The highlights in today’s daily come from the two people who, more than anyone else, “tell it like it is.” Andy Hoffman and Bob Chapman refuse to “sugar-coat” the problems and both write with a sense of urgency that is uncommon.

Those of us who understand the nature of the problem face a dilemma. If we soften the message, our readers are left feeling too comfortable and are less likely to take action. If we “hard-sell” the problems, it turns off many of you. You simply ignore what we present because the message is too harsh.

I am constantly searching for a “middle-ground,” one that opens eyes but doesn’t send my readers running for cover in fear. Trust me, it is a very difficult thing to do. Still, I find it almost impossible not to feature Andy Hoffman and Bob Chapman every time they have something to say. If I did not agree with their views, you would not find their essays in my daily. The common thread from both of them is that Wall Street, the Fed and our government manipulates all of the markets (dollar, oil, stocks, gold, silver, Dow, etc.) in order to calm the masses and keep them in paper investments and in Treasuries.   They both shout out the same message: “Buy gold and silver now!” It is your only island of safety. Jim Sinclair agrees when it comes to gold, and so does The Dean of the Newsletter Writers, Richard Russell. Me – I like silver a lot too and in fact own considerably more silver than gold, and depending on the ratio between the two, will buy either when I have extra investable funds.

Do you remember what it used to be like when making money was easy and if you already were well-off, all you needed to do was buy bonds and “clip coupons.” It wasn’t all that long ago when you could live comfortably off of the interest (6% or more) from a bond portfolio and the interest you could earn was a couple of percent more than inflation. There was no real need for gold (or silver) in that environment and both gold and silver languished for two decades when it was possible to get a positive return from bonds. Not any more! Interest rates, courtesy of the Fed, have been crushed and now the best you can hope for is a few stinking percent while inflation rages at a conservative and honest 10%.

Most hard working Americans will be lucky to save a few hundred thousand dollars after a lifetime of hard work. If you have $300,000 and earn 3% on that amount, you supplement your Social Security ($1,800 a month) with an additional (taxable) $750 a month interest from your bonds. $2,500 a month does not allow for the “Golden Years,” or “The Good Life” that was promised when we were younger. And if you think it is tough to make ends meet now, wait a while and see what inflation does to your “fixed income” after QE3 and QE4 are offered up as a solution to an economy that is teetering on the edge right now.

Look what has happened in the last 10 years. The stock market is no longer a money making machine. There has been no growth in a decade. Your house is no longer an ATM machine. Prices have tumbled 30% or more and are still falling. It used to be that Americans counted on the equity built up in their house to supplement their retirement. Not any more. Look what has been taken away from us – stocks, home equity and even a fair and livable rate of interest from CDs and bonds. What’s left? Where can you go for safety and growth? You already know the answer – gold and silver. Six years ago, gold was $500 an ounce and silver was around $7.

Even after the recent mauling, courtesy of the good folks at JPMorgan, the metals are doing very well. $300,000 invested in gold in the fall of 2006 would today be worth over $1,000,000. In silver it would be worth over $1,500,000. And they call this A BUBBLE! I call this a God Send!

Should you believe what I have to say going forward? As you all know, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, but if you have a better way to judge the merit of what I have to say, please tell me. It is true, I arbitrarily picked a time frame that looks pretty good for gold and silver and yes, I was ranting that you needed to by these precious metals all along since 2006 – but the bigger truth is I was saying the same thing in 2001 too. And your $300,000, invested in gold in 2001, would today be worth around $1,700,000 and in silver a cool $2,300,000. These are not just imaginary numbers – I know for a fact it works this way because I was investing ALL OF MY MONEY in gold and silver since 2001. I have labored to pull as many of you as possible along for the ride of a lifetime. I know from the many emails I get from our Miles Franklin clients that I have indeed been a life changer for thousands of you. I have made a difference in the lives of many, many people and strive to do even more, going forward. That is the common bond I share with Ranting Andy Hoffman. We both are on a mission to help as many of you as possible.

Early on, it was mostly about making money. Now it is about preserving our wealth, which will be very difficult, if not impossible unless you are light paper currency and heavy physical metal. That is a fact! Got gold? Got silver? Got enough gold and silver? I hope you can answer yes to these questions. If not, what are you waiting for?