A scarier prospect that he might default on government bonds intentionally because he and his cronies have taken huge leveraged positions which will make billions or trillions by defaulting on the debt.
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Wake up. You and he have different goals. What he is doing would be stupid if he were looking for a strong nation. His only goal is how to benefit himself. This is not political. It is trying to get you to realize that things are not as they were. While they are still in transition, much has been put in place towards achieving their goal. I hope the populace wakes up in 2026 to vote back in checks and balances, assuming we are still allowed that privileged. Until that happens, I am looking at how to mitigate the impact on our assets. I suggest you think hard about all the impacts on our country from his election. I am trying to keep this as nebulous as possible to try to keep it from being political, but waiting to plan just about guarantees failure. The trend is towards a very different future, and I donât know how much time is left to stop him. Wake up Handmaid.
IP
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TIG does not have a clue what securities Social Security holds. He will be SHOCKED AND AWED when he finds out they are NOT âordinaryâ Treasury issues. That was the purpose of issuing those unique securities to the SSTF. They are not available to anyone else due to their nature.
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Also assuming congress bothers to start working and asserting itself again.
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I think ip nailed this one. Our president is a narcissist. The whole country is the worldâs biggest casino given to him for the purpose of accumulating wealth and power.
Everybody everywhere in the world that canât or wonât help him is a pawn to be sacrificed for the greater good of empowering him.
The leader of the free world is a classic narcissist. There is no way to understand his actions until you accept that reality.
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I no longer think of my fdic insured account or my money markets as safe havens. Nor my brokerage accounts. Our home and cars are paid for, so they are safe for now with the emphasis on âfor now.â My oldest daughterâs husband is an er doc which is the type of employment that has value in all but the most dystopian societies and I am the bank for my youngest daughter so I know she wonât face foreclosure if she and/or her husband have their jobs yanked out from under them.
But I still feel like a trapped rat because I cannot leave my family behind.
My 75 year old brother did flee to Canada in 2016 and now has dual citizenship. I know that the long arm of the government still reaches him because some of his income is taxed in both countries. Apparently there also are reporting requirements for any income I earn in a Canadian bank so I am not sure what good a Canadian account would do.
Remember the song, âdespite all my rage Iâm still just a rat in a cage?â
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Possibly ability to access if accounts here get frozen or the dollar tanked and replaced with Trump Crypto. Our assets are overly concentrated in a country with a government I no longer trust. As a nation we have done some shocking things and I feel times are ripe for more of the unthinkable to happen. I desperately hope I am wrong, and while I have no plans to surrender citizenship at this time, I am educating myself for that possibility and liquidating real estate to make things more portable. Itâs taken about 6 months to get DH to see the possibility of what I fear, though I am certain that at this time he pretty much views what we are planning as an extensive world travel. He does not do change well and what I have proposed is a crazy amount of change, during crazy times.
Double taxation is the least of my worries, and I am not looking to become a tax cheat. How did he get Canadian citizenship?
Have talked to both boys, who are still single, no kids. They are open to moving elsewhere. Their work skills will be very much in demand wherever we consider, and may be a good way to get into countries that are not big on retirees. I hate having to think about all these things but inaction is no longer an option.
IP
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I donât know enough yet to manage my risks. Money in a Canadian account might be less at risk of being frozen than a U.S. account ,but the interest income would be small, would vary with the rise and fall of the loony as compared to the dollar, and taxable by one or both countries. Maybe cash in a fireproof hiding place would make more sense. Or some of both.
Meanwhile, I now operate under the assumption that this is the leader of the free world: Psychiatry.org - What Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?
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Yasss! Bullet With Butterfly Wings! Love the song, hate the feeling.
Iâm more in the mood for a Rage Against the Machine song.
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Wish I could provide solutions but still in the learning process myself and welcome all input. However, IMO the first step is to even recognize the potential risks and then take steps to mitigate them. Does that mean possibly leaving some income, net tax $ on the table? Sure. Does leaving some income on the table mean less risk of financial failure should things hit the fan here? Possibly. I basically look at the loss of income from double taxation, extra fees, higher inflation and currency fluctuations as an insurance premium. While we could go back to work if need be, and DHâs industry is constantly trying to lure him back in, I would like to avoid that. If we lose access to our nest egg we will have a tough time recovering.
Itâs time to diversify, and I am not talking US bonds or even any US investment.
IP
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$VXUS? All stocks outside US.
I am enjoying the conversation even if I donât learn anything new. if $25k is less than 1% of your net worth, and if a taxable money market fund earns a 4.5% return minus taxes ($1,1125 minus 22% equals $875), then $875 is roughly the cost of putting $25k into a fireproof hiding place in especially scary times. That is a lot less than my money manager used to charge.
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It is easy to underestimate a narcissist whose sole purpose in life is wealth and power. The real purpose of defunding and shutting down federal agencies created and run by Congress to carry out essential services, is to seize power. We sit here and argue about relative harm to the people no longer served by the cdc, nih, etc., when the human beings served by those agencies have no worth at all to our president.
Every doj lawyer, cdc scientist or doctor, usaid worker, everywhere is being removed by pretext and replaced by subservient servants.
You need to accept that reality if you continue to invest in U.S. institutions.
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âIâm more in the mood for a Rage Against the Machineâ
This one sums it up for me:
Rage Against The Machine - Killing In the Name (Official HD Video)
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But Vanguard is in the US.
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You are assuming those dollars will be worth anything if they remain as dollars.
Interesting and hopefully hypothetical discussion. I have long been thinking along these same lines, but more in the context of what would happen if the electronic financial system went down and bank records erased. This seems at least an equally likely disaster scenario.
I am starting to keep a more detailed paper record of holdings and now think it is probably a good idea to keep money aside as well in smaller denominations. This wonât be enough to survive the aftermath of a nuclear war, the eruption of the Yellowstone caldera, or a rogue tyrannical government, but it might get one through the reconstruction period of an electronic bank meltdown.
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No. I understand that is also a risk to be weighed against all the others