1480: The American Boomerang, World's Greatest 'Turnaround' Nation Will Do It Again by Nick Adams, Liberty & American Greatness, Townhall.com, Centennial Institute

Welcome to the Creating wealth show with Jason Hartman. You're about to learn a new slant on investing, some exciting techniques and fresh new approaches to the world's most historically proven asset class that will enable you to create more wealth and freedom than you ever thought possible. Jason is a genuine, self made multimillionaire who's actually been there and done it. He's a successful investor, lender, developer and entrepreneur who's owned properties in 11 states, had hundreds of tenants, and been involved in thousands of real estate transactions. This program will help you follow in Jason's footsteps on the road to your financial independence day. You really can do it. And now here's your host, Jason Hartman with the complete solution for real estate investors.

Welcome to episode number 1481,480. And you know what that means. This is a 10 episode show. Some of my favorites. Well, hey, they're all my favorite. I hope they're all your favorite too. And we go off topic, discuss something of general interest. And this one will be, it'll be exciting for you, so you're gonna enjoy it. You know, there's a lot of, a lot of pessimism out there. There's a lot of trouble in the world. This guest is going to remind us all that we need to be appreciative of all that we have. And especially if we live in a democratic country. And especially if we live in the country that sort of made democracy famous, if you will. And so we'll get to that in a moment. But first I want to take a look at a few things with you. And this is on the business side, more on the business side. The money, money, money. Show me the money. Okay, so I am looking at a graph here from the U.S. census Bureau. And why is this graph interesting? Because it's talking about which state is the biggest exporter. And let me see, there are six on this graph. Now there are obviously more states. If you're Obama, there are like 57 states. If you're anybody else, there are 50, but whatever. Anyway, we're just talking about no, seven of them here.

So.

