Editor's note: Stansberry Research founder Porter Stansberry said it best in his recent interview with Dr. Ron Paul...

Do the best you can to make hay while the sun is shining. But be aware that the storm clouds that are building right now are the most serious our country has ever seen.

Although the markets have pulled back over the past week, they've still rallied significantly off their March lows. The S&P 500 Index is up roughly 45% over the past seven months.

However, we all know the good times won't last forever...

Today, we're bringing you the conclusion of the unscripted conversation between Porter and Dr. Paul about the future of America. They'll discuss the uncertainties surrounding this week's election... the relationship between Democrats and Republicans... the importance of overseas investments... and much more. We hope you'll enjoy the rest of their chat...

No Matter Who Wins the Election, the American People Will Lose

An interview between Porter Stansberry and Dr. Ron Paul

Ron Paul: I'll bet you watch the polls to some degree. How much weight do you place on that?

Because a lot of people anticipate which side wins... So are some of your arguments or recommendations based on who you think will win the election?

Porter Stansberry: I know that probably makes sense to a lot of people. But honestly, Dr. Paul, as libertarians, I have serious objections to both of the major parties.

I personally wouldn't be interested in voting for either of the major candidates right now. And no matter which candidate wins, I don't think that the economic fortunes of our country are going to change very much. When you look at the unfunded liabilities that we already have that are cooked into our whole legal structure, there isn't anything anyone's going to be able to do to stop the inflation.

So I really don't pay that much attention to it.

I will tell you, though, that looking at the futures markets around volatility, this is the most expensive election that we have ever seen in the entire history of the financial markets. And by that, I mean that buying protection around the volatility of the stock market will cost you more than it ever has before because of the anticipated uncertainties of this election.

So, for sure, a lot of major investors are very concerned about a contested election or how long it may take to determine who won. For me, I would rather sell insurance around that volatility than buy it at this point because I think it's too expensive.

Ron Paul: I have frequently said over the years that this desire for more bipartisanship won't make much difference. I argue that we have way too much bipartisanship, and I assume that you might lean in that direction because they're the same. They fight like cats and dogs over the power, but we wouldn't expect one side to be more likely to bring about sound monetary policy.

Which side is going to really cut spending? Which side is really going to shrink the size of government? Which side will likely bring the troops home? It seems to me like, philosophically, there's a lot of bipartisanship, and unfortunately, I think we as libertarians would like to challenge that and give them another option.

Porter Stansberry: Yeah. I contend that the best metaphor for the relationship between Republicans and Democrats is to look at the infighting that goes on in academic circles, right?

Never has so much blood been spilt over something of so little consequence as when you get into an academic department, and you've got people warning like they're fighting a religious battle over some minor theory or question of history. And of course, it's not going to make a whit of difference in the real world whatsoever.

I feel the same way when we look at whether we're talking about Trump's tax plan or Biden's tax plan. The numbers are not inconsequential, but they're also not material. They're not going to change the course of our country's future. And as I'm sure you're very well aware, and as all our readers are, there isn't a choice for us.

Imagine if there was a major party out there who said, "Look, we're going to cut taxes to no more than 10%, and then we're going to decide what we can afford to spend after that." That would be so revolutionary that it'll never happen, at least not without a complete collapse.

Ron Paul: And some people narrow it down, "Well, we need more good members in Congress." But actually, the government's on autopilot... If they're not in session or anything, they spend the money. There are executive orders. How much money was spent during the collapse of the housing bubble? A lot by the Federal Reserve, into the trillions of dollars, so it's totally out of control.

I did have one question... You have so many different advisories and different letters. Do you deal with this, or is there somebody in your organization that talks a lot about overseas investment and actually going overseas?

That's been something that has been with the libertarians for a long time. I never get too excited... I guess I sort of enjoyed where I lived, and I had a large family, so it wasn't attractive to me. But a lot of people think about that. Do you deal with that subject at all?

Porter Stansberry: Yeah, we do. We have a fantastic researcher, Kim Iskyan, who lives overseas. And prior to his time with us, he was a leading investment researcher in Moscow actually, working for some investment banks there during the original rise of capitalism in Russia in the late 1990s.

And his wife, interestingly enough, is a World Bank employee and has been stationed all over the world. So he has seen 50, 60, 70 different countries, and he has invested in three or four dozen of them.

And of course, just me personally, I've owned real estate overseas now since the mid-2000s – so for about 15 years. I really do like having a toehold in a foreign jurisdiction, not because I want to leave the United States or because I anticipate that someday I will... I just like having an asset somewhere that's a little bit more difficult to seize than my bank account or my farm here in Maryland.

Ron Paul: The solution comes from understanding what liberty is about and understanding what the purpose of government is. In a libertarian society, we have such little government, we don't have to decide this.

People get upset because libertarians are "cold and callous," and they don't care. But it just seems to me that our argument is that people do better if they're happier, they're richer, they have more security, and all this stuff in a free society.

So I always talk about this in my speeches. I say, "We have such a great philosophy, why is it that we can't convince people of this?" And of course, I think it's the freebies that help take care of that. But I'm convinced that liberty can solve so many of these problems.

Porter Stansberry: Dr. Paul, we could talk all day about what is it in human nature that seeks to be dominated and that seeks to be ruled.

Even if you go back and read the Bible, when the Israelites are wandering around the desert, they beg God to let them elect a king. And he says, "No, you don't want to do that. He'll end up enslaving your children, and you'll end up being his servants." And they said, "No, no, no. We really want to have a king." And so, I think Saul was the tallest guy in the tribe, so they made him the king.

It just must be something inside human beings that's part of our herd-like mentality. I see herd behavior in the markets all the time, and I have no idea why people don't realize that the government cannot give them anything that it doesn't first take from them. That's just the most elemental economic truth. Yet when you tell people that, they'll argue with you.

