Imagine rulers, under pressure and threat by subordinates, and community and religious leaders, all sitting down at one table as equals. And imagine the rulers agreeing to relinquish their rights, and in turn granting to every-day folks the same or superior rights only the privileged class enjoyed.
Then, after enjoying and taking for granted those rights, you witness rights slowly being stripped away.
Those that understand the true source of their freedoms and liberties realize that the first of these extraordinary events has already taken place, and the second is underfoot. For this reason, many are taking necessary steps to defend their property and individual rights.
By nature, I’m an optimistic person. But candidly, it always takes something out of me when I write the truth about what I see occurring to our property and individual rights, which isn’t always positive. As a former judge and international lawyer, I feel it needs to be discussed.
Read on to see what your property rights and international trusts have to do with changes to basic rights we take for granted, and the abandoning of the U.S. Dollar as the reserve currency.
Embrace Your Legal Rights
No doubt, this June 15th is a very special day. The past events that occurred on the 15th of June were so phenomenal that it is fair to say that all of the rights you take for granted today are based upon what happened on that date. And equally reasonable to say, that the binding agreement that arose created the very foundation of every one of your legal rights against the arbitrary authority of those that rule.
June 15 is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta that established the “rule of law” for the English-speaking world. Its revolutionary impact still resounds today. The rule of law is an underlying principle for everything you take for granted.
The idea of the rule of law took its first form on that very day. The new doctrine was cast in stone in a legally binding document, and King John and the privileged few accepted that they could no longer make the rules up as they went along.
Make no mistake, from the signing of the Magna Carta, the liberties of your ancestors took form, and ultimately flow all the rights and freedoms that you now take for granted.
Some of the essential liberties that were borne that day include uncensored newspapers, security of property, equality before the law, habeas corpus, democratic elections, sanctity of contract, and the right of trial by jury. The freedom of travel and the right of free movement of property across borders also flowed from those rights. Almost immediately, the document took on a political significance that changed the world.
Importantly, the Magna Carta has always been held as significant in the United States. Americans, in particular, have held the Magna Carta to such an importance that these essential rights are embedded in the Constitution.
Many essential rights founded in the Magna Carta are viewed today as sanctimonious by journalists, property owners, civil and criminal trial lawyers, political hopefuls, everyday folks who enter into simple contractual relationships with one another, and those that seek to travel freely across borders. Many firearm owners view the constitutional right to bear arms as a mechanism to hold their rulers to account, albeit a final resort.
As early as 1637, the State of Maryland sought to incorporate the Magna Carta into its basic law. In America, it was viewed as something that stood high above the government’s power. And it would have vast consequences in the 1770s as the United States was being formed.
“No taxation without representation” had important meaning. This principle was founded in the Magna Carta at Chapter 12. And in 1775, Massachusetts adopted as its state seal a patriot with a sword in one hand and a copy of the Magna Carta in the other.
And the American Civil War reflects more than just a dispute over slavery. Each side was fighting for their understanding of the rights bestowed upon on them under the Magna Carta. The American Revolution is remembered today as a War of Independence, but at the time the loyalists and patriots saw it as a civil war with divided opinions.
The Magna Carta should be seen as a binding contract between you and your government guaranteeing your rights and liberties as a free citizen. We are not enduring for the convenience of those that are supposed to serve us. And freedoms should not be arbitrarily taken away by someone in a more powerful position, or higher up the economic scale.
The rights we take for granted – including freedom of speech, religion, assembly, free movement of people and property - have become the natural condition. They were developed and matured over eight centuries. June 15 is truly an extraordinary day to celebrate.
But what’s happening to those rights?
Look Around at the Changes
Over the past many years I’ve written newsletters about how border controls impact rights to the free movement of people and money, addressed the legality of 'going offshore', FATCA’s global impact on financial rights, how to protect assets from various different threats, moving and living offshore, obtaining multiple residencies and second citizenships, the advantages of an international trust (and how it works), and much, much more.
Many of those articles are posted at the Past Articles page on our website found at DavidTanzer.com.
Why is it that we see today so many of our fundamental rights being cut back and stripped away? When does the common man say “No more” and fight back? Do the small movements we witness today mean a new revolution is already underway? And where is the tipping point when it all boils over?
Today, it’s easy to view the world as it was in the mid-1930s before World War II took hold. Authoritarianism was on the rise, and elevating the State over the individual placed many in great peril. Uncountable millions lost their lives, and many multiples more lost everything they owned after managing to stay alive. The world changed quickly in the 1930s in unfathomable measures, although only a few years earlier everyone was reveling in the Roaring Twenties.
In the past decade, the confiscation of property – cash and hard assets – in the name of police authority from individuals not charged with a crime has grown. The collection of private data and the acceptance of the “Big Brother” mentality is taken for granted. Whistle-blowers are imprisoned, instead of being championed. The increasing prohibition over the free movement of money and people across borders widens under draconian laws everywhere. And far worse appears on the horizon.
The militarization of police power in America has become so bad that it’s now common to view clips on the nightly news and YouTube. Made for TV police crime-stopper shows, like Bad Boys and other cheap spectacles, display excessive police force as part of nightly entertainment.
