253: Remembering & Honoring Fallen Heros This Memorial Day

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To our American listeners, but really to.

Everybody around the world who believes in.

Freedom, liberty actually, I'll say it better.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I want to wish you all a very happy Memorial Day and I will get to more on that in a bit. But first I want to start with some messages, some listener questions, some listener comments. And you know, we haven't gotten to some of these in a while, so apologies for them being late, but they are still so appropriate and so relevant and I just want to share some of those with you. Some of them you'll actually hear from the listeners. Well, at least the first one I will read because this is in text form. And this one came to our investment counselor, Sarah. You've heard her on the show before. The message says, hi Sarah, my name is Jude Moore. I am 16 years old and a sophomore in high school. I have listened to Jason Hartman since I was a young child.

I have been working for the last two years and sometimes up to three jobs and a side hustle as well.

Boy, that Jude, you remind me of myself when I was your age. I really gotta hand it to you, that's awesome. I worked and worked and before I.

Could work legally and they wouldn't let me work, you know, I just started.

My own little business in school. So I just love this message. So thank you for sending it to us. Done that. As well as a side hustle, I.

Have all A's and B's and play.

Two sports at my high school.

I have good friends and in my.

Free time I watch videos on investing. Wow. That is awesome. I love it. I love it. This is great.

I don't play video games and I didn't have my first phone until ninth grade. I'm the oldest of seven kids.

Wow. Well Jude, you are the leader of those seven kids. This is just a great message.

With my parents approval and permission, I am writing to see if you would be kind enough to pass this Note.

On to Mr. Hartman.

I have earned and saved almost $20,000 folks. Remember, this is a 16 year old.

Jude, hats off to you. That's just Totally awesome.

So you've earned and saved almost $20,000. I feel I'm ready to start with my first investment in a property. I am hoping to go to real estate school as soon as possible.

I was wondering if Mr. Hartman has.

Any ideas as to where I can.

Invest my $20,000 into real estate. Thank you, Jude Moore. So, Jude, first off, I just want to say congratulations.

You are doing awesome things. And Jude, if you don't get off track and you keep going, you will be so far ahead by the time you are just 26 years old. The compounding effect. Remember Einstein called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world.

And that doesn't mean interest in a bank account necessarily.

It means compound return on investment. So if you buy your first property.

Now, now you'll have to do it with your parents help because there's financing and so forth. And you got to be of legal.

Age, which is 18, of course, and.

We all know this, but I mean, I just commend you, whatever you decide to do, don't blow it. There will be temptations, trust me.

You will see your friends and you've.

Already seen your friends living for the.

Moment, living for the day, taking instant.

Gratification over long term growth and long term success.

So we can certainly help you.

We're honored that you reached out to us. And I just want to say congratulations. This is really just awesome. I discovered real estate investing when I was 16 years old. You've probably heard the story, but I saw an infomercial for a guru. I went out and got his book. I read three chapters, put it down. You know, I was busy being a kid and doing high school, but I was interested and my mom picked up the book and she read the whole thing and then read a few other books and then started going to seminars and conferences.

Couple years later she said there was.

One coming up in Anaheim, California, by Disneyland and why don't I go? So I got nine of my buddies from high school to go. They were all there the first night, Friday evening. I remember the speaker, Hal Morris, who I later met at a Mariners Church men's retreat years later. And I actually played an audio where I was talking about him. I played it for him and.

And it's just amazing how this stuff.

Comes back around, you know, it's a wonderful thing.

He was talking about points and I.

Didn'T know what points were loan points. And so Monday morning I searched around and researched about getting into real estate.

School at age 18.

And I got my real estate license on my 19th well, before my 20th birthday, I was 19 years old. It all started there.

Jude, I would recommend you go to real estate school.

I think that would be a good education for you. Just to get the basics, just to get the background. But keep in mind, it's about investing. That's where you earn those compound returns and really, really multiply your money. So congratulations. We're happy that you reached out. We're happy that you're listening to the podcast and the YouTube. Just stay on your journey and we're here to help you.