Seven, right? Yeah. And so we'll go looking at these top states, we'll go from the bottom up. And why is this chart flawed? That is the first question I have to ask. Well, it is flawed because it is only looking at absolute dollars of export value in billions of dollars rather than looking at exports in comparison. Because what is the Jason Hartman question compared to what? In comparison to the size of. I say two things. The size of its economy. You could Call that the GDP of the state. Now, you know, GDP is really meant on a national level, a country level. But, you know, a state has a gdp. Each state has a gross domestic product, the size of its economy and the size of its population, because that would really tell you how the state is doing. And if you looked at it that way, you might still have, you know, somewhat similar outcome, but it would be a little different. These would reorder. And I don't have that data for you, but I just have the questions for you. And this is why I want to share those questions. Because I want you to be skeptical. I want you to be cynical, just like me. Not just skeptical, but cynical. Don't believe what these people tell you, whether they're in the media or they're in the anything. And everybody's in the anything, aren't they? Yeah, I think everybody's all in the anything. You know, it's so funny. I remember when I was a little kid, I remember kind of occupying myself with trying to do nothing. I was thinking, okay, if I sit in the chair and I don't move, am I doing nothing? If I lay on the floor, am I doing nothing? If I stand up, could I be doing nothing? And I found it impossible to do nothing. I was always doing something. So everybody is in the anything. So be skeptical of everybody that's in the anything. The media, the government, the statisticians ask questions. And the question is, the best question of all is always compared to what? And that will lead you to seeing and hearing the dogs that don't bark and seeing the unseen, because that has profound impact of what is unseen. So this graph just talks about the states that are the biggest exporters. And from the bottom up, in billions of US Dollars, we have Michigan. Well, hey, they export cars. So that's a pretty big business, pretty big ticket item. They do other things, too. But there's still a even, all things Considered, and how Detroit has collapsed. But all things considered, they still got a lot of export activity going on there. So Michigan. And I'm going to round off here to save time. $55 billion. Florida, my new home state for the past couple of years. And I got to tell you, I'm liking Florida, folks. I think I'm going to stay here. You know, I've been looking for the perfect place to live since 2011 when I left the Socialist Republic of California, moved to Arizona and really liked Arizona quite a bit. For six years I lived there, and then I moved back for a very short stint. I moved to La Jolla, San Diego area, California to catch a little tax break. Yes, I might have set a world record as being the only person ever to move to California to save on taxes. I explained that on several episodes at the time I was doing it, so I won't bore you with it today. And then I moved to Lost Wages, Nevada, Las Vegas for a year and a half and lived there. And I didn't like Las Vegas too much. But you know, it does have a few things going for it. Definitely airport, you can go a lot of places from the airport and hey, it's the closest you can get to the socialist republic and still have no state income tax. But I just never been a fan of Las Vegas, whatever, you know, it's different strokes for different folks. So then Florida, and you know, I gotta say I'm liking Florida pretty well. Very good environment, no state income taxes, business friendly, a lot of beautiful beaches and scenery and luxury weather. Even though, hey, it's getting kind of hot. I'm not going to be saying luxury weather for a few months because summer is here and it's, it's getting kind of a little too hot. Okay for sure, but still not that bad. You know, all things considered, Florida's good. So 56 billion in exports. Illinois 60 billion in exports. Washington state 60 billion. Louisiana 63 billion. Remember, of course, New Orleans is a big giant port area. Remember that little thing called the Louisiana Purchase? And remember when I've talked to you about John Law? That's fascinating financial and monetary history, but fascinating. New York, New York, the Socialist Republic of New York, $73 billion. And then my former home state, the Socialist Republic of California, the agricultural capital of the United States and the maybe what? Sixth largest economy in the world. And look, I'm not giving California a lot of credit for that because California is a disaster and a half. But I will give California credit for this. Well, you know, listen, if you just have a lot of people, you're going to have a big economy even if you do everything else wrong. And California is the most populous state, it's about 40 million people. So even the former Soviet Union, just by sheer population numbers, even though it was a mismanaged absolute disaster, they had a fairly big economy because they just as part of the Soviet bloc, not just Russia, I'm saying the entire Soviet bloc, there's a good amount of population in there. So you're going to have a big economy even if you have it poorly managed. But California did succeed in attracting a lot of people to its state. Now you Know, in the last couple decades, that trend has obviously reversed as people are looking to escape the economic disaster and shift in tide of California. But when people get somewhere, it's kind of sticky, right? They kind of stick around because, hey, there's a lot of friction in moving. You got to leave people, you know, you care about, you have friends, you have habits, you have a routine moving. It's just a lot of friction. So it's a very sticky thing. Once people get someplace, they do eventually vote with their feet, but it takes a while. It's not easy. For many years, long before 2011, I wanted to leave California and I just stuck around and complained about it. Okay. But hey, California's not all bad. It does have a lot of stuff going for it. It's definitely, I would argue, if not the most, it's certainly one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. you know, a lot of geographic and topographical variety in California. Florida, on the other hand, is flat as a pancake. Do you know what the highest altitude point in California is? Well, it's actually a building. Yeah. It's not land. But the highest land mass in Florida is like 330ft. It's nothing. Oh, it's flat as a pancake. Number one, the number one biggest export state. And by the way, this is all in 2019 in the United States by a long shot, is Texas. Don't mess with Texas.

30.

