I used to find finance really boring. I didn't understand investing and didn't really care to. It was just "mumbo jumbo" to me. Yes, I knew that like a good citizen I should have a 401K and be sure to funnel as much money as possible into mutual funds that I knew nothing about. I should save up my money in a savings account or maybe some CDs, only to one day spend it all on a big down payment for a house and spend the next 30 years after that paying it off. Then I'll have my cozy 401K just sitting there waiting for me, and by then surely all those mutual funds will be worth millions! Finally, when I am old and tired from working my whole life, I can sell the house, move to Florida, and drive really, really slow to my bingo game every day for the rest of my life until I die.Does the above sound boring? It does to me to, which is why my interest level in finance and investing was always very low. It always seemed like a pre-scripted game where the outcome of my life was both inevitable and incredibly boring. But I didn't know any better, so I did what I was supposed to do. I saved my money. I signed up for the 401K program at my job at the time. I was doing all the right things and it was all for my future, so why was I so ambivalent about it at all?Probably for the same reason that I was pretty ambivalent about politics until I started reading a weekly column called "Texas Straight Talk" about 10 years ago by some Ron Paul guy you may have heard of. Ron Paul's column made sense and he seemed like the only politician worth listening to. Following Ron Paul led me to the work of Peter Schiff, his economic adviser for his 2008 Presidential Campaign. Hey, if this guy was good enough to advise Ron Paul, maybe he was good enough to advise me, I figured. I picked up a copy of Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse and immediately looked at finance and investing in a whole new light. Thanks to Peter Schiff, I soon found learning to understand economics and finance just as exhilarating as learning about the ideas of liberty.There is of course a good reason for this, as there is a strong connection between Peter Schiff's ideas on finance and the philosophy of liberty. Though he never once mentions Austrian economics by name in his works, it is clear that Schiff is a follower of the Austrian School of economic thought pioneered by Carl Menger and Ludwig Von Mises. Austrian economics recognizes individual human action as the most efficient supplier of goods and services, and therefore Austrian economists typically advocate for free markets. Austrian economists also recognize the dangers of centralized planning on the economy, particularly the manipulation of the money supply and how it inevitably creates unsustainable bubbles. It should be no surprise that Austrian economists saw the bursting of the housing bubble coming years before the mainstream media financial pundits even recognized that this was a problem.Peter Schiff's early warnings about the bursting of the housing bubble often found him ignored, chastised and mocked when he would make appearances on financial news shows. This would later earn him fame as all of his predictions systematically unfolded and the housing bubble did indeed burst, leading to the financial crisis in 2008 and the continued dragging economy we still see to this day. This was most notably captured in the viral "Peter Schiff Was Right" video. If you're not familiar with it, it's always good for a laugh.In "Crash Proof", Schiff detailed in plain and understandable language how the United States government has essentially become bankrupt due to unsustainable deficit spending and monetary expansion through the Federal Reserve System. He mentioned how any number of scenarios could spark the "crash" , including the bursting of the housing bubble, and advises people on how they can financially prepare themselves for the inevitable. Of course, the housing bubble did indeed burst, and those that had heeded Peter Schiff's warnings and got out while they could are happy for it. Those who took his advice and moved many of their assets into gold or silver have seen quite favorable gains in the past several years. So great, Peter Schiff was right, the bubble burst and those who listened are better off for it. End of story, right?Not exactly. You see while the housing bubble burst and we did experience an economic crash in 2008, this was not the crash that Schiff was really warning about. That crash was prevented when, instead of letting the market work and allowing bad debts to be liquidated, the government and the Federal Reserve colluded to bail out the banks and prop up the bad assets the market was attempting to flush out. The premise of Schiff's new book is that these bailouts along with constant infinite Quantitative Easing measures by the Federal Reserve have kept the engine of Big Government running and helped to delay TheReal Crash which is inevitably coming down the pike.In The Real Crash, Peter Schiff does a great job of explaining all of the government policies over the years that have led to our current financial predicament in the U.S. While he is certainly a master of finance, you wont' feel like you are reading a boring old textbook when reading The Real Crash. Schiff did not write this book for hardcore libertarians and Austrian economics geeks such as your friendly neighborhood Editor In Chief. He wrote it for the average person who might find their way into reading his book and explains concepts in very simple yet engaging terms. If you ever have trouble explaining the problems with the economy to a friend, read the first few chapters of The Real Crash and then go grab a beer with that friend. A couple hours later you'll be drunk and he'll be Googling how to buy gold.Whereas Crash Proof seemed to confine itself to primarily to personal investment, The Real Crash sets itself apart by first presenting a series of political solutions to many economic problems. From Tax Reform to Health Care to Higher Education, Schiff presents many practical steps politicians could take that would help ease the burden on the average person. Being a realist, he also gives alternative "next best" solutions to each problem as well. For example, Schiff ideally would like to see an end to the Income Tax and see it replaced by "nothing", as Ron Paul has often echoed. But he also proposes alternatives such as consumption tax or flat tax if we can't just get rid of the Income Tax. This might not be the cup of tea of "push the button" anarcho-capitalists, but again that is not who Schiff is aiming to please here. He is targeting a much broader spectrum and not attempting to simply reach the still relatively narrow libertarian niche. In fact, the meat of this book could make an excellent platform for a political candidate someday, should Schiff ever decide to enter politics again, as he briefly did during his attempt to gain the Connecticut Republican Nomination for Senate in 2010.The Third Act of The Real Crash is where Schiff explains his financial strategy for getting through the times ahead. His general recommendations are basically the same as in Crash Proof - essentially betting against the U.S. economy and the dollar by acquiring a mix of dividend paying foreign stocks, bonds and currencies as well as gold and silver. Schiff has often been bashed for these recommendations for being "unpatriotic", but what could be more patriotic than to try to help your fellow countrymen with sound financial advice while their government sells them down the river? He even details a "poor man's investment strategy" of stocking up on non-perishable food and other items that will surely cost more as general price inflation increases through the years.Peter Schiff does a great service in The Real Crash not just by explaining the dire economic predicament many find themselves in, but also by teaching the reader how to think about investing. Before I found Peter Schiff and the Austrians, I had no idea how government spending worked and thought managing my finances was best left to the experts running my 401K. For those like myself who shifted their financial strategy in 2007 I can say that not only was Peter Schiff right then about the housing bubble, but he is still right in saying that The Real Crash is yet to come.Do yourself a favor. Pick up a copy of The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy---How to Save Yourself and Your Country, read it cover to cover, and pass it along to a friend. It's important that those with knowledge of what is to come not only prepare themselves, but help to prepare their friends and loved ones as well. No matter how prepared financially one is, the tough economic times ahead will be no fun if everyone else around you is flat broke.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
