the "Bang Moment."
From here, economies or entire governments can fall apart.
I'm sure you've seen the reports of rioting in Greece and Spain. If America hits its Bang Moment – which may come sooner than you think, if we continue with our reckless spending – we could be next.
Now that America has re-elected Barack Obama – and kept a split Congress – we could be in trouble. After all, this is the same cast of characters who failed to address these critical issues during the last few years. THEY stuck us with the Fiscal Cliff. AND they've been unable to revive our economy since the last crisis.
Can they reach a compromise on the Fiscal Cliff? What will it look like? And even then – will Washington be able to address our debt and deficit in a way that gives our creditors confidence and prevents our own Bang Moment?
Most important: How can we prepare ourselves and our portfolios for what comes next in the post-election economy?
I'm Ed D'Agostino, publisher of Mauldin Economics. And that question – what to do now with your money to stay ahead of Washington's actions in the coming months and years – is the single most common (and urgent) question I'm getting right now from our more than one million weekly readers around the world.
And with it, all the questions about the big-picture issues that are certain to impact the economy and investment markets going forward:
- What happens if Washington doesn't stop us from plummeting off the fiscal cliff? Would a compromise solution be any better for the economy?
- Will Obama's second term drive our debt- and deficit-riddled economy to disaster?
- And how about QE-Infinity: what happens to interest rates and the purchasing power of our savings if the Fed keeps up its easy-money policies?
- Will our economy make it if Washington can't come together and instead tries to kick the can for another election cycle? (Here's a hint: the answer to this question is a clear NO.)
Our team at Mauldin Economics has gone to great lengths – and great expense – to help you answer these questions. My friend and associate John Mauldin – renowned financial expert, New York Times best-selling author, and editor of the most widely read investment newsletter in the world – called in personal favors to some of the world's leading economists and investing experts.
Folks like Mohamed El-Erian of PIMCO and Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture blog and FusionIQ. Richard Yamarone of Bloomberg. A. Gary Shilling. James Bianco. Barry Habib. Even a couple of Washington insiders – whose names I cannot share here – provided a "boots on the ground" view of what's really happening behind closed doors in Congress.
John brought these experts together for a candid discussion of the election results – and what comes next. Specifically, what will the next four years do to your savings and investments? What risks do we face? And what new opportunities will emerge?
To moderate, we brought in Lauren Lyster of the Capital Account program on the RT America network.
If you want to know what's coming next from Washington, and how to prepare your portfolio – you'll want to hear what they said.
The cameras were rolling. We recorded the conversation. All you have to do to get instant access to the recording of this free online video event is enter your email address on this page.
As you're aware, there are many questions to be answered. We felt – and I'm sure you will agree – that an honest, clear-eyed discussion was required. And no media, political, or corporate agendas were allowed to hold us back from answering these questions.
By bringing together some of the best, straight-talking economic and investing minds in his Rolodex – in particular, those who have a keen understanding of the intersection of the markets, politics, and the global economy – John thought we could have that conversation.
Our guests didn't hesitate to tackle the tough issues, just like John did in late 2006 when he went head-to-head against mainstream "wisdom" and told readers to prepare their portfolios for hundreds of billions of dollars of losses in the subprime market... and so many other times over the last few decades.
In the recording, you'll hear John and his guests address:
- The Fiscal Cliff. Are you ready for big tax increases in the face of a slowing economy? If Obama and Congress can't find a middle ground, we'll see across-the-board payroll tax increases, the expiration of business tax breaks, and bigger bites out of your income... higher taxes on your investment income and gains... plus the first wave of tax increases from Obamacare – and deep cuts to the defense budget, Medicare, and over 1,000 other programs. 88% of households will pay higher taxes. The average family, $3,500 more. High-income earners can expect to pay an additional $14,100 to $121,000, or more. What impact will all of this have on the economy, if it's allowed to move forward as scheduled?
- Ongoing employment troubles. The percentage of eligible workers in the US who actually have jobs has been dropping for 12 years, is now below 1980 levels, and keeps falling. Despite improvements you might hear about on the news, the average American family is still feeling down and out. Can this trend reverse if Washington keeps taxing businesses and piling on heavy-handed rules and regulations? Or will they have to reverse course to save America's jobs? We addressed this on the event, too...
- Ballooning deficits and debt. US budget deficits exploded in the financial crisis and haven't gone down. Debt is accelerating up along an exponential curve – at over $16 trillion now and gaining over $1 trillion per year. We're about to knock our heads on the debt ceiling all over again. Suppressed interest rates have kept this debt load manageable, but what happens when lenders won't lend at these low rates? Will Washington get spending under control? And what happens if they don't? John's book Endgame covered this in great detail – and he and his guests weighed in with their post-election outlook...
- Entitlements. Obamacare will go into effect over the next few years, but what does that mean? Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security expenses are going through the roof as Boomers move into retirement. There are too many other entitlements to count weighing on the budget – and they are only expected to get heavier. Can we afford to hold Washington accountable for their many promises? You'll want to hear this if you – or your family – are expecting to use any of these programs in the future...
- Easy-money policies and QE-Infinity. Ever since the crisis, the Fed has run on-again, off-again easy-money policies, trying to stimulate the economy. Yet the healthy economy they seek still eludes us. Now they've promised to keep the spigot running for as long as it takes – to the tune of $80 billion every month. Are we in for another four years of Quantitative Easing? Will it even help? And what if it doesn't? What dangers does it pose? You'll be surprised at what John and his guests had to say about this.
- The world economy. As we saw in 2008, the world economies are more connected and interwoven than ever. Will the ongoing troubles of Europe and Asia shake the US economy and investment markets? If Washington can't address the problems faced in the US economy, will that send the world into a tailspin? Is the global debt crisis imminent? Without giving too much away, you ought to be prepared for both the risks and opportunities this presents...
Washington – and just about every other major government in the world – has done nothing but kick the can down the road for the last few years. We can't afford to kick the can for another four years.
We must achieve the big changes required – or they may be thrust upon us.
Of course, you won't just hear about the problems. You'll get solutions, too. In particular, solutions to help protect what's yours from new risks in the post-election economy. You'll also discover what profit opportunities the world's leading investment experts see in the coming years.
Frankly, there's a lot of uncertainty out there. There's the real possibility things could get much worse before they get better – even if Obama and Congress can finally work together to take real steps to address the problems we face. While we'd rather not sound so pessimistic, we felt a realistic, clear-eyed analysis of the situation is required... for ourselves, and for you.
We'd rather that things were different, yet we must bring ourselves to handle the truth.
So that's what you'll get when you register now and get instant access to the recording of The Post-Election Economy free online video event:
- A realistic assessment of the challenges we face
- How the outcome of the election defines our path for the next few years
- And what you can do now to make sure you come out better on the other side
I encourage you to register now to view the video. All you have to do is enter your email address on this page. We'll send you a confirmation of your registration by email and give you instant access, so you can begin watching right away.
On behalf of John, our special guests, and the entire team at Mauldin Economics, I want to thank you for your interest. We look forward to bringing you this critical information on the risks and opportunities of the post-election economy.
[On screen only: "Get instant access to the recording: Enter your primary email address in the box on the right."]
