The End of America arrives...

As I've mentioned before, I (Porter) believe college is a waste of both time and money.

I have two young boys at home. When they're approaching the end of their high-school careers, I'm going to suggest they take the first year after high school to travel and work several part-time jobs wherever they go.

I'd tell any teenager today the same thing: Forget about college. Instead, travel for a year. Go to several major cities. Work and intern in many different industries. Get a sense of the world. Meet people from other cultures. Learn what makes people tick. Learn history and geography.

By immersing yourself in different ideas, you'll set yourself apart from 99% of the people you'll meet. You'll acquire a rare worldview that will help you in business and relationships. If you're interested in this idea, I encourage you to read Vagabondingby Rolf Potts, Totally Incorrect by Doug Casey, and Investment Biker by Jim Rogers for inspiration and guidance.

All around the world, 18-year-olds are supposed to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. That doesn't make any sense. Nobody knows what he wants when he's 18. When my kids take a year off after high school, they won't know anything... but at least they'll know they don't know anything.

The next step is to get a job in whatever field you want. If you want to be a doctor, get a job for a year in a hospital changing bedpans. It doesn't matter what level your job is. Just spend some time in that industry. If you're smart and talented, people will recognize that... and you'll have a mentor.

In my professional experience, nothing is more important than having a mentor.

After that, if my kids decide they still want to go to college, I'd be happy to help them finance it. I'm willing to give them a set sum of money toward their education... and not a penny more. They can choose their college based on values.

But I maintain that everyone will learn a lot more by continuing to work. If my sons are interested in finance, I'll help them get an internship at a stock brokerage. I'll introduce them to money managers and get them a job as a research assistant.

At the end of the first year, if they want a degree in economics, that's fine. But I'm going to encourage them to keep working. Most of what they'll learn, they'll learn at work.

I graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in political sciences with an emphasis on markets and government. It's completely worthless. Luckily, I paid almost nothing to get it... and I learned all about how to drink beer and hit on girls.

– Porter Stansberry with Sean Goldsmith

Why college is a waste of time and money...

Porter has repeatedly told people not to bother with a college education… In today's Digest Premium, he shares the advice he'll give his sons when they reach 18 years old…

To continue reading, scroll down or click here.

Why college is a waste of time and money...

Porter has repeatedly told people not to bother with a college education… In today's Digest Premium, he shares the advice he'll give his sons when they reach 18 years old…

To subscribe to Digest Premium and access today's analysis, click here.

The End of America arrives... How the entire American economy is like a thug living in Detroit... Bonds falling... The best book I've read in years...

"For our entire lives, we have been fooled by marketing slogans and the Masters of the Universe who created them. I don't say this in an evil way. I don't blame them. I never blame anyone but myself. Every second I am manipulated and coerced and beaten down, it's because I've allowed it. They were just doing their jobs. But still... they are the manipulators. Now we have to learn how to discern the foolish from the wise and build our own lives."

Today's Friday Digest is something totally different... I (Porter) believe it's time to prepare for a crisis – to really prepare. And I think you'll find my advice on how to prosper over the next few years to be unlike anything you've read from me before in these pages...

This is it... The 10-year U.S. Treasury market is beginning to collapse. The debt crisis that began in 2007 is now set to continue. Individuals, nations, and corporations don't become wealthy and powerful by going into debt. Everyone knows this... But this reality has been warped by drastic efforts to manipulate our system of money and banking.

Even so, these facts remain: Americans owe more money, collectively, than ever before in our history – far, far, far more. We owe at every level: $17 trillion at the federal level; $13 trillion in mortgages; another trillion in student loans; nearly $3 trillion in state and local government debt. Put all of these numbers together and you end up with a $60 trillion pile of obligations. That's nearly four years' worth of our entire country's total production.

To make sense of the numbers, just take a bunch of the zeroes away. Put these facts into a storyline that's become all too common in America. Our economy is like a tattooed thug living in Detroit. In between burning broken-down cars and selling crack, he makes $16,000 a year working "security" at a local nightclub. Outside of busting heads, he has no real skills.

And why would he want to work hard to acquire them? Thanks to his public school education, he is convinced other people have a moral obligation to provide for him… especially rich people. They will give him health care, a clean apartment, a phone, etc. In his worldview, that's what's fair.

And if they won't? He's got no qualms about firing first and taking what he needs. After all, they owe him. For now though, he's doing great.

