by Brandon Rowe, International Man

How to protect your assets – Internationalization

If you’re a fan of science fiction, you might remember the old Star Trek episode, The Trouble with Tribbles. It was a simple story with a predictable ending. But, it’s also a great metaphor for the current state of affairs in much of the developed world. First, the summary:

The crew of the Enterprise is sent to protect a special wheat-rye grain in temporary storage being held at deep space station on its way to some designated planet.

At the same time, a trader named Cyrano Jones lands at the station, bringing along this fur-ball of a thing called a tribble. It’s an animal that basically has two jobs in life – eat and reproduce.

The tribbles get loose on the space station and start reproducing like rabbits pumped up on extra strength Viagra. They summarily eat everything in sight – including all the grain.

Inevitably, there is the pivotal scene where Captain Kirk realizes what’s happening and goes to one of the station’s grain holds to investigate. As he opens the door (conveniently located above his head), a seemingly endless number of tribbles flood out – plunk, plunk, plunk – burying Kirk up to the chest…

Mr. World Economy is in much the same position as our brave captain. He’s opened the proverbial store of economic goodness, and, instead of finding value, he is bombarded with a seemingly unending number of problems. Plunk, plunk, plunk. Let’s take a look:

• Much of the developed world is effectively bankrupt and has no way of delivering on their social contracts that benefit people today at the expense of the young and the unborn generations to come.
  *plunk*
• To manage this, governments have run up massive deficits at startling rates – either by borrowing directly or inflating their currency. (The US Debt-to-GDP ratio symbolically passed 100% in early 2012.)
  *plunk*
• To keep the game going, governments ensure (or, at least try to ensure) that their currency’s central bank artificially keeps the core interest rate low, to avoid having to pay a higher yield on their debt.
  *plunk*
• Manipulation of the interest rates punishes savers and rewards the debtors, making it so much more difficult to reestablish the base of capital that entrepreneurs need to drive the economy.
  *plunk*
• As a result, the economy simply cannot “grow” without increasing government interference or support.
  *plunk*
• As a result of all this “need,” Governments are responding by becoming more aggressive on tax collection, not to mention an overall trend towards reduction of liberties and virtual elimination of personal privacy.
  *plunk, plunk*
• This is further causing the behavior of some of the most productive people to change. Either they give up, or they get out of dodge. This is where the problem goes critical.
  *plunk, plunk, plunk*

So, what is one to do about it? Well, it basically boils down to three choices:

1. You can do nothing (i.e., stand in the pile of tribbles and hope it doesn’t get worse).
2. You can try and change the system from inside (i.e., try removing the tribbles faster than new ones can fall out).
3. You can try and stay out of the way. (i.e., carefully negotiate your way out of the pile and then leave the area).

Obviously, doing nothing is the easiest but most foolish strategy simply because it leaves you under total control of an increasingly malevolent power (not to mention a heavy pile of tribbles).

You can try changing the system from within and, while a nice thought, it’s useless from a practical point of view – one person cannot change a system this far gone. Not only that, but so long as there is a democratic system where a minor majority of people can get handouts from the people they vote for, those people aren’t going to vote for reform. They will vote for more goodies.

And in such a system, mob rule wins.

Lastly, you can try to stay out of the way. Throughout history, that’s what the smart people have done. While painful in the short term, much less so over the longer outlook.

For example, over the last few centuries, America was the destination for these freedom seekers – a respite in a world of strict social structures, conformity and oppression.

Now, that has changed, and the United States has abandoned the principles of the Founding Fathers, replacing them with an ever-growing totalitarian state that is following the tired path of other semi- and absolute- dictatorships before them.
The solution is to internationalize – first your assets and then, if resources allow and with sufficient desire, yourself and your family.

Or, if you don’t have many assets, then head overseas immediately and make your fortune in those areas of the world that offer more substantial opportunities.

That’s what we at International Man do: help connect you with the resources to accomplish those things.

But first, it requires you to recognize that:

1. There is a major problem.
2. It can’t be changed from the inside.
3. The key to success and, perhaps, even survival lies in removing yourself from the situation, in any and all possible legal ways.

Are you ready?

Brandon Rowe is the Managing Director of International Man and the Publisher of World Money Analyst, the popular investment letter that lets readers learn and profit from a team of successful investors and analysts as they uncover the best and brightest opportunities around the globe.

Learn more about our special introductory offer here.