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Aug. 8, 2025 - Ron Paul Liberty Report
22:57
Tariffs on Gold, Gambling in 401k’s — Signs of A Crack Up Boom

President Trump put a whopping 39% tariff on gold from Switzerland. Is it really about a trade imbalance? Or is there more to such a drastic tax? Also this week, the President took steps to allow 401(k)'s to include crypto and private equity? Is there are relation between these two policies? A huge tax on a global safe haven asset, and easier access to high-risk assets?

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Manipulating Money Systems 00:14:57
Hello, everybody, and thank you for tuning in to the Liberty Report.
With us today is Chris Rossini, our co-host.
Chris, welcome to the program.
It's great to be with you, Dr. Paul.
Very good.
I'm going to talk about something everybody's interested in, and most people don't understand a whole lot about it, but they have to use it.
There's a few people in the administration and the financial industries and the corporate industry that know a lot about it, and they seem to do all right.
And I'm talking about manipulation of the money system and who really benefits.
And of course, I complain that the rich don't seem to benefit.
But if you have a crack-up boom that Mises warns about, it's hard to protect everybody.
And we're going to go over some of the finances that suggest that maybe things are getting desperate.
And I want to start off with what they did just a day or two ago.
There was a sale for financing government bills.
And the headline on Zero Hedge is record $100 billion in Treasury bills issued as U.S. debt crisis turns desperate.
And these were short term.
And that was a record to have this necessity.
But it's also a sign that people don't want to go out long.
And generally what happens under these conditions, the long bills and bonds, those rates will go down because nobody wants them.
You know, just think how long it's been going on in the last several years or decade.
People think that a 30-year bond should get a lot more interest.
Now, who would invest for a business reason or to save money for their kids' college buying a bond?
But now they're buying shorter term.
That hasn't happened in a huge manner, but I think that's going to happen.
But this $100 billion is just astronomical.
And there are some other indications that there's hints that this thing is getting out of control.
Obviously, people ask, what do you do?
What do you do?
Prepare.
Well, the best preparation is prevention.
In medicine, that's the best care.
You know, prevent it, take good care of one's person.
And it's a lot better than waiting until you get sick.
And now, but they never do this in politics.
So it's the noisiest people, the richest people, the people who have the most power that manipulate things.
And because they can keep squeezing it where they can benefit, but then the middle class and the poor keep suffering.
So people, I think, today understand it much better than they did in the beginning of the Depression.
And even in 1971, when the news was dramatic, when we declared bankruptcy and refused to turn over any gold for Federal Reserve notes as we had promised.
And even though the Americans couldn't do this, we could do this with foreigners if they held dollars.
So there was a bit of confidence that did that.
But when the Britain Woods broke down in 1971, it caused gold to go from $35 an ounce up to over $800.
Now, that's a big jump.
So people today are getting scared.
I think there's more people that are aware of things going on right and more people wondering what to do.
Well, I don't have any magic and I'm not in the investment advice, but I'm in the education advice.
And that is what kind of things survive these conditions.
It's usually precious metals and hard assets.
And ultimately, though, I think the best investment is investing in the initiation, understanding what freedom is all about, what sound money is all about.
Because you can, yes, you can protect yourself.
You can have a gun and land and gold.
And I think it's good for a lot of people to do that.
But the whole thing is, it's not the final answer because the debt and the debt from all this inflation has to be eliminated.
The malinvestment the same way.
And that's what the market is demanding that this debt be liquidated.
And that's why you see these interest rates going up.
And it makes the debate between Trump and Powell, you know, just sort of not even important.
They're arguing over a couple percentage points.
And I keep thinking about watching the markets in the 70s when interest rates went to a couple points, up to 21 percentage point.
So there's a lot to happen.
But the conditions are one of the reasons why I work with Birch Gold Group because they've been in the business of trying to educate and help people, you know, protect themselves against what's coming.
And I agree with that.
And there has been made more convenient for individuals to be able to put bullion into their IRREs and 41ks.
And before there were rules against that.
