The results of the 2020 Census are in, and they confirm what many Americans, including Your Survival Guy, already knew: Citizens are looking for a better America in the nation's growth corridors. The Daily Mail reports: New York and California are each to lose a single congressional seat under the results the Census Bureau released Monday from its decennial count – in a blow to two of the nation's most populous states. New York, long a powerhouse in congressional politics, will drop to just 26 seats in its congressional delegation. California is losing a seat for the first time in its … [Read more...]
Should You Be Forced To Save for Retirement?
You know Your Survival Guy is the first one to say that you should save until it hurts. You should save as much as you can for as long as you can and then save a bit more. But, does that mean you should be forced to? A growing cohort in Congress wants to do just that. They want to automatically enroll you in your employer's 401(k) plan. This isn't actually a new plan. It goes back to Obama-era regulatory "czar," Cass Sunstein, who wrote the book Nudge. His philosophy was to take as many decisions away from people as possible, and let the government make the decisions for them. Does … [Read more...]
Is There One Best Place in America for ‘Liberty Retirees?’
You might be looking for the best place in America to retire. You may enjoy owning firearms, paying low taxes, and being left alone. That's the definition of what I'm calling a "liberty retiree." Recently a liberty retiree, known as U, asked MarketWatch's Catey Hill where would be the best place for them to retire. Hill answered (abridged): To answer your question, I went right to the source: the Libertarian Party itself, where I had a lively chat with Dan Fishman, the party’s executive director, who had a lot of advice for you. He said that, while the Libertarian Party doesn’t maintain a … [Read more...]
Secession: Northern Californians Dream of Charting Their Own Destiny
You learned last week about American Secession, a new book by F.H. Buckley, a Foundation Professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University. Buckley believes America is "ripe for secession," and that "the bitterness, the gridlock, the growing tolerance of violence invite us to think that we’d be happier were we two different countries." One area of America desperate to chart its own course is Northern California. In The Washington Examiner, Mica Soellner reports: Mark Baird is a third-generation Californian who hopes to one day be a first-generation … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Meet A Modern Day Ski Warrior
OK, so he’s not retired yet but he’s certainly living the F.I.R.E lifestyle. You’ll love this Saturday Boston Globe feature about a modern-day ski bum. Meet Brooks Curran who earns his turns the old-fashioned way—hiking up the mountain. In talking with you, my skiing clientele, you’re telling me the skiing’s been excellent all over the country, whether you’re taking the chair or hiking the backcountry. Enjoy! STOWE, Vt. — We’d left the boundaries of the Stowe Mountain Resort shortly after we got off the gondola, and were trudging up a mountain road buried under 4 feet of snowpack toward … [Read more...]
Joel Kotkin: Economic Civil War
On his blog, Joel Kotkin explains that America is in a form of economic civil war, with the tangible economy of "making, growing, and using real things," in competition with the "incorporeal world of media and digital transactions." Donald Trump, the irascible New York developer, focused on the places where the tangible economy was strong, but President Biden convinced enough voters in heartland states that their economic interests would be taken seriously. Some parts of the Biden agenda—measures to reshore industry, restore supply chains, and improve basic infrastructure—could unify the … [Read more...]
Petrified Snow/Ice Fishing? How about a Boat? and More
One of the greatest things about winter is you can dream about summer. After a few days of warm(er) temps here in New England, we’re seeing some of the snow melt. Quite a bit, actually, has already melted in Newport, RI, except for those stubborn piles of petrified snow—not very pretty. I’m not sure it can be called snow. It’s more like groups of fossils. In speaking with you, most of you are between rounds one and two of the vaccine, not getting it at all, or already done with two rounds—and you’re all itchin’ to get out. It’s a common theme where you’re looking to move freely about your … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Meet Larry the Car Wash Guy
This is one of my favorite stories about a guy following his passion and making a career out of it. If you haven’t checked out his videos on how to wash a car, then you’re in for a treat. Enjoy! CNBC tells the story of Larry Kosilla, a Wall Street trader who decided to give up the fast lane to instead pursue his dream of being around expensive cars all the time. Marguerite Ward reports: “You can’t fake enthusiasm,” Kosilla tells CNBC. “There’s not enough money in the world to fake enthusiasm.” He created a website Ammo NYC to sell detailing products online in 2011. From there, he … [Read more...]
America’s Growth Corridors as Written in 2013 by Joel Kotkin
In 2013, in contrast to the majority of the establishment media, Joel Kotkin wrote that America's future economic growth would be driven by what he called "four growth corridors," including "the Great Plains, the Intermountain West, the Third Coast (spanning the Gulf states from Texas to Florida), and the Southeastern industrial belt." Kotkin told readers of The Wall Street Journal that these growth corridors tended to be "generally less dense, more affordable, and markedly more conservative and pro-business." He continued: Overall, these corridors account for 45% of the nation's land … [Read more...]
What You’re Telling Me on Any Given Day
You’re telling me about the snow in your neck of the woods while on your afternoon walk. You’re telling me about how you’re setting up to sell your business. And you’re telling me how you’ve read Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report for years, and you’re ready to become a client. After one of my conversations with you, you emailed me and said, "It just came to me that during our conversation we did not speak a word about our investments. Nothing about stocks or fixed income. That tells me something.“ Once you get your financial situation on terra firma, it opens the world up in a way … [Read more...]