The next message is me teeing up.

A message from one of our clients who you've heard on the show. Of course, this is Carmen that you'll.

Be hearing from as she is talking about inflation.

And let's listen in.

Over the years, I've talked a lot on the show about the hidden inflationary pressures in the system, in the economy, in the supply chain. And whether they be artificially low priced sharing economy services like Uber or artificially low interest rates, as we all know about that. There are also a lot of pressures inside the manufacturing and distribution supply chains. So you've all heard Carmen on the show many times in the past. And this is a message she left me when we were talking about import export. We have this huge imbalance, as we all know, between the US And China where China is bringing a lot of stuff in or the US Is bringing stuff in from China, whichever way you want to look at it. And then we are shipping back either empty containers or containers of low value products like soybeans. So it's just a very imbalanced system. Trump was very much trying to correct this. But here's an interesting message when you look at the container shipping cost. I heard a report this morning and I asked her about it that talked about how containers used to be three or $4,000 to move an entire large container of goods from China to the US and now they've gone to either double or at least increase by about a third. So very, very significant inflationary pressures that will hit the consumer and will pass through to consumers.

Definitely. No. What your friend, I think is referring to just the standard increase for the container I had to ship from, I mean, before the New Year's, the Chinese New Year. So it will make it here at some decent time. I had to pay about $5,000 on the premium, only they call it a premium fee, plus the normal rate of maybe three. So I would probably end up paying $9,000 for a small container. We're not even talking a big one. This is a small container. So this is not going back. This is not changing. I mean, we're not going to be paying the premiums because the New Year's is, the Chinese New Year is over. But the trend and all indications are showing that prices are not going to go back. We're going to see major impact on pricing. I mean, inflation just based on that. You know, even if production, the cost of production doesn't increase per se or the materials moving things to different countries is just extremely expensive. I mean, the ports are pretty much collapsing. There's boats parked, I mean, or floating. I mean, I know about the LA port, but this is happening across the border, I think. I mean, including Europe, everywhere. These ships are just waiting there to be allowed to come. So they're waiting there for days.

Okay, so you've heard about that problem. I don't want to get in too.

Deep to that, but the inflationary pressures.

In the system are all around us. What I meant by the sharing economy, just to clarify that and expand on that a little bit, is look at you've got a dysfunctional company like Uber.

That has underpriced the market to intentionally drive taxis and out of business.

And they've succeeded to a large degree in driving the competition out of business by underpricing their services because they are.

Like so many tech companies, dysfunctionally over.

Funded by venture capitalists and then later public offerings and all the investors, they.

Just overfund these tech companies. So they run dysfunctional businesses and they operate with huge burn rates.

Then they take out their competitors and then later they raise prices and we all get burned. It's a scam, but it's the way it is. It's the way the world works, unfortunately. So just understand that there is all sorts of hidden inflation all around us throughout the system. Here's another message.

Hey Jason, I just wanted to share some information with you and our listeners. We've been hearing quite a bit about loan forbearance during this pandemic. You know, a lot of clients started their forbearance program, but then you never really hear what happens for a while. So I was just talking to a client who went into forbearance for six months, total of $15,000. And what they did for him was they lowered his interest rate from 3.875 to 3%. They put the $15,000 of payments that he missed, they just tacked that onto the back of the loan. And I asked him if, you know, there was any impact on his credit score and he said no. So I thought that was a pretty good deal. Just wanted to share.

Thanks.

And here is another message from Sarah.

Hey, Jason, it's your favorite investment therapist, Sarah, and I just wanted to share with you and the listeners that Matt and I just closed on two more cash out refinances on our Memphis properties. The interest rate we locked in last month was 2.875.

Wow.