So they deal with that and explanation.
Now, if you want more explanation about this, I wouldn't rely on a subject.
The gold has gone up too high.
It's not going to go any higher.
Because I remember in the 70s when it hit $500, I said it'll never go over $500, not for a while.
And it did.
So I think this is very, very important that we look at that.
And now, Birch Gold will send you some materials to better understand this type of an investment of protection.
And you can get this information by calling in, text in Ron 989898, and they will send you material to help you in understanding this.
And this will be, there's no cost to this, but it's best to understand this the best you can.
So if you want some of this information, text Ron 98989A, and they will send you this material.
Now, Chris, we're going to go ahead and talk some more specifics.
We know that borrowing money is getting more difficult for the government.
And, you know, we know the spending is on autopilot.
But we also know that a big part of the spending is certainly on autopilot, and that's paying off interest, because then the bankruptcy declaration will be a much worse deal than the bankruptcy declared in 1971.
That the markets, you know, put up with it and survive that.
But right now, the debt and all is so big.
And we're going to talk a little bit about that.
And there was something happened just recently that there's we put the tariffs on the importation of gold from Switzerland.
So what the devil does that mean?
That means in Switzerland, they do all the refinement.
They refine more gold.
And so they deal, they're big in gold.
So we're saying we're going to put a tariff on that on the import.
I can't imagine any good coming from that.
But maybe somebody could for an hour or two and somebody might have some gimmick they have.
But it makes no sense.
Besides, gold is money.
You don't all of a sudden tax the import or somebody's money.
So it's sort of crazy.
But that was one thing that happened, Chris.
And I think you took a look at this.
Yeah, Dr. Paul.
Tariffs on gold from Switzerland, not just small tariffs, 39%, one of the largest in the world.
So, people here in this country that want to take delivery of gold at the COMEX, now they have to deal with a 39% tax.
And, you know, we hear the trade deficits and all that.
I always look deeper and think deeper than what they say in the headlines.
And I'm wondering if this is like monetary warfare, you know, to discourage people from taking delivery of gold and putting their dollars into this ultimate safe haven asset.
Are they trying to slow investment in gold?
Because we also know that the same exact government is pushing at the same time crypto, tokenized assets.
So they're trying to steer people into this, which is, you know, from the government's point of view, surveillance of everything.
And I'm not against crypto or Bitcoin, but the way I view it and the way regular people view it is not the way the government views it.
You know, the regular people view it as, oh, we could get out of this government system that we have and protect ourselves.
Government looks at it in a different way.
We can use crypto and tokenized assets to enslave you.
That's just how it is.
That's how government views every tool.
We could look at an airplane and be like, this is wonderful.
We could travel all over the world.
Government looks at an airplane and says we can drop bombs on people that we don't like.
So, you know, the way we view things is not the way the government does.
So government wants to steer away from gold and into this surveillance crypto that they are setting up.
So is that what's happening here?
I don't know.
I don't have the answer, but that's the way my thinking is.
You know, people ponder, ordinary people who just might be curious about the money system, or those who are trying to survive.
But the results are unpredictable.
The short-term results, like right now, the presidency, you know, bragging about how much they've already collected.
And it looks like at this rate, we don't have a thing to worry about.
He'll pay off the debt in no time.
So that doesn't matter because down the road, you know, the market will rule.
And generally, they don't get out of a mess like this easily.
And there will be a price to pay.
Unfortunately, the people most innocent are the ones who pay the price.
Already they're paying the price because the money has been spent.
There's a debt.
So they've been printing too much money anyway.
And prices go up because of that.
But the prices are much more harmful to poor people and middle-class people than they are to rich people.
So it's already trying to eliminate the debt, but the wrong people are getting punished.
But on this report on tariffs on the Swiss bar, there's a headline that says, Gold futures soared a record high after reports of U.S. tariffs on Swiss bars.
So it's already having an immediate effect.
And I would suspect that's not going to go away because it happens that if you want to look for one of the most unique metals in the history of the world, it's gold, gold and silver, because it's been used as money.