The Korean grocer up the street gave him a credit account. In only a few short years, he's run up a $60,000 tab. What are the chances he's going to drastically cut his expenses, work hard to get a promotion, and find a way to repay these debts? Zero. What are the chances he ends up knocking over the Korean grocer and teaching him something about life in America?

You may object to my metaphor. But believe me, it's far more accurate than most people are comfortable talking about. We live in a country that's coming apart at the seams – financially, culturally, morally, and spiritually. The reason is simple. We have collectively become addicted to living way, way beyond our means.

My favorite example about how absurd our debts have become? The state of New Jersey still owes $110 million for a football stadium (Giants Stadium) that was demolished in 2010. It won't retire this debt until 2025.

Similar debts exist on defunct or torn-down stadiums in Houston, Kansas City, Memphis, Seattle, and Pittsburgh. These stadiums are physical reminders of the absurd promises the government has made to its citizens.

On top of the debt it now owes, our federal government has promised its citizens $124 trillion of additional benefits. That's more than $1 million per citizen. That's not only more money than we could ever finance with tax revenues, it's considerably more money than all of the privately owned assets in the United States (roughly $99 trillion).

Keeping this lie alive... the lie that we can afford our debts (or even our defunct stadiums)… has become the most important national goal. That's why everything stops when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks. Our obsession with Fed policy statements is the best proof I have that we're far more concerned with maintaining "The Great Lie" than we are at actually building a better real economy.

Have you ever told a big lie? Did you ever exaggerate something to hide a weakness or insecurity? Or maybe you lied to cover a big mistake you'd made. Did you get away with it? Or did maintaining the lie suddenly consume all of your attention and energy?

Seemingly forgotten in our obsession to maintain the fiction of our solvency are the huge costs of lying, running our country on Asian loans, and keeping the printing press churning. Nobody notices that the purchasing power of the dollar is down by almost 50% in the last 10 years… or that real wages have been falling since the early 1970s... or that almost half of the able-bodied men in our country no longer work. Nobody mentions that most of the students at most of the urban schools in our country either don't graduate or can't achieve test scores above minimum standards. Sooner or later, the consequences of our lies will fall upon us.

I've long warned that when the "End of America" comes – when our ability to maintain the lie I describe above collapses – you'd see the U.S. bond market crash… And the telltale sign – the most important indicator – would be the rate of the U.S. 10-year Treasury.

I've been warning people for years that this crash was inevitable. And for many years, I've been made to look like a fool. The Fed has used its awesome power to manipulate the 10-year Treasury yield lower and lower, creating yet another massive financial bubble. But...

I knew it could not last for a very simple reason: With every new dollar it created, the Fed further undermined confidence in the financial system itself. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield not only represents the borrowing costs of the U.S. government, it represents faith and trust in the world's system of fiat money and sovereign debts. By cheating that system, the Fed is destroying it.

I've spent much of the last several years warning people about what is about to happen and trying to convince them to take precautions before it was too late.

But let's face it... my work is mostly for wealthy people who mainly want to continue to be wealthy. So I've focused on how to prepare for these changes from the perspective of an investor – someone whose primary goal is to earn a return on his capital. I had precious little to offer regular wage-earners.

But the real danger right now is mostly to the middle class in America. Your taxes are going up. The number of people you will be forced to support (those on disability, food stamps, or Medicare… retirees… people living in war-torn countries…) is soaring. And your ability to pay for these benefits is being destroyed by global competition and the decline of the dollar. America is promising everyone more. And you're the person who will have to pay.

Make no mistake… Every time the president says only the rich will pay taxes, just imagine he's saying "you." That's far closer to the truth.

So far this year, almost 700 Americans have handed in their passports and given up their citizenship. They're doing so knowing that the U.S. Senate plans to pass a law that will permanently bar them from the country. They won't be allowed to return, not even to visit family. Even this draconian measure isn't slowing the pace of people emigrating from America. The numbers are up about 50% from last year. The rich are leaving. And with them will go their capital and our standard of living.

So... what can you do if you're already struggling to maintain your standard of living? How can you hope to maintain your lifestyle as your wages collapse and the rate of economic growth slows or even reverses?

I believe your best alternative is to find a way to build your own business. I decided to build my own business out of necessity. I was fired from the only job I'd ever gotten in finance in 1999.

