Inflation Is Breaking the World
Last March, we asked a simple question after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had increased 7.9% from the previous 12 months. The…
About that Missing $94.7 Trillion…
Back in 2019, we poked fun at the Department of Defense (DOD) for as we put it, “losing $21 trillion.” That sum represented what the Pentagon’s inspector general called “unsupported…
Secret Laws Are a Threat to Everyone
“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about.” According to this line of reasoning, if you’ve done nothing wrong, you shouldn’t object to the government’s unfettered…
You’re Only as Strong as the Community You Live With
Last week’s Notes touched on the importance of building networks of people you trust that can help you and that you can help in a crisis. After reading it, Brandon,…
“I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy, and Life Has Never Been Better”
When we first saw this headline in 2016, we were skeptical. Indeed, we believed it might be a parody written to make fun of neo-Luddites pining for a pre-industrial future.…
Making Sense of the Everything Meltdown
Last week, on a day the Dow Jones index fell more than 700 points, I ran into an old friend at a monthly dinner meeting I regularly attend. “I’m screwed,”…
Searching on Google Might Kill You
No, that’s not an exaggeration. The fact is, if you’re desperate and particularly if you’re unsophisticated, the algorithms and incentives Google uses to optimize search results or commands can…
The Weaponization of Citizenship … and How It Affects You
Last month, we wrote about the “weaponization” of the US dollar – Uncle Sam’s unofficial policy of holding the greenback as a hammer over the heads of its adversaries. But…
Uncle Sam Says It Can Confiscate … Everything
Last week, we welcomed the news that the Brennan Center for Justice had published a batch of formerly secret government documents dating back to the 1950s. The files relate to…
Who’s to Blame for Baby Formula Shortages?
We would not have guessed that in 2022, parents of the youngest Americans would need to cope with a predictable and completely unnecessary shortage – baby formula shortage. Shortages began…
It’s Time to Stock Up on Light Bulbs
We’ve called it the “curse of good intentions”: when governments require their citizens to behave in certain ways, refrain from certain activities, or consume certain items and not others in…
The End of Dollar Dominance
It might seem deceptive to publish a headline suggesting that the US dollar, the world’s “reserve currency” for the last 78 years, might be nearing the end of its dominant…
Are You Ready to Become an “Economic Benedict Arnold”?
Every quarter, Uncle Sam publishes what’s come to be known in the offshore business as the “name and shame” list. This list, published in the Federal Register, consists of the…
Give Peace a Chance
“All we are saying, is give peace a chance.”--John Lennon A few weeks ago, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was beginning, I reminisced about growing up in the 1960s and…
Why Inflation Is Worse Today than the 1980s…and Possibly Ever
Last week, to almost no one’s surprise, the Labor Department announced yet another month of inflation worse than at any time since the 1980s. The March Consumer Price Index (CPI)…
This Is Why Internet Privacy Is Gone…
Over the years, we haven’t shied away from highlighting the threat to our privacy that our hyper-connected world poses. Whether it’s Big Brother spying on your smartphone, Google treating your…
What to Do When Your Country is “Cancelled”
It’s Wednesday evening, and I’m sitting on the porch of my cottage overlooking the Atlantic coast of Nevis. I’m here with my business partner Trey Wyatt to deal with matters…
Uncle Sam Invites You to Rat on Your Friends and Family for Cash
Want to earn some extra cash? It's easy…just participate in one of the many "paid informant" programs run by various US government agencies. Think your neighbor…or that brother-in-law you don't…
IRS Rolls Out Artificial Intelligence Tools for Enhanced Audits
A few months ago, I received an invitation to attend a lecture with the mind-numbing title, “The Transformation of Tax & Customs Law into the Digital World of Processes, Automation…
Could Inflation Break America?
In the early 1990s, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan reportedly said something to the effect that when inflation rises, “you’ll switch to something cheaper—more hamburger will show up in…
Are You Ready for Nuclear War?
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the world when he invaded Ukraine. While the situation remains very fluid, there are some important lessons to be learned from Putin’s…
We lost a man in Ukraine…
You may know that we have three offices - Canada, the West Indies and our HQ in Phoenix. But you may not know that our team is also spread out…
Canada Reveals the “End Game” for Money
Canada Reveals the “End Game” for Money For most of human history, “money” was a physical commodity. Ancient peoples traded gold, silver, beads – even giant stone disks. When money…
Gold Comes Roaring Back (at Bitcoin’s Expense)
Gold Comes Roaring Back (at Bitcoin’s Expense) Just 15 months ago, pundits were predicting that bitcoin had matured into its own separate asset class from stocks, bonds, and other traditional…
The Looming Social Security and Medicare Crisis (and What to Do About It)
Many years ago, when I was a freshman in college, I took an entry-level course in psychology. One of the concepts we learned about was a phenomenon called “cognitive dissonance.”…
Why Uncle Sam Wants to Dismantle the “Gig Economy”
More than 60 million Americans work in it – over 40% of the American workforce. But Congress and the IRS consider it an existential threat. California and a handful of…
Greetings from Panama!
We’ve long maintained that a second residency is one of the easiest ways to internationalize yourself and a key Plan B strategy if conditions deteriorate in the country where you…
Are Puerto Rico’s Tax Benefits “Worth It”?
One of the American tax system’s many oddities is the way the country deals with US territories: Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Because…
The Rise of the Digital Nomad Visa
COVID-19 gave US citizens who travel internationally a wake-up call. Within a few months of the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the number of countries US citizens could…
The War on Whistleblowers: A Lesson in Policymaking
In May 2019, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging 18 counts of violating a World War I-era law intended to punish spies called the Espionage Act. The defendant wasn’t a…