Sorry, $330 billion in exports. Texas. Go Texas. A smaller population than California, but a lot of economic activity. Of course, Texas has this thing they call black gold, you know, oil. Now the oil business has obviously been hit pretty hard, but that's the scoop. I won't go into all the details of that. Okay, let me talk about a couple. Let me just get maybe one more thing in here before we get to our 10th episode show today, Pent up demand lifts home sales Survey fines. Now this is a survey. Where's this from? I think this is from my morning brew news. Oh, no. This is a Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. So this says new home sales rose by 21% in May from a year earlier, according to a survey of more than 300 US homebuilders conducted by none other. And he's been on the show many times. John Burns, Real Estate Consulting. Demand has started rising in recent weeks, real estate brokers say, as stay at home restrictions and mortgage rates remain. The restrictions ease and mortgage rates remain near record lows. Listen to a couple of numbers here. Then we'll get to our 10th episode guest okay. And these are not exactly related to the main thing, but they're interesting. So Simon Property Group, you know, that's the big mall owner, they own a lot of shopping malls. Whenever you walk into a shopping mall in the US it's very likely that you'll see a logo on the glass doors as you're coming into the mall that say, simon Property Group. They're big. Okay? And, you know, a few years ago, I talked about how their CEO was the highest paid CEO of any public company. Paid like $137 million. Wow, that's big. That's a lot. Anyway, $66 million is how much. Simon Property Group is suing the Gap over unpaid rent and other charges. Gap said it is committed to working with landlords to find a quote, mutually agreeable solutions and fair rent terms. Now, many of you listening are business owners and business owners. Oh, excuse me, I have to close the window because there's an obnoxious leaf blower outside. After we get through civil unrest and after we get through coronavirus pandemic, let's please get to what else is important in the world. Outlawing these fricking leaf blowers and all gardening equipment that is gas powered. You know, if Elon Musk really wanted to serve humanity, he could get the world to replace all these obnoxious gas powered gardening utensils, leaf blowers, weed whackers, lawnmowers, with electric. Oh, my God. Let me close the window. Just a moment.

Okay, the window is closed. Jason, sometimes you go on a rant. We think you might be a little manic. Yeah, well, I understand. Anyway, a lot of you, commercial or not commercial landlords, but don't be a commercial landlord. That's the first lesson here. But also for your own business, don't buy. In rare cases, you know, buy the building your business is in. But in most cases, don't just rent it. Hopefully you don't even need a building and you can have a virtual company like I've had since 2012. We gave up our last office. We had several offices in 2012. And it's not perfect, but it's definitely better. And certainly lower expenses, right? And everybody, our team members, they all like working out of the house, so let them do it. But, yeah, can you imagine a $66 million lawsuit? Now, remember, the Gap owns Banana Republic and they own some other stores. I personally like Banana Republic, but please don't buy me a gift certificate for Banana Republic because, like, billions of dollars in those gift cards. Oh, do you hear the leaf Blowers. Yeah, Billions of dollars in those gift cards go unclaimed every year. But thank you for thinking of me. I appreciate it.

And heck, I don't need any more clothing. I keep telling my mom that. And every birthday, Christmas, whatever, you know, clothing. Stop buying me clothing. I don't need any more clothes. So another number. 330,000. This is the number of small investors that have invested in office buildings, hotels, apartments and other commercial property through crowdfunding. Hey, actually that's, you know, my misspeak was actually a good name. Crowdfunding websites don't do this stuff, folks. Crowdfunding, you know, it violates commandment number three. Thou shalt maintain control. Control. Okay, Just don't do it. Don't do it. And look at what the assets they're investing in. Office buildings.

Those are blowing up. Disaster, train wreck. Hotels.

Blowing up. Not all of them, but many apartments, not quite as big an explosion because some of them aren't so bad. Housing is definitely where it's at. Alright, last number then we'll get to our guess. 59%. The number is 59%. That represents the increase in sales of new homes in Florida. Yes, my new home state in Florida in the month of May compared with a year prior according to a survey. Now, I guess they footnoted the survey and I don't have the name of the survey, so forgive me on that one. Buyers who plan to buy homes in 2021 or later are moving up their timelines due to coronavirus cabin fever. Well, guess who predicted that one? Yours truly. Another one of my predictions have come true. 59% increase in home sales in Florida. And guess what? Thankfully we have a southwest Florida webinar coming up for you this weekend. Go to jasonhartman.comwebinar jasonhartman.comWebinar and you can get registered and attend that webinar. And it's short and sweet. It's only 32 minutes long, so it's a real short one. But I think you'll really like that. And you definitely want to be looking at some of our Florida opportunities. We've got lots of them. We have Jacksonville, we have southwest Florida, we have other markets in Florida and we have other markets nationwide around the country, of course. But Florida is really en fuego. It's hot, hot, hot. And that doesn't just mean the weather. Okay? If you need us, we're here for you, to guide you, to help you to be your best asset in building your real estate portfolio. 1-800-hartman you can call us 1-800-hartman or jason hartman.com without further ado, let's get to our 10th episode guest and let's think about appreciating the tremendous things that we have in life and especially if we are in one particular place.

