Welcome to the Wealth Daily Weekend Edition — our insights from the week in investing and links to our most-read Wealth Daily and sister publication articles.
Without a doubt, Gene Hackman is one of my favorite actors.
Hackman played the lead role in a classic film from the 70s, The Poseidon Adventure.
If you’re over 30, you know the story…
A cruise ship is struck and capsized by a massive tidal wave at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
In the film, Hackman plays the part of Reverend Scott, the character who leads an eclectic group of passengers in a harrowing set of adventures as they make their way through the bowels of the capsized ship to a “thin spot” in the hull at the stern. It’s where, in the end, the remaining but battered survivors are rescued.
But before Reverend Scott can help save the passengers, he must convince them that his way is the only path out of the capsized ship.
Amid the carnage of the overturned ship, in a world where down is up, scores of passengers are divided into two groups: those who believe they will be fine if they just stay put, and those who believe that doing nothing will make for a watery grave.
It is my favorite scene in the movie.
It’s a classic juxtaposition, and it reminds me of what is going on in this economy — and by extension, in the whole country.
You see, we’ve reached the point where all the remedies from the last 100 years of thinking no longer work. They only dig the hole deeper.
Yet we are comfortable to stand back and let it all happen — though we know deep down this way is simply not sustainable. We are clinging to a past that no longer exists.
Even still, we sit in the wreckage of a capsized ship and do nothing but pretend, politic, and kick the can further down the road.
It is a form of cowardice and greed writ large.
More to the point, it is insanity — loosely defined as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.
Take the current budget wrangle, for instance…
You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that within our gigantic national debt are the seeds of our destruction.
That’s not hyperbole; that’s a fact.
Nonetheless, republicans and democrats alike simply aren’t willing to fix what needs to be fixed.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admitted as much yesterday when he called the current budget proposal “unsustainable over time”, since the budget’s interest portion alone is about to spin wildly out of control.
In fact, the current 2011 budget proposal will see the biggest one-year jump in debt in our history, reaching $15.476 trillion by the end of the fiscal year. That would be 102.6 percent of GDP — the first time since World War II that dubious a figure has been reached.
Yet, when both parties talk about cuts, they virtually ignore entitlements and defense spending — the biggest portion of problem by far. Along with the interest, they make up 70% of the budget.
And somehow, the Welfare State and the Warfare State manage to get a free pass…
It’s just as the cartoon says: When they needed an axe, they reached for a scalpel.
The truth is the proposed budget cuts are the practical equivalent of doing nothing at all… sort of like standing amid the chaos of the upside-down ballroom, waiting for the water to come crashing in.
Like it or not, folks, the tipping point has arrived.
As for some places to protect your wealth against this deluge, our editors have put together a few of their best ideas for the years to come in this week’s top-read articles from Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital, below.
Have a great weekend.
Your bargain-hunting analyst,
Steve Christ
Editor, Wealth Daily
Gold Fever: How to Double Your Golden Gains
Editor Luke Burgess reveals a little-known way to profit from the rising price of gold… It pays twice as much as other investments.
Is Mongolia the Next Dubai?: The Story of a Cold War Blunder
Editor Christian DeHaemer shares his insider intel as to why Mongolia is about to ride the Chinese oil craze into a Golden Age.
Silver Breakout: Only Buy This on Pullbacks…
Editor Ian Cooper argues for a pullback in silver, and offers two ways to profit when the precious metal does so.
Food for Thought, Profit: Idiotic Policy & Human Ignorance Unite
Editor Nick Hodge covers food policy, biofuel policy, weather, China, and population on a tour of the reasons high food prices are here to stay.
Iran War Ships — Taking the Fun Out of Fungible: Texas Crude is Toast
Editor Christian DeHaemer discusses the price spread of oil around the globe, and how investors can cash in on opportunity afforded by the fungible commodity.
Inflation in (Mostly) the Wrong Places: Destination: Stagflation
Analyst Adam Sharp talks about inflation, stagflation, and why they’re both playing out around the globe.
Understanding Exponential Growth: To Infinity… and Beyond
Editor Nick Hodge describes the greatest shortcoming of the human race… and how to recognize it before it’s too late.
Three Garbage Stocks: Middle Class Spending Spree
Editor Chris DeHaemer explains why, as the market goes up and the middle class start spending again, these three “garbage stocks” will deliver quick cash to investors’ pockets.
Maryland Offshore Wind: A Half Billion Reasons to Love Offshore Wind
Editor Jeff Siegel investigates new opportunities in domestic offshore wind.
Obama’s Offshore Drilling War Claims Another Victim: Picking the Right Offshore Stock
Editor Keith Kohl reviews the latest victim in Obama’s offshore drilling war.
The Miracle of Regenerative Medicine: Early Investors In This One Stand to Win Big
Editor Steve Christ explores the miracle of regenerative medicine and explains how early investors can make some money on the seismic changes that are about to rock the medical world.
How to Buy Yukon Gold Stocks: Seven Easy Hints to Choose Yukon Gold Stocks
Analyst Greg McCoach guides investors on buying Yukon gold stocks for the summer 2011 exploration season.
