With the global economy stalling and financial markets potentially sitting on the cusp of another free-fall, understanding how The-Powers-That-Be intend to control the destruction to follow and what actions they’ll take will be instrumental in determining whether you’ll preserve your way of life… or be wiped out along with millions of others.

From Casey Research via WolfStreet.com:

“Negative interest rates” have become a phenomenon with economists and the media. But I’m writing to tell you something about negative interest rates you haven’t heard. You certainly won’t hear about it in the mainstream press.

What’s coming at you is a historic event. It’s something our grandchildren will hear stories about, much like the Great Depression or the Cold War. It could send the price of gold much higher in the coming years.

If you know what’s coming, it could mean the difference between having lots of free cash in retirement and barely getting by. And please remember this warning: Social Security will help even less than you think.

To understand the gravity of this moment, let’s cover one of the most bizarre ideas in the world…

Negative Interest Rates.

In a normal world, your bank pays you interest on your savings. It takes your money, pools it with other people’s money, and loans it out. The bank makes money by paying out less in interest on your deposit than it earns in interest from borrowers. For example, it might pay out 3% to depositors while earning 6% from borrowers. This is how it has worked for decades.

Negative interest rates turn your “normal” bank account upside down. They could only exist in a crazy world where idiot politicians are in control. Unfortunately, that’s just what we’re dealing with right now.

Politicians all over the world are ordering banks to charge depositors (you) a fee for storing cash. It’s a perversion of saving. It’s a perversion of capitalism. It’s a perversion of planning for the future.

And it’s going to result in disaster.

Politicians think that by making it unattractive for you to keep money in the bank, you’ll save less money. Instead, you’ll spend more money on things like smartphones and cars. You’ll invest in things like stocks and real estate. This would “stimulate” the economy.

This thinking is very, very wrong. No matter what the government does, it can’t force you to spend money. It can’t force you to make investments if you don’t see good opportunities. Forcing people to pay banks to hold their money is a tax.

It is wealth confiscation for the digital age.

The government and the mainstream press won’t dare call it a tax. But that’s exactly what it is. A negative interest rate policy is a tax. Any time you hear a politician, central banker, or news anchor say “negative interest rates,” just think “TAX.” Think “TAX ON MY CASH.”

Negative interest rates are going to result in financial disaster that will wipe out many people. But you don’t have to be one of them. I’ll explain how you can sidestep this disaster—and even make a lot of money as a result of it—in a moment.

But let’s quickly cover one more thing about negative interest rates…

If the government makes it unattractive for you to keep cash in the bank, you can pull cash out of the bank. You can simply store it in a safe or under the mattress. Politicians know this. That’s why they’ve created another dangerous policy that works hand-in-glove with negative interest rates.

That policy is banning cash.

You see, if you pull your money out of the banking system and stuff it under the mattress, you aren’t doing what the government wants you to do. You’re not spending money or investing in stocks. This is a major reason why governments are banning large cash transactions and large denomination bills. They are fighting a War on Cash.

In just the past few years…

• Spain banned cash transactions over 2,500 euros.
• Italy banned cash transactions over 1,000 euros.
• France banned cash transactions over 1,000 euros, down from the previous limit of 3,000 euros.

And just a little while ago, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called for a ban on the $100 bill! Historians aren’t surprised by Summers’ idea. Franklin Delano Roosevelt banned $500 and $1,000 bills in the 1930s. You can bet that our politicians will do the same thing in a financial emergency.

By making it so difficult (or illegal) to buy and sell things with cash, the government wants to force people into the banking system. That way, it can monitor us and coerce us into whatever it wants… like pay outrageous new taxes.

It’s all a dream come true for government central planners. The governments say these new currency laws are for fighting terrorism, money laundering, and drugs. But the ultimate goal is control of society… and to confiscate the wealth of private citizens.

As Congressman Ron Paul said, “The cashless society is the IRS’s dream: total knowledge of, and control over, the finances of every single American.”

Whether you agree with these regulations or not, the conclusion is obvious: By driving us more and more toward trackable digital payments, the government has made it much, much easier to confiscate our wealth. We’re like sheep that have been “herded” into a corral, ready for shearing.

And our politicians of all stripes are holding the clippers. However, you don’t have to be sheared. You can avoid the shearing by learning how to navigate what will become the largest underground currency market in history.

They don’t Want Your Gold, They Want Your Cash

On April 5, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued one of the most controversial orders in U.S. history. It went by the name “Executive Order 6102.” Not one American in 1,000 knows about this order. But to this day, many experts consider it to be one of the most destructive acts in U.S. history. It violated sacred principles held by our Founding Fathers. It impoverished millions and confiscated the savings of honest, hardworking Americans.

Executive Order 6102 made it illegal for private citizens to own gold. Citizens were ordered to turn in their gold to the government. In a nutshell, it was the act of a desperate government in the midst of a financial crisis.

The government wanted the gold in order to increase the nation’s money supply. It believed an increase in the money supply would revive the struggling economy.

An increase in the money supply… a struggling economy… a desperate government.

Sound similar to what is happening right now? And could such a confiscation happen again?

As the crisis develops, our deeply indebted government will act like a giant wounded beast, lashing out in all directions. It will grow more desperate for control. It will grow desperate for money. And just like FDR did in the 1930s, it will confiscate the wealth of private citizens.

But Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or whoever wins the election won’t go after your gold. Nowadays, the gold market is very small compared to the overall economy. Going after gold would be too much work for the government.

The government is going to go after your CASH. It will regulate your cash. It will tax your cash. It will take your cash. This has all kinds of implications for banking and the economy.

But here’s the most important thing you need to know as investor:

Negative interest rates and their partner, the War on Cash, will create a renewed interest in gold. This could cause gold to double or even triple in value.

Even children know what the government is doing is crazy. And people aren’t going to take this lying down. Rather than participate in the government’s monetary farce, people will go underground.

They will pull cash out of banks and hoard it in safe places. And they will seek the safety, anonymity, and reliability of gold and silver.

Gold and silver have served as money for centuries. Gold is the ultimate currency because it doesn’t rot or corrode. It’s durable, easily divisible, portable, has intrinsic value, is consistent around the world… and it cannot be created from thin air. It cannot be debased by the government.

By enforcing negative interest rates and fighting a War on Cash, the government will create a huge underground currency market. And the ultimate underground currency will be gold and its sister metal, silver.

Gold is trading for around $1,260 an ounce right now. As the government blunders into a negative interest rate disaster, gold will likely rise 50%… 100%… possibly even 200% higher. There’s an underground currency market coming to your neighborhood. If you own enough gold, you’ll be its king.

A cash tax isn’t the only bad thing that could happen after the election. A backroom Congressional deal legally mandates Social Security “cuts.” It’s the Social Security Bombshell every candidate wants to keep a Secret.