We like to think of the solutions we provide here at Sovereign Man as seatbelts—common sense tools you might never need it, but could save your life in a real emergency.

If you live, work, bank, own property, invest, structure a business, store gold, etc. all in the same country of your citizenship, you’re at mercy of the political climate of one single jurisdiction. 

This is a lot of faith to place in one country… especially if that country is on a downward slide of debt, money printing, and erosion of freedom.

The idea of international diversification is to spread different aspects of your life across different jurisdictions so that no single country has total control over you. 

Only then can you be truly free and independent……read more HERE

Check out the new law that Obama quietly signed over the weekend

It’s time to get serious.

One of the major themes of this daily e-letter is that major western governments are flat broke.

This is not the first time that a major world power has gone bankrupt, and we need only to look to history to see the consequences.

Thousands of years ago, as Rome’s bleak financial condition deteriorated, it didn’t create a crisis all at once.

Initially the Empire was able to limp along by debasing the currency and diluting the value of people’s money.

But eventually that was no longer enough, so the government’s tactics became worse.

They started imposing more severe taxes, imposing austere wage and price controls, and eventually began confiscating people’s assets altogether.

Rome’s government did whatever it took to remain in power and maintain the status quo for a little while longer, no matter what.

We’ve seen this over and over throughout history, enough times to recognize that when superpowers go broke, it is not a consequence-free environment.

It’s happening again today.

Some modern examples are comical, such as the United Kingdom’s new tax ‘task force’ to crack down on strippers and prostitutes who are suspected of not paying enough tax.

I’m sure there’s probably a lengthy queue of bureaucrats hoping to get assigned to the case.

A few weeks ago, the Greek government started demanding its taxpayers report their holdings gold, jewelry, and even cash stashed under their mattresses. Unreal.

But the biggest example is, go figure, in the Land of the Free.

Over the weekend when the media was terrifying Americans with stories of violent Muslims, the President of the United States quietly signed H.R. 22 into law.

I told you about this bill a few weeks ago. 

Buried deep within its 400+ pages is a provision giving the government the authority to revoke your passport if they believe in their sole discretion that you have “seriously delinquent tax debt.”

When I first told you about this bill back in late November, it had not yet become law. So there was still some small chance that freedom (and sanity) would prevail.

Well, freedom and sanity did not prevail.

So this provision is now officially law and will be formally codified in section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code.

There’s no judge. No trial. It’s a simple administrative procedure. Like that… poof… you can be stripped of your passport.

But if you think that’s vile, here’s the craziest part:

They actually included a nifty little ‘get out of jail free clause’ for the government officials who are involved in the process.

Section 7345(e)(3) states that:

“The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, and any of their designees shall not be liable to an individual for any action with respect to a certification by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue under section 7345. . .”

In other words, if they screw up and revoke your passport due to some bureaucrat flunky’s Excel mistake, you’re not allowed to take action and hold them responsible.

I find this incredible.

A bankrupt government has just awarded itself even more power to destroy people’s freedom in the name of plundering wealth from the citizens.

They made it happen quietly over a weekend when everyone was distracted with a violent shooting.

And they made sure to include specific language to keep themselves from being held accountable for their mistakes.

If you still think the government is there to protect and support you, it’s time to take a hard look at reality.

And the past, for that matter.

In the third century AD, Emperor Caracalla of the bankrupt Roman Empire infamously pointed to his sword and remarked “as long as we have this, we shall not run short of money.”

That’s precisely where we are today.

These people are flat broke. And you are nothing but a dairy cow to them, locked in a pasture to be milked dry as they slide further into bankruptcy.

This is not some wild conspiracy theory. This is their own law, one that they passed when you weren’t looking.

Their own numbers show that they’re bankrupt, and that the trust funds they’re managing on your behalf for programs like Social Security and Medicare are either underfunded or out of cash.

Simply put, they need the money. Your money. And this is not a zero risk, consequence free environment.

It’s time for any rational person to have a Plan B.

After all, you won’t be worse off for taking sensible steps that ensure you don’t have all of your eggs in one very fragile basket.

