Category: Economics & Investing

Hello, One of your letter writers about IRA funding of retreat property said that “you can’t distribute half a house,” therefore the distribution could be a big tax hit. You cannot use or live in an IRA owned property until you take 100% distribution and take the tax hit at tax time, it is true. However, you can take gradual partial distribution over time to make the tax hit more tolerable. I have an IRA property that is a rental and the IRA ownership is currently 100%. I will start taking small distributions when I must at 70 and 1/2 …

Economy shows signs of sputtering Marc Faber Warns “The Bubble Could Burst Any Day”; Prefers Physical Gold To Bitcoin Items from The Economatrix: The Number Of Working Age Americans Without A Job Has Risen By Almost 10 Million Under Obama. JWR’s Comment: Of course Obama would like to believe that even even the law of Gravity does not apply to him. But the truth is that there really are fewer Americans working now, than when he first took office. Low Wage Capitalism With A Dab Of Cronyism: Of Job Sectors With The Highest Growing Raw Number Of Positions 9 Out …

L.H. in Colorado sent: State Fiscal Condition: Ranking the 50 States. (Yet again, the American Redoubt region ranks favorable.) The debt levels of some states, such as Texas, are astounding, and any future defaults in times of economic depression could be devastating. From G.G.: Puerto Rico Default “Likely”, FT Reports Items from The Economatrix: Gold And Silver – There Are Reasons Greater Than Demand For Owning Them U.S. Bled To Death By China And Harvested For Its Organs-Dr. Jim Willie Why Is Goldman Sachs Warning That The Stock Market Could Decline By 10 Percent Or More?

Reader Jay B. sent: PCGS Announces New Anti-Counterfeiting Coin Holder How The Fed Prints Money (Thanks to James K. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Big Miss: December Job Gains Just 74,000 Here’s Why Gold’s Drop Isn’t Done Yet No Jobs For Americans — Paul Craig Roberts

I told you so… Is America ready for a brown nickel? Note that if there is a distinct color change, then Gresham’s Law will kick in even more quickly, driving the old cupronickel Nickels out of circulation in less than two years. I should mention that one statement in the article is incorrect: “In 1965, rising silver prices forced the Mint to switch the nickel, dime and quarter to a mostly copper composition.” The nickel DID NOT change composition starting in 1965. It has been 75% copper and 25% nickel ever since 1945. (The nickels minted with some silver were …

Reader Chris G. suggested a piece by Patrick Barron: We Will Be Told Hyperinflation is Necessary, Proper, Patriotic, and Ethical Institutional Buying: The Coming Silver Game Changer Items from The Economatrix: IMF paper warns of ‘savings tax’ and mass write-offs as West’s debt hits 200-year high Prices At US Pump Expected To Stay Flat U.S. Job Growth Falters As Cold Weather Grips Nation Baltic Dry Index Crashes 18% In Two Days

David Stockman – “2014 Is The Year Of The End Game” Yahoo News reports: More well-known U.S. retailers victims of cyber attacks – sources Items from The Economatrix: U.S. jobless claims fall to five-week low As traffic slumps and teen-oriented stores struggle, retailers suffer worst holiday season since 2009 Extending unemployment ‘killing economy’

Hello, To follow up on a recent letter “How To Use Your IRA /401k to Fund a Survival Retreat Property“, I recommend that people try Equity Trust for IRA/401k management. (I am not employed by these folks nor are any of my family or friends). Their fees approximately 10% of the fees described in the article. With their trust services so there is no need to incorporate. I purchased our retreat in 08′ with my IRA, & have subsequently made other real estate purchases as well. Since then we not only have constructed a guest house but all the underground septic, …

Over at TF Metals Report: Where is the German Gold? (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.) Craftsman tool owners take note: Sears enters ‘death-spiral,’ retailer could be gone by 2017: Brian Sozzi. (Warning to dial-up readers: Has an automatically-loading video.) B.B. sent: IMF: ‘This is Our Last Wake Up Call for Your Savings’ Items from The Economatrix: “The Biggest Redistribution Of Wealth From The Middle Class And Poor To The Rich Ever” Explained… Over at Mac’s blog: What if all this prosperity was just an illusion? What to look for in December jobs report.

War on Poverty 50 years on, victory nowhere in sight. Snyder: “There Is Intense Competition For Virtually All Kinds Of Jobs” Congresswoman Urges Welfare Name Change: “Transitional Living Fund”. [JWR’s Comment: As I see it, so long as charity is coerced and bureaucratized, the “transition” she describes is from my wallet to someone else’s wallet, without my consent. State-sponsored Robin Hoodism cannot to be found in the Constitution. It is a modern socialist construct, and little more than organized theft. Charity should be entirely voluntary and a function of church, not state.] Items from The Economatrix: Forecast 2014: Economic Trends …

Six Reasons Why the Government Is Destroying the Dollar Big COMEX Gold Withdrawals & New Record Low Dealer Inventory K.F. flagged this: $10 Billion Bitcoin Goes Live On Overstock! Items from The Economatrix: 15 Disappearing Middle-Class Jobs Dr. Paul Craig Roberts-U.S. Markets Rigged by its Own Authorities–It Blows the Mind Deep Freeze Puts $5 Billion Chill On Economy

Dear SurvivalBloggers, How do you use your IRA /401k to fund survival property or fund a startup business in the area you want to exit to? I have been running into many of my clients here in the north east, way outside the American Redoubt, that want to take greater control over their 401k or IRA’s that have accumulated over a period of time. Being a reader of this web site for a number of years, I felt that I could explain to your readers thru a simple monograph of what an individual or group of individuals could accomplish with …

Reader C.J.C. suggested this piece by Lars Seier Christensen, the founder of Saxo Bank: What is the broader relevance of Ayn Rand for society? Extreme Cold Weather Freezes US Fuel Supply Items from The Economatrix: Unemployment Benefits Clear Senate Hurdle Employment Recovery? 1,600 Workers Apply For Just 36 Jobs At An Ice Cream Plant In Maryland How Will The Economy Improve In 2014 If Almost Everyone Has Less Money To Spend?

C.J.A. spotted this news: One Week Into 2014, UK Royal Mint Runs Out Of Gold Coins North Carolina Sheriff Swaps Out 2 Vintage Tommy Guns for 88 new ARs. (Thanks to T.P. for the link.) Dr. Paul Craig Roberts-U.S. Markets Rigged by its Own Authorities–It Blows the Mind Items from The Economatrix: Doug Casey: “We’re Really Close To The Edge Of The Precipice” A The Prepper Podcast: Three Warning Signs That A Financial Crash Is Imminent Here Is The Most Frightening Prediction For 2014