GOVEROTRAGEOUS: You can’t save your way out of inflation

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

https://phoenicianleague.com/podcast-episode-26-there-is-no-alternative-but-inflation-neal-mcspadden-on-the-cantillon-effect-inflation-taxes-and-hard-money/?utm_source=aweber&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=she-paid-80-000-in-tax-on-a-gain-that-didn-t-exist

Podcast Episode 26: There Is No Alternative But Inflation — Neal McSpadden on the Cantillon Effect, Inflation Taxes, and Hard Money

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For our podcast episode this week, I sat down with Neal McSpadden of Tax Sherpa to discuss his recent article: There Is No Alternative But Inflation.

The article starts with a distinction that so many people fail to make: saving and investing are two different things. And because it’s impossible to save in currency that’s constantly being debased, the current system forces everybody to be an investor… or get left behind.

But the system is even more insidious than that.

Neal told the story of a client who sold a California home she had owned for years and owed about $80,000 in taxes on the paper gain. She thought she made a nice chunk of change.

But when Neal ran her purchase price through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) inflation calculator, her real gain was essentially zero. That $80,000 was almost entirely inflation… but she paid taxes on it as though she had made money.

We had a wide-ranging conversation from there, including getting into the DOGE situation and what Neal learned from it.

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Back in the days before the federal reserve 1913, people saved in gold coins stashed away in their living quarters are buried near them. From the 1850s to 1913, prices declined gently since discovering more gold and making more gold coins was relatively difficult.

Ever since 1913, the US dollar has lost its purchasing power. Estimates as high as 99% seem reasonable.

“Gold remains the only financial asset that’s not simultaneously someone else’s liability” – Doug Casey

“Welcome to the age of paper money, where governments and central banks can manufacture as much money as they want without limit. Gold was the last limit. Its banishment as a standard unleashed the inflation monster and leviathan itself, which has swelled beyond comprehension.” — Llewellyn Rockwell

It’s no wonder that crypto has exploded. Personally, I prefer: silver, nickels, bitcoin, and gold.  YMMV!

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MONEY: ₿itcoin as opposed to 529?

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-01/bitcoin-btc-college-savings-plan-parents-ditch-529-funds-for-crypto?leadSource=uverify%20wall

Parents Ditch 529 Plans and Embrace Bitcoin for College Savings

  • Despite the risks and volatility, some families are investing in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children. 

By Charlie Wells and Claire Ballentine
February 1, 2025 at 11:00 AM EST

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Most parents typically worry about funding 529 college savings plans, brokerage accounts or high-yield savings vehicles for their kids. Now, a subset are eschewing the old ways, pushing instead to pile up enough Bitcoin to help their children in the years ahead.

Some say it’s because stock gains aren’t good enough. Others view it as reasonable diversification. Plenty are true believers — convinced that, despite a more than 500% gain since the depths of the last “crypto winter,” Bitcoin’s climb has only just begun. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time in December, having changed hands for less than $16,000 in November 2022.

Still, these parents argue their children have long enough time horizons to stomach Bitcoin’s intense volatility.

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Anytime I blog on financial topics, I always disclose faiwwypfi (Free Advice Is Worth What You Pay For It! ?zero?) and I have no hidden interests.  I am willing to buy and sell ₿, goldbacks, and bullion.

Before jumping into this topic, you must be absolutely sure that you won’t lose the keys to the kingdom.  Your wallet should be backed up and secure.  

And, remember you may not be around to extract the value.  Everyone dies  —  sooner or later.  Remember the guy in the UK who threw away his back up hard drive with his ₿itcoin keys on it.  Millions of dollars in a landfill.

It also should NOT be an exchange wallet since “not your keys; not your coins”.

So you are going to have to have a young person to understand and hold keys.

A hardware walled that multi signature is essential.

Remember the Ukrainian tech guy who escaped Ukraine with nothing but his clothes and his twelve word pass phrase?

YMMV

That being said: (1) ₿ is an inflation proof asset; (2) it avoids the Gooferment; and (3) might be a hidden “lottery ticket”.

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Friendly Neighborhood Liberty Dollars – LD Network

Saturday, April 20, 2019

In 1991, a man named Paul Glover introduced what would become the most successful Community Currency to date: Ithaca Hours, which are based on one hour of human labor. A single Hour is valued at $1…

Source: Friendly Neighborhood Liberty Dollars – LD Network

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Well the "Don Quixotes of Money" are back with a new run at the fiat currency call the "dollar" aka "Federal Reserve Banknote". Derogatorily called a "FRBie" in the hard money & survivalist communities.

 If you remember the original episode, then you'll remember that when their idea of an alternative currency began to get traction, the politicians and bureaucrats came down on them with a "heavy hammer". (To bad, I was not on that jury. How anyone could confuse a big silver coin or a strange sized colorful bill as a "greenback" was beyond me.)
Having dodged a long prison sentence for “counterfeiting”, I thought that this would fold like most “community currencies”.  But I was wrong.  
Now they have still repeated the original mistake of using the word "dollar".  Of course, the current FRBies bear as much resemblance to the original "dollar" aka Thaller as I do an Olympic Athlete in any sport. Well maybe sumo.


I’ll probably buy a few as a conversation starter.  Maybe even for a 1K oz of silver, (15.07 * 1,000 = 15,070), I’ll have some “Kendall Park”, “South Brunswick”, or maybe even “Tyne Court” dollars printed.  Laugh!