But if these consequences continue to play out as they have so many times throughout history, a good Plan B means that you’ll be a spectator instead of a victim.

Until tomorrow, 

Simon Black

Founder, SovereignMan.com

The metals markets rallied strongly on Friday – action which came as a surprise to many. The gains snapped a 6-week losing streak for gold, silver, and platinum. Prices rose despite a stronger-than-expected November jobs report raising the odds the Fed will hike interest rates later this month.

Perhaps silver and gold futures finally caught a safe-haven bid on news of the terrorism-linked shooting in Southern California.

Or perhaps it was a relief rally based on metals being heavily oversold and investors realizing that a quarter percent Fed rate hike may already be “priced-in.” Especially given that Janet Yellen stood out front last week and downplayed the significance of raising rates. She wants investors to expect lower average rates than we’ve seen historically and to know a decision to hike in December does NOT necessarily mean more rate hikes will follow.

Or maybe, at last, the gold shorts are getting nervous about the extraordinary leverage in the futures markets. Coverage continues to decline. Recent reports show 325 paper ounces in open interest for each ounce of registered physical stock. This is certainly cause for alarm as we head into the December delivery window for the COMEX.

Bullion Banks Positioned for Higher Prices

We recently covered the extraordinary leverage in the COMEX, particularly in gold futures. The coverage ratio was 293 paper ounces in open interest for each single ounce of registered physical metal in COMEX vaults. Over the past couple of weeks, that leverage has grown further to around 325 to 1 – more than triple the already extreme levels of just a few months ago. It is certainly a trend to watch carefully in the coming weeks and months.

However, skyrocketing leverage in the COMEX isn’t the only extreme for metals investors to pay attention to. The positioning – long versus short – of swap dealers (who are largely represented by the bullion banks) relative to managed money (largely comprised of hedge funds and other speculators) is also in uncharted territory. And it may be good news for the bulls.

 Managed money has been building toward a net short position in recent weeks, providing much of the push for lower spot prices. In the most recent CFTC Commitment of Traders report, dated Dec. 1st, this crowd was positioned a record 55.1% short. Six weeks ago, this number was only 17.3%. Meanwhile the bullion banks (swap dealers) have been going long – a record 64.2% long to be exact.

What does this mean? Well, if history is a guide, it means the bullion banks are about to take the speculative shorts out to the woodshed.

Data shows that when managed money and the swap dealers build extreme positions in opposing directions, a change in price trend is likely coming. And the swap dealers – banks – rarely, if ever, lose.

The bullion banks have an exceptional track record when it comes to trading metals. Many consider their success to be the result of outright manipulation and control of the markets, rather than clever trading. This notion is supported by a slew of recent settlements and guilty pleas for rigging markets. The bullion banks are no ally to bullion investors, but precious metals bulls can take heart in the fact that banks are lined up on their side, for the moment.

There is no certainty prices are set to move higher from here, of course. The metals markets have been even more unpredictable than usual in recent months and the data in the Commitment of Traders report is a few days old before it is even published. But there is plenty for metals investors to keep an eye on in December and some good reasons to believe prices will rise.

Clint Siegner is a Director at Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 “Dealer of the Year” in the United States by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, Siegner puts his experience in business management along with his passion for personal liberty, limited government, and honest money into the development of Money Metals’ brand and reach. This includes writing extensively on the bullion markets and their intersection with policy and world affairs.

 

I know I’m stretching North American history when I speak of the redcoats but the incoming Liberal government of PM Justin Trudeau is creating a regime of “taxation without representation” for a certain class of Canadians.

When I was in politics, I saw how easy it was to wind up a crowd and blame others for the audience’s woes. It’s become politically easy to use the majority to take away from the minority simply by asking them to give a little more for the greater good.

It reminds me of the story of how 10 drinking buddies ended up twisted by entitlement – “The tax system explained using a beer analogy”

The analogy would be funny but something has changed in Canada over the past year. Canadians seem to think it’s ok to go after the rich, that 1% of the population. Perhaps the rich 1% should pay more, but it’s the definition of who makes up the rich 1% that I have a problem with. Is it because Canadians are tired of austerity? Of living within their means? Judging by the provincial governments and the new federal one, you’d have to say “Yes”.

