I wrote of the economic decline of the US, from the world’s 3rd to the 18th most free economy in 10 years, in last week’s column. I ended the column wondering if the US would reverse its slide to economic mediocrity. The 2012 election makes it very clear that our slide to a more government controlled economy will not abate anytime soon. Free market proponents and capitalists will need to forget about what was, or what should be, and focus on the lemon that is. You need to take appropriate action to protect yourself, your families, and your investments.
If history was any indicator (and it wasn’t) the President would have lost handily. Rarely, and never in our lifetime, has a sitting President overcome so many negative economic issues to win reelection. The take away here is that the US has fundamentally changed. There is a growing disdain for people who have wealth and a notion that they “owe” society for their success. This attitude underlies a national desire for a European style welfare system.
This fundamental change ( and it didn’t happen overnight) in the US has many ramifications. One is that if you have wealth, you do not want to appear as if you do. If you have not done so, you need to get serious about good asset protection planning which can provide a firewall against those that feel they deserve your wealth more than you do.
South Dakota has the best asset protection statutes in the country. It’s also one of the few states that is friendly toward wealth accumulators as it has no individual or corporate income taxes, no estate taxes, no franchise tax and no personal property taxes. It also boasts the second best economy in the nation.
Maybe you should get serious about relocating to South Dakota? The lemonade here really is better!