But this, in a way, is saying we're going to tax money and we don't want to be transferred just because there will be some gold coins involved.
And that's the same way we've been fighting here in the United States.
If you go, and there's been several states now, and it's a good move.
The state said a coin dealer can buy and sell gold coins, and he doesn't have to pay sales tax.
He doesn't have to pay capital gains tax because the Constitution said the states can only use gold and silver as money.
So it's a good argument to make, but a lot of people don't quite see it that way.
It still is a precious metal used for other things, but that's what makes it a good money issue because it can be used for something else.
So there's a practicality there.
But there was immediate reaction to this move.
And I think that there's lots more to come because they'll think up something else to do.
But Trump keeps saying that, you know, terrorists are going to make America great again.
Well, I want that to be the case.
And some of the things he's done, like, you know, pointing out the waste and fraud that's going on.
But, you know, even with the effort, there was a resistance to this to at least Musk.
He was making headways.
And then the Congress wouldn't pass anything.
They wouldn't vote for it.
There's just a few would do this.
So it's a real battle.
It's ingrained in the system.
I don't know where they are and how they can be in denial and why if they know it and say, well, this is short time.
We have to tide things over and maybe things will get better.
But it is so dangerous.
And there'll be a day when the people who continue this process will have to face up to the fact that the policies they participated in and encouraged didn't work well and it's a threat to our freedoms.
Very good, Dr. Paul.
Let's talk about the other side of the coin now.
We had a, this is all this week.
We had a huge tax imposed on a global safe haven asset like gold.
But at the same time, President Trump is making it easier to access higher risk assets instead of the safe haven.
And that's what this 401ks allowing people to now get into crypto and private equity.
I mean, what's next?
Slot machines in your 401ks?
I mean, my personal opinion, this is just my opinion, is that most people should not be involved in the stock market at all because speculating in a stock market is a specialized skill, like anything else.
But I do understand why people are in it because our money stinks.
Our money is constantly being depreciated and you're kind of forced to now go buy mutual funds and everything else that you have no idea what's going on.
Wall Street loves it because you're trying to just stay afloat because the dollar is always losing value.
So that's why I don't think in a more just society, most people should not be involved in a stock market.
And the big financial advisors, they're very similar to the doctors.
Remember during COVID, the doctors are all just following orders on what's above them.
Well, the big financial advisors are very similar.
They're steering you where they're told to steer you.
And this system is not made for you.
It's made for the people that run the system.
Free Markets Easily Understood 00:05:23
But that's the way it is.
So should people, the average person, be going into crypto and private equity, going deeper into what they don't understand?
Now, from a libertarian standpoint, you can invest your money wherever you want.
There shouldn't be laws against it.
But that doesn't mean you should do it.
You also shouldn't, we believe you should smoke marijuana if you want.
Nobody should go into jail because of it.
It doesn't mean you should.
We don't think you should.
So steering the government, everybody into crypto and private equity, you got to be careful where they're steering you because they're not doing it for your benefit.
Well, they also pass out a dream, and that is there's people who think that the gold is just sitting there and they could sell it off and the profits they make from it, they should Buy crypto and have a position at the Federal Reserve that they never get rid of it.
Well, that's the opposite of money.
It's the getting rid of it that makes the difference and decides what it's worth.
So they do this.
And yet, at the same time, it sounds like unless the president had written an executive order permitting this to happen in a free market, you couldn't do it.
And I think Chris alluded to this.
You could do it, but it would be at your own risk.
But this is one that when you put it in the government banking system, then the bailouts, at least on a temporary, will be used for everybody if they can calm the markets down.
But it's something that people don't quite realize what's going on.
And this idea that whether it's, they think it's going to be a miracle because crypto is something that has been very, very unique.
Bitcoin with it rising.
And there are people who sincerely believe that, you know, it went for about a dollar up to $100,000.
You know, that is, they said it's going to continue to forever because we're not going to sell it.
It keeps moving up, and there'll be so much profit we can pay off the national debt.