It's my pleasure to welcome Nick Adams. He is founder and executive director of the foundation for Liberty and American Greatness, otherwise known as Flag. He's a columnist for Townhill.com, centennial Institute, Policy fellow at Colorado Christian University, and author of several books, including the American.

How the World's Greatest Turnaround Nation Will Do It Again, Green Card Warrior, and Rethinking America and Class Dismissed, why College Isn't the Answer, and the new book that comes out tomorrow, Trump and Churchill, Defenders of Western Civilization.

Nick, welcome.

How are you?

Hello, Jason. It's a pleasure to join you and your listeners.

It's good to have you. And you are an Aussie who is now living in Dallas, right?

That's correct. I'm an immigrant to the United States of America. I got my extraordinary ability green card four years ago. I look forward to becoming a citizen next year when I become eligible after my five years of permanent residency has been completed. I wake up every day and thank God that I'm in America. I think the United States is the greatest country in the world, and I'm just really blessed to be here and be a part of the American dream.

Well, that's awesome. But, hey, Australia's not so bad. I've been there before. I liked Australia. What's wrong with that?

Well, Jason, I'm sure that you visited. You didn't live there, probably, and it's a totally different kettle of fish when you're talking about living in Australia. And Australia is a nice place, but it's not really a place for somebody that wants to blaze a trail and leave a legacy and, and be different and be bold and be brash and. And not conform to expectations or conceal their true self. Australia is a place of a lot of gatekeepers, where you're really not the person that's in charge of. You're not the primary author of your destiny. You're not really in the driver's seat of your future, and that's what makes America so special.

Yeah, that's a great way to say it. Just last question, where in Australia did you live?

A big city that all of your listeners will be familiar with. Sydney hosted the 2000 Olympic Games Summer Olympics, and it's a city of about 5 million people these days, about 4 million. When I was growing Up. So it's a big, big place.

Yeah, good, good. It's a beautiful city for sure. But yeah, I get it. America really is a special country. There's no question about it. And, you know, we have listeners in 189 countries. And, you know, I was not born in the US And I just feel that it's a very special place and I feel very lucky to have that American passport.

But, you know, it ain't what it used to be.

I don't know. You know your book, the American Boomerang, you call it a turnaround, the world's greatest turnaround nation. Now, a lot of people think of turnarounds when they think of companies, right? You know, there are people, corporate people, who specialize in being a turnaround specialist. How will America do it again? And by the way, that book is six years old now, so I'm sure there's a little perspective on that too, right?

Without a doubt. Jason, look. The United States of America, the American culture, I believe, has a very interesting resilience. And you see it throughout history. Whenever the United States of America has been under attack, whenever America has been shoved up against a corner wall in a room, America has emerged bigger and stronger and better than it has before. Now, this is not a new thing at all. Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous French nobleman who came out here in the 18th century, famously observed in his sociological masterpiece, Democracy in America, that the true genius of Americans lay in their ability to repair their faults. Now, this was a sentiment that was echoed by Winston Churchill, who I suspect will speak about a lot later in this podcast. But Churchill famously said that America, a thing after exhausting every other option. And there is really a. A boomerang spirit to the American people. The culture is such that it's a malleable place. It's a flexible place. Americans have shown themselves to be very adaptive and very adaptable to things that happen in life and in the world. And that's why I think America really has got the recipe to overcome just about any problem.

So, Churchill, that was a long time ago, World War II. America definitely has a different set of people in it now and pretty different set of values. Is that all still true?

Well, I think so, Jason, because it's really the more the model. And from the model emanates the culture and emanates the thinking and emanates the value system. And if you go and have a look at the the United States of America, it was the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, our founding Fathers and the values that they projected onto America. I think that that's what's enabled the flexibility and the malleability and the greatness and the ambition and the risk taking and all of the things that we associate being American, I think, comes from that. So while there might be a different set of people now living in the United States of America, the thinking, the value, the approach, all of that kind of stuff, I think all of it still holds very much true.