I still feel a sense of necessity. If I'm right about the coming financial disaster in America, the odds that my financial research company will continue to prosper are not good. So I'm in the midst of starting another company – a consumer-products firm.

The core idea is simple: Everyone wants and can afford a little bit of luxury in his life. I'm working to improve the quality of a basic task, something most of us do every day. I've gotten a substantial amount of interest from several top executives at major companies, whom I'm recruiting to join me. This isn't a lark. I have a great idea – something that could create a substantial amount of wealth and something I could feel very proud to have built.

I don't want to reveal more right now. And yes, I know, the odds that I'll succeed are low. The point is, I'm not going to sit still and watch my standard of living decline. I'm going to take every possible step to safeguard my income and way of life. I am not going to be the guy who tells his wife we can't afford that anymore. That's going to be someone else. I guarantee it.

Nothing good is going to happen for you in your life unless you make it happen. This is a harsh, but important reality…

As an entrepreneur, I've gotten used to this fact. But for most people, it is an impossible hurdle. Most people can contrive an infinite number of reasons why they can't do something for themselves. I used to think it was impossible to coach people past this inertia. But...

I'm reading a book that has changed my mind. I believe this book will become a true classic. Anyone who reads it and follows its advice will become vastly more successful. It is, without a doubt, the best book I've ever read on how to build a new business. It's where the opening quote in today's Digest comes from.

I'm using it as my guidebook. The book covers the basics – including how to brainstorm for new business ideas, how to partner, and how to sell your business. It includes contrarian ideas that I know from experience are real secrets to success – like why you should never negotiate.

But the best part of the book – and the part I'm sure you won't find anywhere else – is the author's ideas about how to manage your health and spirit while you're going through the rigors of entrepreneurship. I can tell you that I discovered the same valuable keys – how important it is to exercise, sleep, and be grateful. And I can tell you that when my life gets out of whack, I return to the same kind of daily practice this book describes.

Even if you never start your own business, I believe this book can serve as a guide to maintaining your happiness in the face of what's likely to become a tough economy. It might sound strange to say this, but I wish I'd written the book. I think it will be as useful over the next few years as what I publish. It can teach you how to handle pressure, stress, failure, and success. Without these skills, all of the best financial advice in the world won't make much of a difference.

I have more details to share in a coming Digest about this book… to help show you why it's such a vital guide to thriving in the coming years. And we've put together a special offer with the author to help introduce his ideas to as many subscribers as possible… Stay tuned…

New 52-week highs (as of 6/20/2013): Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) and short position in iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT).

In today's mailbag… Inflation and the "ignorance" of the average American. And one subscriber looks on the bright side of "tapering." Send your comments to feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

"I find it unbelievable that the average American lives in ignorance about how Social Security is funded.

"I was once part of an enormous industry, which had the job of informing the populace of the facts. For example, in the early '80s, I was educating people on the concept that they would need $1 million to produce a $40,000 a year income when they retired and the reducing… the worker-to-retiree ratio could cripple the system. Needless to say it was not an easy job asking Average Joes to talk to a stranger about their financial future. Why should they be concerned when their main issues were making payments on the mortgage, truck, snowmobile, motorcycle, boat, Winnebago, and new car… not to mention the necessity of eating most meals in restaurants. The majority were three pay checks away from bankruptcy.

"My job title was then known as an Insurance Agent and is now called a Financial Advisor which allows advisors to charge for information that I used to provide for free. Surprisingly, no one ever offered to pay me for my time when they chose not to purchase a financial product and yet the industry was criticised for unreasonable fees.

"I now live in Australia and hardly a week goes by that I am not reminded of the erosion of American society and in particular the growing mindset that the government can be relied upon to provide the financial security which people need. I now have more than $1 million in assets in addition to the family home, qualify for a minimal Social Security, and still wonder how I will manage to achieve a reasonable income in my soon-to-come retirement." – Paid-up subscriber DS

"I always love it when they talk about 'inflation (excluding food and energy prices).' My biggest ongoing expenses are taxes, food, and energy. Makes sense that the government would deny their existence." – Paid-up subscriber Lance Davis

"You know, one thing about Bernanke pulling the plug on QE? People will have to go back to analyzing the market instead of analyzing the Fed." – Paid-up subscriber Allen Whitmore

Regards,

Porter Stansberry
Baltimore, Maryland
June 21, 2013

Why college is a waste of time and money...