Now, that's a bit of a stretch.
And I want everything to be legal if there's no fraud and no deception.
And for that part, for that matter, that you want the least amount of government because they're the ones who manipulate this stuff.
And if the idea, they also promise, well, we'll be able to pay this off by raising these tariffs.
And they're arguing, we've already collected a lot of tariff money and it's going well.
A lot of people said it wouldn't do it.
But this wait and see, it's so early.
It's six months.
It might take a little while longer when the markets change.
And who's going to pay these prices?
I mean, a lot of money is exchanged.
And who's biting the, you know, who's eating these profits and bills?
And it will have to happen.
So there would be a lot more adjustments.
But, you know, there's been a lot of good, sincere efforts in the administration and a lot of people wanting it to be successful.
And we want less war.
We haven't gotten that.
We're still financing the world.
And it's to me a lot of waste of time and effort if we don't work on a free market and where regulations are not used to pick winners and losers.
There's too much of that.
There's too much.
Matter of fact, the word I like to use because it tells you a whole lot, there's too much corporatism in the system.
I don't use the word carelessly, socialism, but communism.
They're socialistic and communistic, and they do all these things.
But it's corporatism.
It's the corporations that are in bed with government.
If you look at all the regulations going on and a lot of the things that we're talking about here, who gets the benefits?
You know, some people be exempt from, they can be exempt from the tariffs and taken care of because the administration finds favor with them.
But free markets are something that are easily understood.
And to me, it's easily understood that if you have free markets and the freer the market, the more prosperity there is, Chris.
Absolutely.
Maybe someday, Dr. Paul, who knows?
Well, I'll finish up with my last thought.
It's a pet peeve that I have of the Trump administration these days.
President Trump runs around every day.
Just hitting us with headlines about how America is taking in trillions from around the world.
You know, that trillions are coming in and being invested here.
And, you know, we hear about all these deals, and then you hear, well, we can't force anybody to invest in America, these countries end up saying, which is true.
So they're putting out these huge numbers to make things really look good.
But until the dollar is actually spent here, we see factories and we see whatever, and we hear that our friends are going to work in manufacturing, until that actually happens, you know, we're getting a lot of stories.
Why ETFs Matter 00:02:36
And, you know, people on X notice it.
I don't know about people that watch TV.
They don't see the other side.
You know, yesterday we heard Treasury Secretary Beset said Micron is going to kick in $200 billion.
And somebody that I follow on X, Spencer Hakimian, he says $200 billion, they have free cash flow of less than $2 billion per year.
When are they going to invest $200 billion in the year 2150?
So we're getting these stories about how great it is and how trillions of dollars are being poured in.
You know, I'm not buying it.
I'm not saying nothing's happening, but this is a lot of, you know, a lot of headlines are being thrown at us.
And until we actually see the dollars come in and the results of it, we should be skeptical.
You know, I want to finish my statement today and quoting from quote the Reagan, Raven, who writes in Zero Hedge.
And he's somebody that I know and respect.
And he's also worried.
And he doesn't pretend he knows all the answers.
But I just want to read a quote that he addressed some of these things.
He says, what this system more than anything is the deepening entanglement of Bitcoin within the broader U.S. economic machine between ETFs.
Now, they listen to the things he mentions, sort of outside of the FDIC and what the banks think they have control of.
ETFs, between the ETFs, corporate treasuries, public pension exposure, and now retirement plans, which are all regulated and doctored up, like the Bitcoin and gold, too.
It's manipulated.
Bitcoin is increasingly woven into the fabric of modern finance.
Whether you believe in its future or not, the truth is that unwinding Bitcoin from the financial system is no longer a simple matter.
Unwinding from any system, whether it's the dollar system or whatever, is not an easy matter.
You know, stability and something that people can believe in and understand and know about.
It's been around for 6,000 years.
It's a much better way to go.
If we're working for peace and prosperity, I would suggest that we look into and invest in the cause of liberty.
I want to thank everybody for tuning in today to the Liberty Report.
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