Jason Hartman interviews returning guest, Bryan Calderon, Director of Business Development with Accuplan Benefits Services, for a timely discussion on breaking out of 401k jail and putting your retirement money to better use. Bryan explains the differences between the various retirement plans, such as IRAs and 401ks, and though a 401k is a great way to save money, there are some pitfalls as well. Some of those traps have been scams, employers stealing funds from employees and the concerns over business failures. Jason reminds listeners of why it’s so important to be in control of your money.

Bryan says there are less than 2 percent of plans that are self-directed. That’s a scary figure with all of the current economic uncertainty. Bryan talks about how people are concerned enough about the funds in their retirement plans that some still employed ask for early termination in order to get control of their money by putting it into a self-directed IRA or solo 401K. One of the best methods of control is investing in prudent real estate. Jason includes a recorded audio explanation of the manipulation by fund managers and how to break free from the 401k jail by becoming a real estate investor.

Bryan shares options for getting out of their current plans, and he also explains how a solo 401k works for the self-employed. Unlike a sponsored plan, a solo 401k or self-directed IRA can be directed into real estate, promissory notes, trustees, etc. Bryan says that there is about $20 trillion in retirement plans across the nation, with only $4 trillion of it self-directed, and the Social Security sector funds are about $5 trillion. Bryan wraps up with some valuable advice on getting your funds freed up.

Jason Hartman discusses the return of construction jobs, new home development, the Indianapolis rental housing market, Wall Street/hedge funds getting into the landlord business, how investment and vacation home sales surged last year (National Association of Realtors NAR survey and Lawrence Yun commentary), developers selling homes in La Costa, California and a Memphis, Tennessee market profile.

Is it a sign of a turnaround when the nations top homebuilders increase advertising and production? Keep an eye out for big names like - Pulte Homes (PHM), Centex (CTX), Kaufman and Broad (KB Homes) (KB), Ryland Group (RYL), Del Webb (DEL), Lennar (LEN), Richmond American Homes, Beazer Homes (BZH, BZU), Hovnanian (NasdaqGM HOVNP), Toll Brothers (NYSE - TOL), Shea Homes, D.R. Horton (DHI) and the others as the ramp up their marketing and production.  

When construction comes back, that is a very good sign that you, our client, is making excellent investment choices when buying below the cost of construction. Jason's key phrase/metric is "Regression to Replacement Cost(TM)" http://www.jasonhartman.com/2011-trend-predictions-in-real-estate/ and it will serve you well in these changing times.

Some market profile information from Wikipedia: Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.

Memphis had a population of 662,897 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville, which has overtaken Memphis in recent years.

Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee's major cities. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian, and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as the "Mid-South".

Jason Hartman interviews returning guest and founder and CEO, Harry Dent, Jr., of HS Dent, an economic think tank and research company, about the next coming crash. Mr. Dent accurately predicted the boom of the 1990s, which was contrary to what many other forecasters predicted. He explains why America is on a path to the next Great Depression through its mounting debt to boost the economy.

He talks about how the U.S. creates bubble after bubble in all areas, such as the housing bubble, the gold and silver bubble, the commodity bubble, etc. Trillions of dollars in stimulus money has poured forth from the government, along with the lowering of interest rates, thereby inciting inflation that will continue to grow with the current system of bailouts and lack of lending. He also discusses the peaks and deflation of spending with the switch between the Baby Boomer and current generations, and how this will affect America's economic future.

Mr. Dent also paints the dark picture of China’s future, where they are overbuilding just to keep their workers employed, which will become a worldwide crisis when their building bubble bursts. Jason and Mr. Dent talk about the condition of other countries and how everything interplays to lead to the next crash that Mr. Dent forecasts. He suggests some strategies for investors and what people might expect.

Using exciting new research developed from years of hands-on business experience, Harry S. Dent, Jr. offers a refreshingly positive and understandable view of the economic future. As a bestselling author on economics, Mr. Dent is the developer of The Dent Method - an economic forecasting approach based on changes in demographic trends.

In all of his past books since 1989, Dent saw an end to the Baby Boom spending cycle around the end of this decade. In his book, The Great Depression Ahead, (Free Press, 2009), Harry Dent outlined how this next great downturn is likely to unfold in three stages, with an interim boom stage between 2012 and 2017 before the long-term slowdown finally turns into the next global boom in the early 2020s. He continued to educate audiences about his predictions for the next and possibly last great bull market, from late 2005 into early to mid 2010.

Join Jason Hartman and Investor Watchdog, Jack Waymire, for a discussion concerning the ethics of the financial services industry. According to Jack, the frequent lack of integrity undermines the achievement of investors’ financial goals.

Companies do not do what is best for you. They are very good at hiding information that they do not want their investors to know. Investor Watchdog investigates these companies and products, acting as a go-between for investors and advisers, answering frequently asked questions, such as, “How do I know I’m getting the right financial advice?” Jack shares examples of deceptive practices by various companies and how the executives that run the companies, i.e. Goldman Sachs, are insulated from accountability simply by paying fines rather than serving jail time for unethical and illegal practices.  

Jason and Jack touch on the subject of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, where Jack talks about some of the evidence that was found, as a glaring example of unethical sales pitches and conman tactics. Jack also informs listeners of what deceptive sales practices to watch out for when dealing with financial advisers.

Despite popular belief, China is no longer a cheap place to do business with labor costs and real estate costs soaring. Join Jason Hartman as he interviews Shaun Rein, author of The End of Cheap China and Managing Director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai, about debunking common myths, such as China is stealing U.S. jobs.

Many companies have begun doing business in China, due to what Shaun refers to as “capitalism on steroids.” Labor costs have increased in China to the tune of around 20 percent, and the government is trying to increase wages yearly over the next five years. Another factor affecting manufacturing costs over time is that fewer of the younger generation wants to be employed in manufacturing jobs, wanting to realize their white class dreams. China is also pushing middle class development to offset the manufacturing issue.

Shaun Rein is the Managing Director of CMR, the world's leading strategic market intelligence firm. He is one of the world's recognized thought leaders on strategy consulting.

Join Jason Hartman and consulting economist, John Williams, for a discussion about how government statistics don’t paint the whole picture of economic conditions. Many years ago, John realized that GNP (now GDP) numbers were faulty, causing his clients’ sales forecasting models to no longer work.

This eventually led John into lengthy research of the history and nature of the government’s economic reporting. John explains how the numbers reported by the government hide important information; for example, true unemployment rates, which fail to include the unemployed no longer receiving unemployment benefits and those who are underemployed. Inflation statistics are misrepresented, which affects GDP.

Following changes in CPI methodology, the Consumer Price Index understates inflation significantly. John points out that cost of living increases were based on inflation data, but with the numbers so skewed, the increases are no longer representative of the actual costs. He provides a history of how these changes came about and how it has affected commerce, social security and payroll. John feels roughly seven percentage points should be added to real inflation rates in our current economy.