The Coming Storm

Lightning strikes.

You count.

One Mississippi… two Mississippi… three…

Boom!

The thunder lands.

Every kid knows this game. We’ve all played it. Theoretically, the Mississippis tell you how far away the approaching storm is.

No idea if those Mississippis are accurate. Not that I really care. It’s just a game.

But in terms of today’s dispatch, the lighting has struck. Many times.

Now, we’re just counting down until the Boom! arrives.

Except… this isn’t a game.

Let me share with you some of these lightning strikes:

• 655 large US companies have gone bankrupt so far this year—the largest number since 2010 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The point: American businesses are flailing.
• Hardship withdrawals from 401(k) retirement accounts are at their highest level on record, according to Bank of America. The point: American consumers are flailing.
• Consumer Price Index inflation data is largely fabricated now. As of September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics relied on estimated price changes for 40% of the items the CPI tracks. Typically, that number is in the 10% range. This has been going on for the last seven months. The point: Inflation in America is a guessing game. And it’s likely worse than reported. This shouldn’t be a shock, considering the current administration’s willingness to fire people when the numbers highlight economic discrepancies from modern policies.
• More than 12% of US credit card balances are now more than 90 days overdue, the highest level of delinquency since 2011. The Point: Americans—the middle class and below, or half the country—are surviving on debt, and they’re increasingly drowning in said debt, to the point that they can’t pay what they owe.
• The global money supply has gone mental. For every $1 in economic productivity, the world (think: The West, primarily) has issued $1.21 worth of currency. This is the first time in history that the stock of dollars exceeds the value of everything that all the countries of the world build and sell. The point: Too many currency units in the world’s financial plumbing. And what happens when a pipe bursts? Flooding… or in this case, inflation, as a flood of dollars causes prices to rise.

There are so many more similar statistics. So. Many. More.

And all lead to the same destination: The global economy, led primarily by the US, is in a fragile state and red flags abound.

Global governmental debt now exceeds $111 trillion, or more than the size of the entire global economy.

America is the great offender there and, as such, represents the greatest risk to global stability. If America stumbles, the world collapses. Simple as that… well, at least until the world weans itself off the US dollar, which is happening with haste.

But probably not hastily enough.

The US owns $38 trillion worth of the $111 trillion in global debt, or nearly 35% of all the money that governments around the world owe. The point: Any stumble in America and the global economy falls on its face.

Matters that might cause an American stumble are numerous. I write about them often.

1. Too much debt.

Debt repayments that are now consuming more money than any other budget item outside of Social Security and Medicare. Repayment costs are mounting, and debt will hit $40 trillion by next year.

• A Federal Reserve that could easily misstep.

Consider that Fed Pooh-Bah J. Powell said recently that “The appropriate response for monetary policy is not at all clear at this time.” He was referencing the fact that the Fed can cut rates to battle a jobs market in full-blown collapse… or the Fed can raise rates to address persistently high inflation that continues to nudge higher because of the current political administration’s policies.

Cut rates, and inflation hots up.

Raise rates, and the economy contracts, leaving even more Americans jobless and struggling with credit card debt, rental inflation, car-loan delinquencies, and unable to afford their groceries. Uncle Sam is also pinched hard because of the impacts higher rates will have on his debt payments.

• Political and social instability.

America is in a soft civil war.

There’s no uniting Red and Blue voters, aside from a couple of American-specific holidays and turkey at Thanksgiving. The 2026 mid-term elections, and the 2028 presidential election could easily redefine the geography of America.

I know that no one wants to read any of this.

But this is the unfortunate reality.

We can try to push it aside and hope it all just works itself out.

Or we can look at our reality and say, “Hmmm… these are the kinds of risks that can destroy wealth and lifestyles. Maybe I should protect myself, my family, and my wealth somehow. Just in case.”

That “somehow” leans heavily on gold.

I cannot stress enough how important gold is right now.

I mean, I’ve been stressing this fact for fifteen years, ever since gold required just $1,000 to buy an ounce. Today, we’re above $4,000, precisely because the gold market is insuring against a crisis to come.

But $4,000 is itself an announcement that systemic stress is intense and growing by the day.

The likeliest upshot is a financial reset that fundamentally changes the game we’re all playing. And by “game” I mean our belief in the sanctity and surety of fiat currencies.

Fiat is the very reason we’re in this pickle.

Fiat gave politicians freedom to spend without repercussions. Who cares about today’s debt when I can kick the can two generations down the road to hell.

Fundamental changes at this scale, however, will necessarily cause a world of pain. That’s always been the case. Look no further back than the US housing collapse that launched the Great Recession/Global Financial Crisis.

Nearly eight million family homes were lost to foreclosure.

Lives interrupted.

The reset, alas, will be worse.

Which is why gold is such a necessity at this point in life.

Every time across the span of human history that governments have destroyed currencies by way of debt and inflation, gold had to step in as savior.

Those who owned gold, survived the revaluation.

Those who didn’t, suffered in the reset.

Own gold.

Really.

Own. Gold.