Which is our lowest interest rate ever on any properties we've ever owned. So it's pretty incredible. And basically we purchased these two properties in 2016 and pulled out about the exact amount that we put in for down payment on each property. And our payments only went up, you know, maybe 50 bucks a month or so. And then of course, we've had some rent increases over the years. So we're basically getting the same amount of cash flow on those properties and got all our down payment money out. So I would call those infinite return properties. And we're just really excited about it. So thanks for all your help and guidance. And I just want to encourage any clients that have equity in their properties and are looking to grow their portfolios to reach out, and we can definitely help them apply the same strategy. Thanks, Sarah.

That is fantastic. As I always say, income property is the most historically proven asset class in the world. And one of the major reasons is that you can constantly renegotiate the deal for as long as you own it by refinancing, by improving the property, by increasing the wind, changing the tenant, changing the deal. There's just so many opportunities to be creative there. Doing a lease option, there's just a million different ways to do it. And then you're already exercising the refi till you die plan for those infinite returns early. So that's just wonderful. Congratulations.

Okay, so I hope those messages were helpful to you. Now let's talk a little bit about Memorial Day and a thank you to.

All the people, not only Americans.

I want to stress that, look, it's an American holiday, but the stuff we're going to talk about is extremely valuable, possibly more valuable, maybe a lot more valuable to non American listeners. So let's talk about this a little bit.

First off, this is a day where we give thanks, where we appreciate all.

Those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. They sacrificed their lives for the country.

For the founding ideas of the country.

And the founding ideas of America. Now, look, I just happen to be American. I wasn't born here. I was born in Europe.

Fortunately, just through luck, you know, I.

Had two American parents, and so I got to be an American And I.

Consider that a hugely lucky thing. Why is that? If you think about it, there's only one other real example in history before the US Constitution that made this whole idea that government was the servant of the people.

Actually, well, I'll include the Declaration of Independence, because I'm actually going to read you part of that. That is about the consent of the governed. But the Constitution, especially the Bill of.

Rights, specifically made it about the individual being above the government. And that was a crazy idea. Only one other document, so far as.

I know, was like that, and that's the Magna Carta, where rights were transferred from the governing power to. To the citizen. But the Constitution did it better than anything, better than any other document. Ashley sent me over a speech that her father gave, and I don't know when he gave this, but it was a. It was a Memorial Day speech. And I'm not sure if it was last Memorial Day or one prior. And I just thought I'd share with you a couple things because she shared it with me, and I just thought this was brilliant. Her father's a true patriot. Just a couple parts from it. And then I want to share with you something I've shared before, which was.

Ronald Reagan, his Christmas Day radio address.

To the nation, December 25, 1982. I won't have time to read the whole thing, but I just want to touch on a couple of parts of that that relate to this whole thing that I think is. It's just very important. So Ashley's father says Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor the men and women who died while serving in the US Military.

And he says, I share these stories.

And there were a whole bunch of stories he shared before this.

But I share these stories with you because they help put a face to the abstract numbers of supreme American sacrifices.

How many Americans have made the supreme sacrifice?

Listen to the immensity, the sacrifice. And he goes through and he tallies.

A bunch of different wars.

And keep in mind that many of these wars did not force the people to fight. Yes, we had drafts sometimes, but even with a draft, there were all kinds of ways to get out of it. This isn't the type of army ever.

The American army has never been the type of army that you had in a totalitarian country where they also made their sacrifices. But I would certainly argue and just logic would tell you that they weren't making the sacrifice because they believed. By the way, this is me talking, because the soldiers believed in the country necessarily as much as they were forced to do it.

He goes through in his speech and tallies the death toll, and it's about 1.4 million. And he compares it. He says, to put it in perspective, this number, 1.4 million, is equivalent to the population of the city of Dallas, Texas. Just think about that for a moment. The city of Dallas, that sprawling metroplex, a huge city, 1.4 million. Can you imagine if Dallas was wiped out?

If there was a nuke, for example, how we would feel about that?

That would be just unbelievable. So these are huge numbers.

So that's just me talking. I think you can tell where I'm talking and where I'm reading. Hopefully you can. Okay, because look, we're informal here.

Okay?

But here's what he says in his speech.