So what does Trudeau represent? He represents the rise of mediocrity, the public service and unions, political correctness and let no man (woman) get ahead of the pack. Ironically, all in an effort to give more to the wealthiest middle class in the world!

Take a look at his tax plan. He will roll back the TFSA investment and maybe even freeze it in the name of fairness. He will dramatically increase deficits over the coming years. Business and entrepreneurs will be taxed to pay for yesterday’s sins and tomorrow’s government pensions. He will increase personal tax of the 1% from 29% to 33%. What is disturbing that the 1% is classified as anyone who makes over $222,000 which is 264,000 tax filers.

If you live in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver – is $222,000 per year the guy we need to target? Is that the new enemy of the middle class? I could bore you with numbers but there are people smarter than me that can explain that taxing 264,000 Canadians more will not benefit the middle class nor pay down the huge deficit spending about to begin.

I know rich bashing is a time honored tradition for “progressives” but I thought the rich were the people that make millions and have billions? The people with a team of tax lawyers to hide their money from stupid policies – after all, they didn’t get rich being stupid.

My concern is the guy who makes $250,000. You may feel, like my mother-in-law, that everyone should pay their fair share. What is fair share?

There are bureaucrats making over $100,000 year and police officers and teachers making close to $100,000. The difference is they have pensions while the $250,000 business person probably does not. The bureaucrats with their $60,000 pension per annum don’t realize that they are millionaires because the guy making $250,000 needs to have $1,200,000 to $1,800,000 saved to generate that kind of retirement.

Let’s say after taxes at the new 48% tax rate, they have $11,000 a month. If that small business owner is 50 years old and spent 10 years building his business, paying off loans, putting their homes up for collateral, they have the next 15 years to put away $100,000 a year to retire like a bureaucrat. With record low interest rates, that leaves less than $30,000 a year to live on (wait doesn’t that put them in the low income status and thus deserving of a tax break?). They also have to worry about stock volatility, poor investments and confidence men posing as financial advisers trying to steal their money.

If you live in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver – is $222,000 per year the guy we need to target? Is that the new enemy of the middle class? I could bore you with numbers but there are people smarter than me that can explain that taxing 264,000 Canadians more will not benefit the middle class nor pay down the huge deficit spending about to begin.

I know rich bashing is a time honored tradition for “progressives” but I thought the rich were the people that make millions and have billions? The people with a team of tax lawyers to hide their money from stupid policies – after all, they didn’t get rich being stupid.

My concern is the guy who makes $250,000. You may feel, like my mother-in-law, that everyone should pay their fair share. What is fair share?

There are bureaucrats making over $100,000 year and police officers and teachers making close to $100,000. The difference is they have pensions while the $250,000 business person probably does not. The bureaucrats with their $60,000 pension per annum don’t realize that they are millionaires because the guy making $250,000 needs to have $1,200,000 to $1,800,000 saved to generate that kind of retirement.

Let’s say after taxes at the new 48% tax rate, they have $11,000 a month. If that small business owner is 50 years old and spent 10 years building his business, paying off loans, putting their homes up for collateral, they have the next 15 years to put away $100,000 a year to retire like a bureaucrat. With record low interest rates, that leaves less than $30,000 a year to live on (wait doesn’t that put them in the low income status and thus deserving of a tax break?). They also have to worry about stock volatility, poor investments and confidence men posing as financial advisers trying to steal their money.

If there is a need to pick on the rich 1%, perhaps we should look at those government millionaire pensioners by getting rid of pensions and leveling the playing field. After all, we’re just asking everyone to give a little more for the greater good.

Craig Burrows is the president of Triview Capital, a private equity and alternative investment dealer based in Calgary

Last week we had Draghi surprising the market.  Everyone was expecting QE to be increased by the ECB.  Instead, all Draghi did was extend the present QE for at least another year and probably indefinitely.  Of course interest rates then went from negative 02 percent to negative 0.3 percent.  And they still cannot create any inflation in Europe…continue reading HERE