I really admire the tenacity of these “hard money champions”.  Like the “Charge of the Light Brigade”, “Custer’s Last Stand”, Stalingrad, Agincourt, history is littered with historical examples of the hopeless and hapless casualties of stupidity.




All that being said, I hope that they can impact the discussion of "hard money" versus "fiat money" that we have now. To see the human cost of the unConstitutional "money", we just have to look at the welfare / warfare state, the national debt that will never be repaid, the unfunded liabilities of Gooferment promises & "pensions", as well as the destruction of savers and investors.  Hard to itemize all the bad things that happened when Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson, FDR, and Nixon got involved in "money".  Argh!  

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MONEY: Investing short term earnings and long term as well?

				Friday, May 1, 2015



				

					
https://www.quora.com/I-am-a-single-mother-who-is-looking-to-invest-my-money-What-suggestions-do-you-have-for-something-that-will-be-good-for-short-term-earnings-and-long-term-as-well?__snids__=1105045430&__nsrc__=2


I am a single mother who is looking to invest my money. What suggestions do you have for something that will be good for short term earnings and long term as well?


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I’m a big fan of Ric Edelman, the Financial Advisor, who does a weekly radio show for decades. He says that his objective to help people become rich.


(Disclaimer: I’m a Client for several years and get nothing for giving this recommendation.)


He offers — and several of my coworkers have taken them up on it — to spend some time with ANYONE regardless of possible account size and help identify your goals and suggestions how to reach them.


One specific coworker had a job, a mortgaged house, and nothing else. One of their Financial Advisors has spent four hours with her over the last three months coaching her financially. So I’d recommend that you talk to one of these guys rather than trying to go it alone.


There is NO obligation to do business with them.


They are registered financial advisers which means they work in your best interest (i.e., the fiduciary standard).


They have an account minimum of 5k$ if you want to have them handle your investments. So, I’d say 1-800-call-ric or ricedelman dot com.


I worked on Wall Street for a couple of decades, managed my own portfolio, and I wish I had found them much sooner. Just my opinion.


Remember the sources of my education! I’m just a fat old white guy injineer with:


    

  • Law “degree” from watching Judge Judy;
    • 

  • Medical “degree” from watching Doctor Phil;
    • 

  • Building “degree” from watching “Holmes on Homes”;
    • 

  • Investing “degree” from reading about Bernie Made-off;
    • 

  • Finance “degree”from listening to Ric Edelman;
    • 

  • Sensitively managing Human Resources from watching Chef Ramsey; AND
    • 

  • Creating loving /  caring human relationships from studying the movie roles
     of Gunny Ronald Lee Ermey! 
    • 



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GOLDBUG: Waiting lists for coins and bars?

				Tuesday, May 7, 2013



				

					
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/10028183/Gold-buyers-forced-to-go-on-waiting-list.html


HOME»FINANCE»PERSONAL FINANCE»INVESTING»GOLD
Gold buyers forced to go on waiting list
Gold buyers are having to wait up to six weeks for their bars and coins after a price dip led to increased interest.


By Rosie Murray-West3:55PM BST 30 Apr 201358


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Investment company Physical Gold said there were waiting lists of three weeks for some coins, and four to six weeks for gold bars. “Previously all would have been available within a few days,” the company said.
The company said that it had seen a 50pc increase in enquiries about purchasing gold and a 35pc increase in sales, with people buying tax-free gold coins. “We are now starting to experience physical gold shortages,” said Daniel Fisher, CEO of Physical Gold.


“In particular there are waiting times on some gold bars and a real difficulty in obtaining mixed year Sovereigns. “However, many clients are willing to ‘do a deal’ and wait for delivery as they want to secure the current price as they feel it will be higher in the near future.”


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Yeah, the price drops on “paper” gold, but premiums (seniorage) on “hard” gold goes up.


Now who doesn’t think the Sheeple and Clovers aren’t being manipulated?


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MONEY: Savings bonds have gone digital

				Sunday, January 8, 2012



				

					
http://www.doughroller.net/investing/how-to-buy-us-savings-bonds/


Electronic U.S. Savings Bonds–Say Goodbye to Paper
by Rob Berger
in Investing


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As of today, U.S. savings bonds have gone digital. Paper savings bonds are history.


I’m get a bit nostalgic when it comes to paper bonds. There’s just something comforting in holding physical evidence of your investment. And the designs of paper bonds over the years have been quite impressive.


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In the old days, a family accumulated savings bonds to pay for the children’s education. War bond, savings bonds, even savings stamps that led to a savings bond were common.


Over time, even rubes recognized that this was a joke.


Sorry, but this is just another scam pulled off on “We, The Sheeple”.


If the inflation rate is what I think it is, there’s no way that Gooferment Bonds of any type make any economic sense.


And, any interest on those savings bonds add to your taxable income in the future.


Also, those “savings” count in the formula for aid for that education.


Bullion is a better vehicle for any saving. Similar to passing along an inheritance, the rounds don’t appear on any form or schedule.


Hey, if the Gooferment and Wall Street can have “off book” and “off balance sheet” entries, why can’t you?


Call it jewelry. Just don’t keep it in a safe deposit box. (FDR raided those.) Everyone should have a garden.


Keeping what’s yours and / or getting back what was stolen from you is just financial self-defense.


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