But the worsening trend is the arbitrary police taking of a person’s life, particularly when they are not charged or even suspected of a crime. It’s now accepted police practice to shoot to kill suspects, even during routine stops. During the first five months of 2015, at least 385 people have been shot and killed by police in the United States, according to the Washington Post.
Police have killed individuals – whether suspected of a crime or not - at least two every single day in the U.S. It used to be an extraordinary event to see such bizarre things occur, but no more. And the killings tallied by the federal government are not complete, as the actual numbers are likely much greater.
"These shootings are grossly under-reported," says Jim Bueermann, a former police chief and president of the Washington-based Police Foundation, a non-profit body dedicated to improving law enforcement. The Washington DC based reports only police shootings by firearms, not police killings by other means, such as stun guns, or deaths while in police custody. And keep in mind all this is before excessive force or abuse is taken into account.
What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
The statistics reveal that about half the victims shot and killed were white, half minority. Twenty percent of the 385 victims were not armed. Thirteen of those that had guns were toys. Other victims were killed because they were revving the engines of their vehicles and, in one case, held a nail gun. Of the 385, the dead ranged in age from 16 to 83, and eight were children. One example was a 17-year-old girl out for a joy ride in a stolen car gunned down in an alley by Denver Police.
While crime is a problem in the U.S., the militarization of police is a bigger problem that should concern everyone. Regardless of your race, religion, or social standing, you should be concerned with what is happening. During the 1930s, Statin, Hitler, Mussolini, and other authoritarian rulers used police force as a powerful weapon of control. The ending is never good.
While a national debate is raging about police use of deadly force in minority communities, so many other rights and freedoms we once enjoyed are also being lost. Where is the rule of law today in America? Where is the debate on these other essential issues? Does anyone remember the Magna Carta? Does anyone care?
The success of the Magna Carta makes it hard for us, 800 years later, to see how revolutionary it was at the time. That special something the Magna Carta created, was the rule of law.
But what happens when the Magna Carta’s individual guarantees from state coercion vanish? Or when the rule of law fails us?
The government isn't suppose to restrict or seize your property, or mistreat you, other than by due process of law. This essential concept of freedom is worth clinging to today as our governments continue to take measures to redefine your rights and your entitlements.
Liberty and property: how natural these two words sound. But you can no longer take these rights and freedoms for granted any longer.
Today, it is up to you to keep – or regain – your rights by taking steps to protect what is yours. Your defense is your responsibility. It is up to you to keep intact the liberties you inherited and to securely pass them on.
One important step is to maintain control of your property, and then keep it away from the hands of others that would do you wrong. Placing assets inside an international trust to protect them is one powerful step to protecting your assets.
Abandoning the US Dollar as the Global Currency
Many outside of the U.S. view America and Americans with distrust and distain. It is no secret that the U.S. is no longer looked upon as the great protector or benevolent provider. Many consider the U.S. as the source of global problems. For purpose of this article, whether this view is right or wrong doesn’t matter, it’s the perception that counts.
The economic world order established by the victors at Bretton Woods following World War II created the U.S. Dollar as the world’s pre-eminent currency, and ultimately the World Bank and the IMF. All international trade was based upon this for the past half-century. But during the past decade that has changed faster than most Americans realize. A global currency war has been fought intensively during the past half dozen years, and the U.S. Dollar is gradually being replaced as 'the' global currency for international trade.
To visually grasp how quickly the U.S. Dollar has been abandoned, this map by Port Phillip Publishing displays the number of countries that have already dumped the Dollar. You might be surprised at the number.
The chart shows a clear trend that global and regional powers are already turning their backs on the U.S. dollar in bilateral trade. Notice China's dominance. The connections demonstrate countries that have already ceased using the dollar for bilateral trading.
And the Chinese government is confident that the time has now come for its currency, the renminbi, to take the leadership role on the global economic stage. To the disdain and detriment of the U.S., China and many other countries around the globe have already signed up with the AIIB, the new alternative international bank to rival the U.S. created World Bank and IMF. Yes Dorothy, we are no longer in Kansas.
What this means to Americans and U.S. dollar holders is that the value of what they own is going to eventually fall, possibly severely. And it means that the cost to purchase all things imported into the U.S. is going to eventually rise, also possibly severely. When demand falls below supply, the cost generally drops - in this case the demand for the dollar for international trade continues to fall. Even if both measures only move modestly, the standard of living for Americans and U.S. dollar holders will suffer greatly.
And that’s why international asset protection includes having banking and investment diversity in offshore venues and is another important step in protecting your assets. Having rights to live somewhere else – through residency or second citizenship programs – are other important steps.
Next Step?
The complimentary past newsletters and articles on our website at DavidTanzer.com is a good place to start learning about asset protection and offshore living and investing. For international tips start here.
To learn about international trusts for integrated estate planning and asset protection, read How to Legally Protect Your Assets, 2nd edition.
To learn about the correct ways to go offshore, read Offshore Living & Investing, 2nd edition.
And if you wish to start now, or learn how to proceed with a confidential consultation to review your personal situation and to accomplish your objectives, then contact me here.
Until next time……
David