“The less wealth you have, the less power you have.” – You Will Own Nothing
“You will own nothing, and you will be happy”, proclaimed a tweet from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in November 2016, suggesting that an end to private ownership may be fiscally desirable. Promising a new financial order, officials at the WEF hope to preside over a new international system, where they will presumably own everything, and you will merely rent at their leisure and control. Yet, under the Constitution of the United States, it was the pursuit of happiness that gave Americans free rein to own and sell as they wished, acquiring more than thirty percent of total global wealth.
In Carol Roth’s 2023 book, “You Will Own Nothing”, Roth reveals how multinational organizations like, the WEF and the United Nations, along with corporations, governments, and central banks are actively working to keep money out of the hands of the many and directing it into the hands of the few. By removing the ability to own assets, individuals are prevented from the kind of wealth creation and growth that makes people freer. Instead, free of possessions, world officials envision a simpler life, with less baggage and more flexibility, and a mass of humanity, easier to control.
Of course, if you don’t own your assets, that means someone else does. Assets are real estate, like houses and land, water rights, cars, businesses, stocks and bonds, and precious metals, to name a few. There are good assets that accrue wealth, and bad assets, that don’t retain or increase in value over time. If you do not own good assets, not only will you be beholden to landlords, but you will not benefit from the appreciation of property over time. Increasingly, Americans are holding debt in things that have little value or provide little to no return on investment.
In fact, American politicians have already made wealth accumulation and ownership of assets harder to obtain. The Biden Administration on May 1, 2023, implemented a new pricing scheme for homeowners that penalizes the creditworthy, who played by the rules and acquired good standing. Considered by some as a middle-class tax hike, increasing the cost of closing fees for higher credit scores will then lower costs for those with less favorable credit ratings. Implemented to force equal access to homeownership for all, the new rule will only sabotage homeownership for Americans most likely to afford the property, at a time when ownership of a home is their largest asset.
Another barrier to home ownership is the introduction of corporate hedge funds like Vanguard and Black Rock, into the private single-family housing market. Corporations like Airbnb are also competing with individuals in the single-family housing markets. By using cash offers, these wealthy corporations are outbidding single-family buyers. Today, one out of every five homes sold is being bought by one of these corporations. In fact, by 2030, nearly 40 percent of the supply of single-family homes could potentially be owned by a corporation. And once that happens, families will increasingly be beholden to rent at the highest rates possible. These firms are robbing Americans of not only homes to purchase, but the ability to accumulate wealth by owning the asset. Whoever the owners are, it is a deliberate limiting of ownership to consolidate power at the top, a transfer of wealth from Main Street to Wall Street.
Land, farms, and water rights are also being bought up by wealthy individuals, universities, and corporations. In addition to distorting the market, they are pricing out ownership for average Americans. The sooner you purchase your first home, the sooner you begin to build wealth as tax benefits and equity make your home an asset and investment. However, interference in the markets also affects homeownership in the form of government-induced high-interest rates, zoning laws, and property taxes. These regulations have added nearly $100,000 to the price of a new home.
Social Security is a citizen-funded, yet government-owned account, that ebbs and flows at the whims of the politicians. Initially sold as money held in lock boxes waiting for you at retirement, we soon found out that the money was never held, but immediately spent by the government. Social Security is a promise to pay, assuming the current workforce can maintain the benefit payments for retirees. In the event they can’t, benefits are financed by higher taxes or borrowing. We are already experiencing benefit reductions to extend solvency. Instead, individual retirement accounts, employer-sponsored retirement savings, and other financial vehicles are the true assets owned by enterprising citizens.
If that isn’t worrisome enough, governments continue to debase their currency by lowering purchasing power through inflation with the excessive printing of money, and the manipulation of interest rates, making the economy less stable. Mismanagement by the Federal Reserve saw the dollar lose 97 percent of its value since its inception in 1913. The continued loss of the purchasing power of the dollar, and its reserve status abroad, seeks to threaten global wealth, and potentially shift power away from the US to less reliable countries.
Growing government inefficiencies and accumulated debts will result in the need for more and more of your money. In an all-out race to control finite resources, the government will look for ways to tax more wealth and property, change inheritance laws, and increase regulations to their benefit. The collective private ownership of various assets is a hedge against government power. While the US has the world’s greatest protections for property rights, the Constitution is only as good as its enforcement. As we watch the shifting of power under a new financial world order, Americans need to be prepared for government consolidation due to a crumbling economy and increased debts. To protect your interests, Roth suggests making as much wealth as possible, along with preparing a plan to protect it.
If you don’t, you will own nothing, and you will not be happy, because you will own nothing, and you will be dependent on those who do.
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