We look forward to the Van Mueller newsletter every month. It's chock-full of sound bites, sales tips, and eye-opening statistics. Here are our favorite parts of the June 2020 edition. We're sharing the full introduction, and 2 of the 7 monthly sales ideas. If you like what you read, we encourage you to click here and become a subscriber.
Reprinted with the author's permission.
No time to read? Watch our video overview:
June 2020 – 7 Ideas and Views Newsletter by Van Mueller
I have some interesting information I would like to share with you this month. However, before I do, I would love for you to read the April and May again. I am trying to layer the information I am providing so that you see how each part of the information can be used independently or in collaboration or partnership with the other ideas.
You may only require one part to inspire your customers to take action. An example would be a discussion of taxes. Or you may need several or all the parts to inspire action. They might be someone who was looking for a more comprehensive financial and protection plan. An example would be retirement income planning while protecting against catastrophic illness and long-term care.
What we want to do is simplify spectacularly complex issues so our prospects and clients feel they can make a reasonably informed decision.
What we want to do is simplify spectacularly complex issues so our prospects and clients feel they can make a reasonably informed decision.
Economics, as we are currently seeing that word used, are a nightmare. They are manipulated, influenced, ignored and even currently being used in a national and global experiment. Let me be very clear: There is no one, anywhere, any place, who knows what it going to happen to the global and national economies except in very broad strokes, such as; “We know the economy will eventually recover.” So, how do you explain why our strategies are PERFECT for what is about to happen in our country and our world?
Shouldn’t we simplify a discussion of these issues to their simplest and easiest to understand foundations? I believe this properly practiced discussion will inspire a multitude of the people you contact to take action. I will pretend I am making the presentation to you.
Mr. & Mrs. Customer, aren’t there really only five ways that our government and all other governments will be able to repair or try to repair what is happening in our states and country? Have you ever thought about it? If you knew what they were, wouldn’t that allow you to develop strategies that would first of all, prevent you from being hurt by what happens, but even better, wouldn’t that put you in a perfect position to take advantage of whatever government chooses to do for the rest of your life? Do you believe these issues will occur again? If so, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be in control of what happens to you, your family and your business rather than be controlled by government? If I asked you some questions to help you clarify how to do that wouldn’t that be worth a few minutes of your time? Wouldn’t you like to know before anything happens? Let’s get started.
Do you realize there are only five things that government can do to deal with all the fiscal and monetary challenges we will face in the future? In their purest form here is what we all can expect from our government.
Isn’t the first one pretty obvious? Won’t governments have to increase taxes of all kinds? Wouldn’t income tax increases be the first and easiest for them to do? In fact, the current tax law sunsets on December 31, 2025. So, without any legislation at all won’t taxes increase? Because of what’s currently happening, might they even change tax laws sooner?
If you remember my May Bonus newsletter, I ask everyone if at a gut level will our governments need more revenue in the future? Everyone answers yes.
I ask everyone if at a gut level will our governments need more revenue in the future? Everyone answers yes.
Second, won’t they lower benefits? Isn’t the government already doing these reductions with no cost of living increases and zero percent interest rates and higher deductibles for everything? Isn’t it possible that they could raise the age to be eligible for Social Security? We could do this for hours. There are multitudes of ways that governments are reducing benefits or limiting access to services.
The third way is always promoted by politicians of all political parties as it pertains to our economy and the pensions they provide. It is always offered as a way that we will use to reduce our debt. What is the third way? Don’t they tell us that we will grow our way out of these problems? Haven’t we averaged two percent growth or less for the last 15 years? Aren’t we currently experiencing negative growth? Wouldn’t we need three, four or even 5 percent growth for a decade or more to make a dent in the debt and pension requirements for the future? What happens if we don’t get that growth?
Our fourth choice is we are going to inflate the money. Essentially, we will print whatever amount of money we think we will need. The Federal Reserve Chairman and several of his governors have clearly stated publicly that they will print whatever they need to provide promised and un-promised benefits. This is based on a concept called “Modern Monetary Theory” which essentially believes government can print as much money as they want without hurting our economy. This is an experiment! They are experimenting with our lives to bail out their incompetent leadership. Even if it works, isn’t there still an enormous challenge to be dealt with? Isn’t that inflation? Are they reducing the purchasing power of our money? If interest rates would increase dramatically, wouldn’t inflation destroy the purchasing power of our money?
In the seven sales ideas I will share current information about Social Security as it pertains to this issue that will blow your mind.
Finally, and isn’t this the one that will be closest to the truth: Won’t they use a combination of all those choices with the heaviest emphasis placed on increased taxes and printing or inflating our money?