I remember Doug Casey was on The Phil Donahue Show. It was like the forerunner of Oprah. Donahue was talking to Doug Casey about medical policy... This is how long that Americans have wanted free health care, right? Doug was explaining that somebody has to pay for health care. One member of the audience stood up and said, "Well, I think the government should pay for health care," and everyone cheered. And you could see Doug up on the stage just knowing how completely lost the audience was.

My biggest fear is not elections. And believe it or not, it's not the collapse of the monetary system, because I think that's just inevitable... And when something's inevitable, you can hedge for it.

My biggest concern is the way that special interest groups have not only now been able to capture elements of Congress and elements of the administration, but they're now able to actually significantly affect very powerful civil agencies. The corruption of the FBI, in particular, just really scares me.

As you probably know, I was involved in a civil lawsuit with the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] for almost 10 years. And when you get involved in a regulatory battle like that, you realize it's scary. These bureaucrats, they don't care at all about what actually happened... They care about winning, and it becomes like a turf war.

The idea that they're serving the public is absurd. They're out there to advance their regulatory goals, whether that's good for the country or good for people or not. Seeing that a law-enforcement agency was behaving that way was really frightening to me.

Ron Paul: As you know, I think that is so true – and we talk about the bureaucrats and the Justice Department and the others. But when I looked at the members of Congress that I visited with each day, some of them are decent people... and they'd talk and pretend nothing's wrong. But I think they're in many ways almost infected with sociopathy. They're sociopaths. They don't seem to have a conscience at all, or sometimes a brain.

But I think that it's still worthwhile to have those conversations... because someday, when things get worse, I think there's an opportunity. For example, I had favorable responses from college kids on what I thought were very liberal campuses... I talked about how uncomplicated this was and how important it was for them to own their life, to run their life as they see fit, and then still have a better financial living by doing this.

As far as I'm concerned, I think the libertarian message of non-aggression is a powerful message. And I think in a way, freedom and prosperity backfires on us because it just invites the bureaucrats and the government to distribute. Everybody thinks it's the government, but then they use it and then they destroy it. We're in the process of that, so we might have to come down with fundamental reform on what our beliefs are.

I think that's what the founders did. They were pretty well-informed and they, too, read the Old Testament about the danger of that. So I think that we'll have that opportunity. I think there should be some enjoyment on this because we're talking about dire things, and if you are able to follow your advice and do well in the market, that's another reason.

But I still am just fascinated with the need for people to accept the principle of just giving up on aggression, that people should just take care of themselves. It's so wonderful, and that's why I was delighted to join you... because I knew you had those same beliefs.

Porter Stansberry: I agree with you completely, Dr. Paul. Harry Browne was a very big influence on me as well, and I had the good fortune to get to know him personally in the early 2000s. His book, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, has been kind of one of the guideposts for me.

I admire so much your efforts to inform the public and to try to save the country from itself. And as you know, I'm a big supporter of you and of those efforts. I just never believed I had the capacity to do that. So what I've tried to do is teach individuals how to have this protection and this freedom and this wonderful life that's available to them.

I think that our message is very, very similar, but I'm directing it to one individual at a time, and you had a very large platform and a big stage to tell millions of people this message. And if I'm not mistaken, you were by far the most successful libertarian presidential candidate we've ever had, so you're very, very good at it. But I don't think I'm cut out for public service, Dr. Paul.

Ron Paul: Well, I have an answer for that because after I give a talk, I could get a lot of people, often college kids, a little bit excited and they'll come up – "OK, what do you want me to do?" And I'd say, "Whatever you want to do."

You're qualified to give good advice, and it just may be that the people that you deal with, your clients, are going to be likeminded... And I'll bet you a lot of them are contributors to the cause of liberty as well. Of course, I think there's nothing wrong with taking care of yourself and protecting yourself. This is one reason why I like to be involved and promote the investments that will protect more and more people... because if there's only 10 of us, it won't take much to take over.

You're reaching out to a lot of people. I think that's beneficial, and I think that would be helpful to all. So I want to thank you, Porter, for being with us today, and if you want to close out with a statement, that would be fine.

Porter Stansberry: I appreciate very much the opportunity to speak with you, and I'm really flattered to be invited just to spend time with you anytime.

The one thing that I would tell you, Dr. Paul, about finance that I don't think we covered here today... Over many years, I've had a lot of success at identifying companies that were being run so poorly that it was truly inevitable that they would fail, that there was not a possible way they could succeed. I would point to the work I did at General Motors (GM) between 2005 and 2008, in addition, of course, to Fannie and Freddie, and there's been maybe a dozen other names that we've keyed upon since then...

I think that this trend toward investing in indexes and buying big baskets of stocks is mostly a very good thing and good in general for people. But I think that you're really exposing yourself to some of the worst aspects of capitalism when you do that because, unfortunately, there are still a lot of businesses that are being run for the benefit of the insiders and not at all for the benefit of the shareholders. Firms like us at Stansberry Research, that's really what we specialize in doing – helping you sort that out.

So if you are an investor and you'd like to have some access to great independent research, I hope that you'll check out Stansberry Research. And if you just want to buy gold and protect yourself and your family, I know that'll work, too.

But either way, I hope you will invest wisely and take care for yourself and your family.

Editor's note: Most people are probably tired of hearing about the election by now... Regardless of who wins, Dr. Paul believes the government's reckless spending will continue – and the economic results could be a disaster for those who don't take steps to prepare.

That's a big reason why Dr. Paul recently joined Stansberry Research's Director of Research Austin Root for an exclusive interview about what he predicts the election will mean for your money... and exactly how you should prepare right now. Get all the details right here.