Anyone who has not listened carefully to what Congressman Ron Paul is saying should probably have a quick listen. Congressman (and Presidential Candidate) Paul has served on The House Banking Committee and The Financial Services Committee. If anyone is in a position to see what our country has in store financially it is this man.

In a video interview with Mike Maloney of Goldsilver.com Congressman (and Presidential Candidate) Ron Paul warns what lies dead ahead for our country if we continue on our present path.

Now that 2008 is in the rear-view mirror it is worth reviewing the performance of various investments. 2008 - Was "The Year of Reckoning" and a tipping point. As a massive wave of deleveraging swept across the world the torrent of borrowed money came under severe pressure. This unprecedented borrowing had almost begun to seem normal to anyone under 60 years old. But it historically was absolutely not normal. It had to end.

Right now, the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the banking system seem to be gearing up for an event the likes of which has never been seen. I believe the crisis that will unfold over the next few years will add up to the biggest economic event in history. The scale of what is happening will dwarf all other economic events combined. The Tulip mania of 1637, John Law's "Mississippi Scheme" of 1720, and the dot-com / tech bubble of 1999 will pale by comparison. Even the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany in 1923 and the Great Depression will seem like a walk in the park compared to what is coming.

But wealth is never destroyed - It is merely transferred. Neither you, nor I, have the power to stop what is coming. But we do have the choice to either freeze in panic and be crushed under the wheels of the economic freight train that is bearing down upon us, or catch the ride of our lives on the road to immense wealth.

• Why brokerage houses were allowed to combine with banks in the late 1990’s and why this led to a financial bubble.
• What a "derivative contract" is, why they are so dangerous and how they are growing exponentially.
• How the "Psychology of Bubbles" work and why commodities and the precious metals are going to be the next great bubble.

Since 2001 silver has been repeating a pattern. It has held in a consolidation (or strengthening) pattern and then broken out of this pattern to roughly double in price before entering its next consolidation period.

This white metal has proven to be a high energy and volatile investment that loves jumping, but it occasionally takes a short nap. Sort of like... a wire haired terrier.

The main stream press is finally waking up to the economic realities that are starting to affect us here and now. The January 7, 2008 Forbes magazine has an article by Ernest Zedillo, (former President of Mexico and current Director of The Yale Center for the study of Globalization) titled, 2008: Year of Reckoning. This article is written by a very studied and intelligent man that has seen first hand the effects of currency and borrowing problems. He sees major problems dead ahead for the global economy and I think he absolutely hits the nail on the head with his analysis. Here are a few quotes from that article along with my comments:

On October 4th 2006, the Dow broke its old high of 11,750 set back on January 14th 2000, and from then on all you heard from the financial press was "Dow sets a new, all time, record high..." at least that's all you heard until the correction on February 27th, 2007.

I just don't get it. How can anyone at this point in time (including the financial press) believe they are actually making gains being invested in general equities? On February 20th, the Dow hit its "brand new, all time, record high" of 12,795, and at the writing of this article hovers at 12,560, 6.9% above its 2000 high.

A 6.9% gain over the entire 7-year period... hasn't anyone heard of inflation? Don't investors know that if their portfolio doesn't outpace inflation they are actually losing ground?

The Quiet Dollar Panic write-up that I shared on 12/6/2006 with you has now become the Loud, Visible Dollar Panic of 2007. This panic is real and continuing. All Dollar based assets will be at risk before this is all over.

As the weather has been cooling down, the precious metals have been heating up. The silver and gold bulls are loose once more and look like they want to continue their stampede.

Silver is up 32% per year for the last 4 years on average and the rate of growth has become even steeper recently. Since October 27th, when gold and silver broke out of their triangle (or coil) consolidation patterns, gold is up 5.2% and silver is up 13.4%.

The Current Phase of Precious Metal Investing: As you think about these phases consider the geometric shape of a parabola. Phase 1 is the relatively flat sloped portion, Phase 2 is where the slope starts to arc higher and Phase 3 is where the angle becomes very steep.