Economics is no longer a science. The stock market goes up when it should be going down or it goes down when it should be going up. The price of gold and oil are manipulated by a few power brokers or governments themselves. Real estate is propped up temporarily by “free money”. The rules taught to us by people like Warren Buffet or Peter Lynch of Fidelity Magellen fame, no longer apply. Investing is no longer a science; it’s more like gambling. It becomes more like Las Vegas every day.
Investing is no longer a science; it’s more like gambling. It becomes more like Las Vegas every day.
That is why cash value life insurance will be the miracle cure for all economic illnesses Americans will face in the years and even decades ahead. I will talk about that a little later in this newsletter.
Please remember that there are really only five alternatives for the governments of this world and our U.S. government especially.
- Increased Taxes
- Lower Benefits
- Grow Our Way Out of Debt
- Inflate the Money – Print it!
- A Combination of All of the Above
We talked about taxes in the May issue. Now I would like to have a serious discussion about governments printing money and inflation. These are very serious times. What we do is vital to the people we serve because of what I am about to share with you. Do not underestimate what you do.
EVERY GOVERNMENT ON PLANET EARTH WILL DEFAULT ON THEIR DEBT.
Every government on Planet Earth will default on their debt.
Clearly understand that I am NOT saying they will go bankrupt. Please don’t mis-quote me. Let me repeat. Every government on our planet will default on their debt. What does the word “default” mean?
There are actually five ways that a country can default on its debt.
The first one doesn’t happen often, but it happens. The entity can just decide that they are not going to pay you. As I am writing this, Argentina is not paying (defaulting) on a $500 million dollar interest payment due on $65 billion of debt. By the way, some of that debt is from restructured debt that Argentina defaulted on in 2001. We may see this happening with government and company pensions. We already see a form of this when a pension goes bankrupt and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation only reimburses a portion of the promised pension. Ask your clients if they believe their pension provider will be able to provide promised benefits based on current circumstances. Should they develop a strategy that protects them no matter what?
The second way governments and corporations can default is by just not paying ALL the promised benefits. They shave off some of the benefits. It is hard not to believe once they do it, they won't continue to do it time and time again. A few examples are no cost of living increases or making previously non-taxable benefits taxable.
The third way governments default is austerity. A current example would be all the Americans who have not received their unemployment benefits because there are not systems and/or people in place to deliver the benefits. People have waited weeks and weeks for their $1,200 corona virus checks. Do you think governments, corporations and businesses will provide more or less services in the future? That is austerity. There is only so much austerity that people can take before they break. We can show people strategies that will help them replace lost benefits if and when this austerity by government begins.
There is only so much austerity that people can take before they break. We can show people strategies that will help them replace lost benefits if and when this austerity by government begins.
The fourth way governments default is by devaluation. It is defined as the deliberate downward adjustment of a country’s currency value. The government issuing the currency decided to devalue their currency. Devaluing a currency reduces the cost of a country’s exports and can help shrink trade deficits. You hear about countries doing this so they can compete against products sold by the United States. China does it all the time. Our president is encouraging that for our currency. He believes it is valued too highly. If that occurs that is default.
I saved the best one for last. The ultimate default is inflation. Normally, it is denied by governments until it’s undeniable existence. Our government and most of the governments, however, are doing everything they can to create inflation in an attempt to stave off deflation. They are printing money every way possible including digitally. In the year 2000 our country’s population was 281 million people. In 2020 our population is 330 million. In those 20 years the “monetary base” has increased from $603 billion to $5 trillion. The “M2 money supply” has increased from $4.8 trillion to $17.6 trillion. Do we have three times the population we had in the year 2000? The government has printed close to $13 trillion dollars in those 20 years. Here is where it gets downright frightening. According to www.usdebtclock.org we will increase our “monetary base” from $5 trillion in 2020 to $11.9 trillion by 2024. We will also increase our M2 money supply from $17.6 trillion in 2020 to $36.1 trillion by 2024. The debt clock is warning us that government will create $18.5 trillion of new money in four years literally out of nowhere. Why is that default? Because you are repaying today’s debts with dollars that will be worth less in the future. I will explain this farther in idea #1. If we would just increase to 5 percent inflation, in 14 years we would be using dollars at 50 percent of their value to repay the debts. It doesn’t sound very fair to the people loaning the money. Those people are all of us. We will get our Social Security; however, it will lose some of its purchasing power in the future. We will get our pensions, but they will buy less and less goods and services in the future. Even our incomes which have pretty much remained stagnant for decades, are harmed by this reduced purchasing power of our money.
The debt clock is warning us that government will create $18.5 trillion of new money in four years literally out of nowhere.
