As the Pink Slips Pile Up, Here’s Where to Put Your Money 

In stark contrast to the official numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the experience on the ground is disheartening.

Since January 1, 2023, more than 5,487 companies have announced massive layoffs.

According to news reports, the number of layoffs in the U.S. increased 98% from 2022 to 2023. A whopping 721,677 people received pink slips last year.

And clearly, things aren’t looking much better this year. It seems new headlines appear weekly about the latest wave of restructuring and retrenchments.

Source: Intellizence.com

Yet, the BLS tells us unemployment is at record lows – just 3.7%. Unemployment insurance claims are plumbing lows as well.

This leads to two questions:

1. How can the reported numbers – upon which the Federal Reserve and other government agencies base their decisions – be so wildly out of touch with reality?
2. What are all these people doing to survive?

The answer to the first question deserves its own essay… or a dozen. That’s for another time. Today, let’s explore answers to the second question.

Embracing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

The United States was built on hard work, adaptability, and perseverance. It took an independent mindset. Taming the wild frontier isn’t a job for the meek conformist. 

Neither was industrialization. Some of our richest families – such as the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts – rose from humble beginnings to achieve unimaginable wealth as America rose to become an industrial juggernaut. 

Today, men like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are richer than entire countries, including Hungary, Ukraine, and most of Africa.

When we face a challenge, we rise up to meet it head on. We find a way. That’s the American spirit.

So, unsurprisingly, with more and more people finding themselves without full-time employment – or finding that their paycheck isn’t enough to climb the ladder – many are turning to the gig economy. They’re becoming freelancers or entrepreneurs. 

According to business management analysis from Draup, the gig economy is expanding three times faster than the U.S. workforce. Predictions are that more than 86.5 million Americans will be freelancers by 2027… with 44% using gig work as their primary source of income.

That’s the can-do attitude that has made this country the powerhouse it is.

However, the condescending I-know-better attitude of our leaders threatens to suck the life out of it.

For example, California’s Assembly Bill 5 has all but outlawed freelance/gig work for the Golden State’s residents. It’s done this by forcing companies to hire virtually all contract workers as W2 employees… even if a worker prefers to remain an independent contractor. The state hasn’t just disincentivized hustle. It’s virtually prohibited it. 

Worse, in the process of what we call “Californication” – whereby the remaining 49 states stumble into California’s footsteps – plans are afoot for these restrictive policies to become federally mandated. 

The U.S. Department of Labor is planning to put some of these same policies – whereby an employer and employee must go to great lengths to prove that the relationship in fact qualifies as contractual – into effect nationwide starting in March.

Naturally, there is ambiguity about how the Department of Labor defines W2 versus contract work, but that’s not stopping them. 

Under these circumstances, there is only one way forward for American companies and hardworking citizens fighting to survive and thrive. 

I delve into that potential solution in the newest issue of The Freeport Investor, out tonight. 

More than that, I reveal the investment opportunity set to produce handsome returns as a result. 

If you’re already a subscriber, log in here after 6 p.m. Eastern. Or watch your inbox closely for the latest release, detailing our plans to invest in the trend that will see America survive the worst California – and the White House – can throw at us.

If you’re not yet a subscriber, follow this link to rectify this so you can read the February issue of The Freeport Investor when it goes live tonight.

Here’s to the pursuit of life, liberty, and wealth.