Well, I hope you're right. I get pretty discouraged sometimes when I think about maybe the last two generations and the way history has been revised and what they believe versus what is actually true.

It's just a different set of beliefs. I mean, you look at the way socialism has kind of taken hold, and it worries me.

Look, you got absolutely every right to be worried, Jason. I mean, it's fair to say that the United States of America is not living up to its potential and that young people in the United States of America don't know what it means to be an American anymore, and they don't have an appreciation of the founding documents that I was discussing a few moments ago. And that's a real concern, because the only way that the American model can survive is if people know what is required for the model and they have the confidence to defend it and advocate for it. So it is definitely something to be concerned about, to be aware about, and to be vigilant about. But ultimately, optimism is a very American thing. And I think that we've got a lot of reason to be optimistic. As Americans. We're still the greatest country in the world. With all of our problems and all of our challenges and all of the threats that face us, there is no other place where I would rather be. I always say that if you're born in the United States of America, or the day that you move to the United States of America is the day that you win the lottery of life and you get this incredible head start on anyone and everyone everywhere else. And I really feel that. And that's why America remains the number one destination for all types of immigrants, legal and illegal, no question about it.

So I love studying history. And about a year ago, I finished that series World War II in color, which was quite interesting to me. And by the way, seeing these historical films colorized, it really does bring it to life. I hate to seem like color is that big a deal, but it really is, at least for me. I've been watching lately something called America in Color, another series. And of course, they've got their Revisionist aspects, but just the fact that it's in color makes it so much more real, at least to me. And Churchill is such an interesting character. He seemed to have so much amazing faith and strength, fortitude. And without him, I really think World War II may well have turned out differently.

What are your thoughts?

I agree with you, Jason. I think I'd probably be speaking Japanese and you might be speaking German.

Well, there is a show about that. That's the man in the High Castle, right?

Yeah. So, you know, look, it would have been very different had Churchill not been around. Churchill was a disruptor. He was a catalyst for change. He was one of those people that decided to upend what was the norm and convention. Of course, Churchill was half American, a point that's often overlooked. His mother was American. And I like to say that I think one of the reasons why Americans who typically really have a strong interest in what happens elsewhere in the world, they tend to be more America focused. I think that's one of the reasons why Winston Churchill is an exception. And many Americans, particularly older Americans, have a real affinity for Churchill, and he resonates with them. And I think that's because he was very American. I mean, he was a guy that was opinionated and not timid at all. Very powerful, very bold. He embraced risk, was very ambitious. I mean, he was. Yeah, he really acted out his life like an American.

Interesting, interesting. So do you think Trump and Churchill are similar in some ways?

Well, that's why I wrote the book, Trump and Churchill, Defenders of Western Civilization. I wrote the book, Jason, because I consider both men to actually be remarkably similar. And in my research for the book, I discovered that there were incredible parallels between the times and the men. Both men, of course, unique, historic, consequential. Trump's fight is on the inside. Churchill's fight was on the outside. Churchill was conquering the Axis powers and Trump conquering the swamp. But, you know, on first blush, when you look at it, you really wouldn't see the comparison. I mean, Churchill was 5 foot 6 and loved to have a drink. Trump's 6 foot 3 teetotaler, Churchill famously napped in his pajamas every opportunity he got. Donald Trump, by all accounts, barely sleep. One was this soaring, compelling orator, the other, not so much. One began their career by imposing tariffs, the other by introducing. By opposing tariffs, one, you know, by introducing them. So on that level, very different men. But as soon as you drill down a little bit, what you find, Jason, is that both of them remarkably similar, both intensely disliked or even hated. Both loved their country. Both alpha males, both clear thinkers and plain speakers. Both had an acrimonious relationship with the media. Both endured battles with the political establishment seeking their destruction. Both followed leaders that were widely regarded as very weak. Of course, Churchill had Neville Chamberlain and Donald Trump had Barack Obama.