Two important things come to mind. First, shouldn’t we endeavor to make the money we do have more effective and more efficient. Pennies that can buy dollars or one dollar that can do the work of many dollars.
Second, and I get asked this question regularly by agents and financial professionals. How can I use cash value life insurance to take advantage of inflation? What is Warren Buffet’s number one rule of investing? Isn’t it don’t lose any money? What does he say all the other rules are? Refer to rule number one. Do cash value life insurance policies and deferred annuities prevent losses? Except for a few exceptions, yes.
Additionally if the markets stay level for the next decade how will our customers make any money and keep up with inflation? Again, that is the great benefit of a strategy that doesn’t lose any money and stays relatively liquid and accessible. If we see increased volatility and I believe we will, won’t that provide opportunities that can be taken advantage of with beneficial tax and protection benefits?
Reduced purchasing power is going to be a challenge for all Americans. What if you could provide a strategy that would not only prevent them from being hurt by that lost purchasing power but could actually take advantage of the opportunity that challenge creates? Wouldn’t that make you a spectacularly valuable resource?
What if you could provide a strategy that would not only prevent them from being hurt by that lost purchasing power but could actually take advantage of the opportunity that challenge creates?
Let’s be clear; If you think the government has ever printed money before you are mistaken. Our government will print money to bail out itself, state and local governments, markets, corporations and businesses. That sounds acceptable considering our current circumstance. There are many unintended consequences and many unforeseen consequences. We are only approaching the end of the beginning of this medical and financial pandemic. We have sold the Kool-Aid to the rest of the world. Every Central Bank on the planet is printing money. There is no end in sight.
We must help our prospects and clients develop strategies that allow them to win no matter how many times Wall Street, the governments and the banks lose. This truly is the opportunity of a lifetime for our industry and all of us. It only takes practicing some questions that will inspire our prospects and clients to take action.
Let's get started with the seven ideas.
Idea #1: Printing Money and Reduced Purchasing Power
With little inflation recent information shares that you now need $1,500 to buy something that cost $1,000 in the year 2000. I have included an article that explains even with some cost of living increases a person who received $816 monthly from Social Security in the year 2000 and now receives $1,246 from their Social Security would actually need an additional $380 to have kept up with inflation. What do you think would have happened with high inflation?
I have also included a front-page article from USA Today that explains the Federal Reserve is creating money at an unprecedented rate. A caption talks about “fake money”. Use this information to inspire customers to develop strategies to win using inflation rather than by harmed by inflation.
Title: Social Security recipients could be in for a rude awakening
https://www.marketwatch.com/ (Market Watch, May 21, 2020)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/social-security-recipients-may-be-in-for-a-rude-awakening-later-this-year-2020-05-12
Title: US is ‘printing’ money to keep economy afloat
https://www.usatoday.com/ (USA Today, May 13, 2020)
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/money/2020/05/12/coronavirushow-u-s-printing-dollars-save-economy-during-crisis-fed/3038117001/
Idea #6: Nursing Home Care or Care at Home
Sometimes it takes a catastrophe. People were not as aware as they could have been about the lack of care residents in nursing homes received. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront the truly deplorable conditions in these nursing homes.
Nursing homes are a woman’s issue. Around 70 percent of women 75 or older are widowed, divorced or never married compared to 30 percent of men. More than 70 percent of people who are in nursing homes are women.
I ask every prospect and client this question now. Based on everything we have seen in our country for the last three or four months, would you ever put someone you love in the nursing home? If it was possible to create a strategy so you could be cared for at home wouldn’t you want to know about it?
If you remember how we explain cash value life insurance in previous newsletter wouldn’t it be wonderful if those values could be used for care at home? And if you never needed that care wouldn’t it be wonderful if you didn’t waste any premiums? Cash value life insurance is a miracle product at the exact time it is needed.
Title: The Disaster at Nursing Homes (log in required)
https://www.nytimes.com/ (The New York Times, April 29, 2020)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/opinion/coronavirus-nursing-homes.html
Title: Demand for In-Home Care Rises (subscription required)
https://www.wsj.com/ (The Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2020)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/demand-for-in-home-care-rises-during-coronavirus-11588003076
Title: Long-term care is a woman’s issue
https://www.investmentnews.com/ (Investment News, May 4, 2020)
https://www.investmentnews.com/long-term-care-womans-issue-192447
Get more sales tips and insights when you subscribe to Van Mueller's monthly newsletter.
This was just a taste of what he publishes each and every month. If you want to read more, click here to become a subscriber.
There's a lot going on right now. How are you feeling? What do you need? What do you wish people knew?
Let it all out - good, bad, or ugly - in the comments. We're all in this together.
