Get Ready for the Biggest Financial Crisis yet
Get Ready for the Biggest Financial Crisis yet
Liberty and Finance: 11-8-2025
In an economic environment defined by volatility, soaring inflation, and mounting global debt, traditional financial strategies are failing to protect wealth.
In a recent, critical discussion on Liberty and Finance, host Kaiser Johnson spoke with returning guest Phil Low, founder of the Bitter Draft, to dissect the true dangers lurking beneath the market surface and outline a timeless strategy for financial survival.
Low’s analysis spans the source of our current troubles—dishonest banking—to the defensive architecture of the classical “gentleman’s portfolio,” offering vital clarity on how to navigate the inevitable bust.
Most people believe inflation is simply the cost of doing business. Phil Low argues it is far more insidious, stemming directly from dishonest banking practices that create credit bubbles.
According to Low, banks generate an “illusion of real loanable funds” using fake dollars, which are actually nothing more than artificially expanded credit.
This manufactured liquidity is misread by the market as genuine profit or real capital. The resulting credit expansion doesn’t fuel genuine economic growth; it merely fuels inflation, directing capital to unproductive ventures and creating a massive, unstable overhang of debt.
The danger is clear: when the market realizes these dollars are fake, the resulting collapse won’t just be a recession—it will be a violent unwinding of credit that has been mistaken for wealth.
What happens when the credit bubble finally bursts in a hyperinflationary scenario? Many fear total societal collapse marked by extreme violence.
Low addresses this soberly, drawing parallels to the economic chaos and violence seen in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s.
While he agrees that social and political violence will increase as economic scarcity tightens its grip, he suggests that modern civilization is unlikely to be fully destroyed.
The key to preventing total societal collapse, Low emphasizes, is unleashing free markets. While the printing of money destroys capital, economic freedom allows real industry and productivity to emerge, effectively preventing mass starvation and dissolving the structural pressures that lead to chaos.
His advice for individuals during such a crisis is simple: maintain personal prudence and rely on proven, resilient assets.
In an unpredictable environment, where conventional wisdom (like the 60/40 stock-bond portfolio) is failing, Low advocates for a return to the classical “Gentleman’s Portfolio.” This strategy is built on diversification across three fundamental pillars of wealth, designed specifically to weather economic collapse and hyperinflation:
Precious metals serve as real money, offering unique liquidity and intrinsic value not tied to any government or banking system.
Low stresses that gold and silver are essential tools for maintaining purchasing power and facilitating transactions during periods of monetary chaos.
Productive land offers stability, income potential, and the ability to sustain life regardless of the financial system’s health. This asset is the ultimate hedge against both currency devaluation and food scarcity.
While stocks and bonds represent exposure to the financial markets, they are critical because they represent real business investments. Even after a major crash, businesses that produce essential goods and services will continue to operate, offering a route back to wealth accumulation once stability returns.
This triple-diversified approach is crucial not just for balancing risk, but for mitigating the potential for theft, loss, or government confiscation—a very real threat during times of systemic distress.
Low’s advice is straightforward: look closely at the conditions of credit and scrutinize profitability. If a venture only appears rational because of unlimited, cheap credit, it is a bubble waiting to pop.
Ultimately, the best defense is preparedness founded on honesty. Phil Low champions a return to honest banking as the only true way to prevent future bubbles and crashes.
In the meantime, the responsibility falls to the individual to secure their capital. Low advises storing wealth in real money—gold and silver—to ensure protection from the inevitable burst.