He says, why would soldiers in numbers the size of the city of Dallas.

Texas, be willing to sacrifice their lives for America? Would they sacrifice for a bad cause, as some today say America is bad?

Or because America is the great Satan operating a caste like system that keeps the poor and minorities at the bottom of the heap with no hope for the future? Is it because they wanted America to be a socialist or totalitarian nation? I say a resounding absolutely not to all of these 1.4 million soldiers would.

Not sacrifice their lives for a bad cause. They believed in America and what it stands for.

They were looking to help build it.

Up, not tear it down. So let me share with you, let me blend this in, if you will, to take some license here to blend this in with that Reagan radio address that I shared with you on a prior episode a long time ago.

So this Reagan radio address chronicles a sailor who was in the South China.

Sea back in 1982.

And he writes a letter home to.

His mother and father and talks about.

How they rendered assistance to a sinking.

Boat that had 65 Vietnamese refugees that they picked up and they rescued all of them. He tells the story about this and.

He says, I guess once in a.

While, he writes, we need a jolt.

Like that for us to realize why we do what we do and how important really it can be. I mean, it took a lot of guts for those parents to make a choice like that, to go out to sea in a leaky boat in the.

Hope of finding someone to take them from the sea. So much risk, but apparently I'm getting choked up here.

So much risk, but apparently they felt.

It was worth it rather than live in a communist country for all our.

Problems with the price of gas and.

Not being able to afford a new car or other creature comforts.

This year, I really don't see a lot of leaky boats heading out of.

San Diego looking for Russian ships out there. So remember, this is during the Cold War.

That is so true. And can you believe the type of culture we have come to in this country today, where we have an entire generation almost, that has been brainwashed into believing all these evil things about America? Look, we have to all keep this in perspective.

Certainly the US Is not perfect by.

Any stretch, but compared to what? Compared to what other country? The history of the world is ugly. It is violent, it is greedy. That's history.

That's just me talking all there. By the way, okay, the Russian ships is where I left off on the Reagan address.

So we've got to keep that in perspective, don't we? And for every person around the world who believes in freedom and liberty, we.

Need to keep that in perspective. Let me go back to the Reagan address.

After the refugees were brought aboard.

And this is the letter he's writing to his mom and dad, the sailor.

After the refugees were brought aboard, I took some pictures, but as usual, I didn't have my camera for the real.

Picture, the one blazed in my mind as they approached the ship, meaning the refugees.

They were all waving and trying as.

Best they could to say, hello, America, sailor. Hello, freedom, man.

It's hard to see a boat full.

Of people like that and not get a lump somewhere between the chin and the belly button.

And. And it really makes one proud and.

Glad to be an American. People were waving and shouting and choking down lumps and trying not to let the other brave men see their wet eyes. A lieutenant next to me said, yeah, I guess it's payday in more ways than one. We got paid today. And I guess no one could say it better than that. The letter goes on to say, we.

Have a unique society made up of castoffs of all the world's wars and.

Oppressions, and yet we're strong and free.

We have one thing in common.

No matter where our forefathers came from.

We all believe in that freedom.

Isn't that amazing?

I mean, just if you want to get in touch with some of these really great ideals of freedom and liberty.

Of course, the Founding Fathers would be a great place to start.

But if you want a more contemporary version, just go and listen to Ronald Reagan's speeches.

They are absolutely amazing. They didn't call him the Great Communicator for nothing. Whether you love him or hate him.

If you disagree with what he's saying.

In a lot of those speeches, then.

Really you disagree with Freedom and liberty.

And you know, that's your prerogative. But he really outlines that very, very well in that speech. But so many of them, I mean, the Reagan speech archive is just phenomenal. Okay, so back to Ashley's father and his great speech.

Our journey started with the colonists rejecting.

The tyranny of Great Britain.

They declared to the world that quote.

And of course, this is from the chartering papers.

And by the way, did you know.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is just me talking.