And in fact, in my book, Trump and Churchill, we go and reproduce excerpts from British national newspapers from the late 1930s, early 1940s. And if I didn't tell you, Jason, that those excerpts were from British national newspapers at that time about Winston Churchill, you might think that I was quoting from the New York Times or the Washington Post about Donald Trump. So identical are the criticisms, so identical are the accusations that they're overconfident, that they're too optimistic, that they don't listen to anybody around them. All of that kind of stuff that we see spoken about Donald Trump, Winston Churchill had to endure.

That's really interesting.

You know, I didn't know that much about Churchill in. I mean, it seems to me, looking at history, like he was this popular leader that really united people and, well, I mean, at least on his side, of course, and sort of imparted his strength to a country that was unsure and wary. But you're saying he had all those same criticisms and was widely hated. Well, you know, half of the country, I guess I should say, like Trump. Right. I mean, half the country loves him.

Yeah.

So I guess, you know, that's polarization for you, right?

Well, certainly the people in positions of power and influence, like the elites, whether they were in the government, whether they were in the political parties, whether they were in the media, those people had a real venom for Winston Churchill. They didn't like him. They didn't think he looked like a prime minister. They didn't take him seriously. He was too arrogant for them. I mean, he was their worst nightmare. In many ways, similar to how Donald Trump is perceived by bureaucrats and the former presidents and many people in Congress and even many people in his own party, like Mitt Romney. So the comparisons, the parallels are really incredible when you get down. That's what blew me away as I was writing. Trump and Churchill, defenders of Western civilization.

Very interesting, very interesting. What else would you like people to know, you know, either about the boomerang or the comparison of Trump and Churchill?

Well, Jason, look, history repeats itself, and you have to really be aware of that and know how to see things. And Donald Trump came on the scene politically at a time when a lot of everyday Americans were hurting. Their confidence had taken a hit. They had not been made to feel comfortable, to celebrate their patriotism or have their patriotism be a focal part of their life and the culture. And Donald Trump comes along and gives that to them. And in many ways, Winston Churchill gave that same kind of confidence and assurance. You know, we see now New York Mayor Bill de Blasio came out and blasted President Trump for being or for peddling false optimism. And it's funny because Churchill was accused of exactly the same thing, because he would get on a radio address and he would remind people of sunnier days past and he would promised them sunny days in the future. And for the world that was going through its darkest hours, many people thought that that was irresponsible, that that was wrong, that that was him underplaying what was going on. And in the same way, CNN's Wolf Blitzer accused the president of belittling the enormity of the crisis in relation to COVID 19.

You can't win.

That's the bottom line here.

You know, no matter what Trump does.

The media will hate him.

It's just ridiculous, really.

That's exactly right, Jason.

Yeah. Unbelievable.

Well, where do we go from here? And wrap it up for us. Give out your website.

Look, where do we go to from here? Always believe in America. Never bet against America. Understand who we are, where we come from, what we do. In every one of us, there's a little bit of our founding fathers still. Be optimistic. It's not American to be sit around with slump shoulders. This is the greatest country in the world. Despite all the problems that we have, we're very lucky to have a president of the, of the medal and strength and fortitude and leadership of Donald Trump. And we can win this. We can bounce back. We can do everything. If you'd like to know more about me, go to nickadamsusa.com that's nickadamsusa.com if you'd like to order Trump and Churchill, go to Amazon.com that's Amazon.com and you'll be good to go.

Yeah.

Good stuff.

Nick, one last question for you.

How do you think history will look at Trump compared to the way he's viewed today? Either positive, negative, whatever.

Yeah, I think it'll be very different to what it is today. I think Donald Trump will very much be a Van Gogh president, that is to say, one probably not appreciated in his lifetime. It will be with the passage of time that Donald Trump will be seen more objectively and potentially, as I make out the case for in my book, Trump and Churchill, defenders of Western civilization, potentially be one of the greatest figures of the 21st century. We've got a long way to go in that century, but it's very possible that he will become the Winston churchill of the 21st century from a historical perspective.

Nick, thank you for joining us.

It's been a pleasure.

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