We’re perfectly happy on our farm.

We study the markets by day, muse about our thoughts on it all and then go relax by sweating the night away as the sun goes down.

We worked hard to get it. It’s home.

We don’t intend to leave.

So is it “un-American” or disrespectful to our land if we have our eye on another land? You know… just in case.

Second Passports

It’s a hot topic these days. As America locks up, melts down and jumps from right to left, record numbers of citizens are eyeing up a second passport.

Demand is up fivefold this year.

It’s a heck of an idea… and the expensive price tag that comes with this fresh layer of freedom proves why money and Liberty walk hand and hand.

Truly, we think the notion of passports is silly.

They’re like the brand on the hind end of a steer.

If he doesn’t have the right mark, he belongs to somebody else… He’s not allowed in the barn.

It’s not all that different with passports. They’re merely a brand of a different type.

And without the right one… you too may not be allowed in the barn.

Entry Denied

We talked with a lovely couple who stopped by the farm last week.

“We were supposed to be landing in Paris today,” the wife said woefully.

“But Americans aren’t allowed,” the husband said.

But the fella from Newark with his second passport taking off from JFK? For him, the door is wide open.

“Bienvenue à la maison,” they say as they greet him at the gate.

“Yeah, whateva lady, howsabout a crow-sant,” he says as he coughs into his elbow.

Our three travelers come from the same place and carry the same silly germs, and yet two have a blue passport and the other has an expensive maroon one.

One gets in. The other two are stuck talking to us on the farm.

Kind of dumb, right?

A Depreciating Asset

The truth is the value of an American passport has waned rapidly this summer.

Way back in January… those iconic blue books got us into 184 countries without a visa.

At last count, that number is now down to just 29.

Most Americans have lost an incredible amount of freedom, and, like a steer that can’t see the brand scorched into his rump, they don’t even know it.

But there’s one group that’s rather unscathed.

It’s the folks with two, three or even a handful of passports.

Again, they come from the same places and carry the same silly germs, but they have the freedom to live under a different set of laws.

But here’s the thing. You may have read about it on the back of a T-shirt or on the bumper of an old farm truck.

Freedom isn’t free.

The folks who have a “plan B” had to pay for it.

Freedom = $2 Million… Plus Tax

Montenegro is a popular place to grab a second passport from these days. It offers its citizens good healthcare and ample education, and, from what we hear, it’s still funding its police.

But even a passport from this discount locale isn’t cheap.

It’ll cost you at least $294,000.

You may have heard about New Zealand during this crisis. The nation has been a hot spot for the off-the-grid survival crowd for well over a decade.

And now we know why. With very few COVID-19 cases, it’s a shining beacon of safety.

Well, at least if you’re loaded.

To get one of its coveted passports, you’ve got to do some investing in the country. It’ll cost you anywhere from $2 million to $6 million.

Portugal boasts another popular passport. It costs about $380,000… but gets you into the EU.

Greece is fairly cheap at $280,000.

And Cyprus will cost you $2.4 million.

For rich citizens in poor countries, a second passport is an immensely valuable asset.

We imagine traveling on a Pakistani passport isn’t all that fun… but if that fella grabs himself a book issued by one of the Caribbean islands… he’s traveling free and clear.

Kind of silly. But those are the games we humans play.

Like it or not – money equals freedom.

For Americans, sadly, the idea is truer now than ever before.