Did you know the American chartering papers are the only chartering documents of any country with the word happiness in them? Not as an entitlement, but as a pursuit.

Okay. That you have the right to pursue it. So he's quoting here, of course, and.

It says, we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are.

Created equal, that they are indeed endowed.

By their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

That is without a doubt my favorite line.

Deriving their just powers from. From the consent of the governed.

And what follows is pretty great too.

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.

I would actually add to that and say it's not just the right of.

The people, it's the duty of the people.

So going ahead in, in the speech from Ashley's father here, which is just awesome. I love how he points out he has a whole bunch of bullet points here, talking about all these advantages America has offered to people.

And he says America has the kindest, gentlest foreign policy of any great power in world history.

I would agree completely. For all of those who think America's imperialistic and you know, this is just.

Crazy talk, you know, if you read.

Any of Alvin and Heidi Toffler's books, they're awesome, by the way. This is obviously me talking. You know, I digress from the speech all the time. They talk about how. And I don't remember which book it was, but I've read several of their books. They're awesome.

They talk about how people who accuse.

America of being imperialistic, they say, show.

Us the colleges and universities where they are teaching imperialistic practices.

Show us the schools, show us the military documents.

They don't exist because America is for.

A superpower, the most non imperialistic country. I mean, compared to what it could be doing, it's truly amazing. So he says America has the kindest.

Gentlest foreign policy of any great power in world history.

Twice in the 20th century, the United States saved the world, first from the Nazi threat, then from Soviet totalitarianism.

After destroying Germany and Japan In World War II, America proceeded to rebuild both nations.

And today we are close allies. This is me talking.

Just think about that. What other country in the world could you possibly envision having a Marshall Plan? I mean, just study the Marshall Plan. That has got to be the most amazing world saving plan ever. And yeah, of course I know the detractors and the critics will, will be writing me emails tomorrow saying, well, Jason.

Didn'T you know the Marshall Plan? America got a whole bunch of benefits from that.

Of course they did. Look at a country like any country, America or whatever other country is a business at some level. And it of course is looking out.

For its own best interest. But that business plan of the Marshall.

Plan could have certainly gone the other way. And it could have just been a huge waste of money for American taxpayers. It was a giant risk America took largely just doing what is right for the world.

And that's why, among many, many other things, America is a very, very special country.

And you know, it's interesting as I've.

Traveled to 87 countries around the world and I've had so many conversations with so many people in so many countries about these things.

Even the tends to be the young.

Ones who have been largely brainwashed by leftist ideologies and the Frankfurt School and all of that spreading around the world. That who doctrine of the Frankfurt School. Look it up. You know, I don't have time to talk about it today.

You know, they see it. They know even if they're, they're spouting.

Off a bunch of these crazy ideas and protesting about nothing, you know, at the end of the day, they hopefully know the truth that the world would not be the world it is today in a good way without America having saved it from so many tyrants and.

Just terrible oppressive ideas. I mean, when the Soviet Union really caught hold, do you know what Russia.

And the rest of the Soviet Union really became?

It became the world's biggest forced labor camp. I mean, just study the history, like go on YouTube and watch the original videos, watch old movies, read old books, listen to old music and look at old video.

You know, I love it. David Hoffman is one. He has a great YouTube channel.

He's a filmmaker and he just puts up all of these unedited old films and videos of, you know, what baby boomers thought when they were teenagers, you.

Know, with a microphone put in front of them.

Just regular people out there. And it's just amazing to hear what they thought and just to gain perspective from history.

History gives you so much perspective. There are videos out there that I found of going to a grocery store in Soviet bloc countries in the 70s.

What it was like.

And just compare that to what it was like going to an American grocery store in the 70s.

There is no contest.

There's just no contest.

So what we in the Western world.

Not just in the US Take for.

Granted has really been completely unavailable to the vast majority of the human race.

Until just recently and largely because of American sacrifices.

So thanks to all who served. Thanks to all the allied countries and soldiers who served.

And thanks to all of you for listening. Happy Memorial Day.

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