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Peter Schiff speaks into a microphone wearing a black suit, blue dress shirt and speckled tie. Eamonn M. McCormak/ Getty Images

Peter Schiff says GOP exists ‘in name only’ thanks to Trump — and warns America now has 2 Democratic parties. Protect your riches

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Peter Schiff, co-founder of Euro Pacific Asset Management, says America now effectively has “two big-government political parties,” arguing fiscal conservatism has largely disappeared from Washington.

“Thanks to Donald Trump, we now have two Democratic parties,” Schiff wrote on X, “With the defeat of @RepThomasMassie for being a principled fiscal conservative, the Republican Party basically exists in name only.”

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Schiff’s comments came in response to the political fallout surrounding Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky and one of Congress’s most outspoken fiscal conservatives.

Massie was one of two Republican representatives who opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping Trump-backed tax and spending package that includes provisions such as eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay while extending portions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It was ultimately signed into law on July 4, 2025.

“When the swamp and Epstein class couldn’t buy my vote, they bought the most expensive congressional seat ever,” Massie wrote in a post on X following his loss. “I’m optimistic because the younger generation understands what’s going on.”

Schiff recently argued in a barrage of X posts on May 19 that the bill was a “tax hike,” adding, “Americans will pay for phony tax cuts with higher inflation. Anyone who tells you the Big, Beautiful Bill was a tax cut is lying.”

“Of all the damage Trump and Republicans have done to fuel inflation, nothing comes close to that ugly bill,” Schiff wrote again on X on May 21st.

This isn’t new for Schiff; he’s spent years warning that aggressive government spending could eventually erode purchasing power through inflation — concerns that have resurfaced amid debate over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and America’s growing debt burden.

The U.S. national debt has now surpassed $39 trillion, according to U.S. Treasury data. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the deficit will climb from $1.9 trillion to $3.1 trillion by 2036.

Meanwhile, inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s long-term target despite cooling significantly from its 2022 pandemic-era highs. Consumer prices rose 3.8% year-over-year in April, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI report.

The fiscal landscape

Concerns around government spending aren’t limited to political commentators.

In 2023, Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating, citing rising debt burdens and repeated debt ceiling standoffs. And two years later, Moody’s shifted its outlook on U.S. debt from stable to negative.

According to CBO’s latest Budget Outlook tables, net interest costs on the national debt officially surpassed national defense outlays in FY 2025, reaching $970 billion compared to defense’s $893 billion.

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This gap is widening rapidly. For FY 2026, net interest is climbing to $1.04 trillion (3.2% of GDP), while defense spending dips slightly to $885 billion. By 2036, the CBO projects that interest costs will more than double to an unprecedented $2.14 trillion, consuming 4.6% of GDP and nearly doubling the nation’s projected $1.10 trillion defense budget.

In other words, interest payments are crowding out other priorities.

For most Americans, however, the primary concern is how persistent deficits and inflation will affect retirement, borrowing, and purchasing power. Consequently, some investors may want to diversify beyond traditional stocks and bonds for greater resilience during inflation.

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A golden opportunity

Demand for gold has shifted into overdrive as investors and banks seek stability, pushing total global demand past the historic 5,000 tonnes mark.

This rally has been fueled by a dual-track rush into safe-haven assets: Global gold investment demand skyrocketed 74% year-over-year, while central bank buying remained historically elevated at 863 tonnes, according to Business Standard.

If you’re curious about adding some exposure to gold in your own portfolio, a gold IRA from Goldco lets you hold physical gold and other metals while still getting the tax advantages of an IRA.

Goldco is widely regarded as one of the leading companies in the space, with a 4.8/5 rating on Trustpilot and an A+ from the Better Business Bureau. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver.

If you’re curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today.

Still, financial professionals generally caution against concentrating too heavily on any single asset class, no matter how reliable it is.

Real estate as a hedge

Real estate has also historically been viewed by many investors as a potential inflation-resistant asset because rents and property values can rise alongside broader prices over time.

But while institutional investors have long benefited from commercial and multifamily real estate, the high costs and operational demands of direct property ownership can create barriers for individual investors.

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That has helped fuel growing interest in alternative real estate investment platforms like mogul, which provide fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties.

These investments can provide investors with monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits without the need for a hefty down payment or 3 a.m. tenant calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the mogul team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, you can invest in institutional-quality offerings at a fraction of the usual cost.

Each property undergoes a vetting process that requires a minimum 12% return, even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10% to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

Getting started is quick and easy. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.

An option for bigger portfolios

For investors with larger portfolios, moving beyond fractional residential properties and into institutional-grade multifamily and industrial real estate deals traditionally reserved for private equity firms and large investment funds could be a good idea.

Class B is a type of real estate asset class that tends to perform steadily through market cycles, supported by a broad tenant base and sustained demand for quality, affordable space.

In times of volatility, they often benefit from renters “trading down” from higher-cost options, while limited new supply keeps vacancies in check. Low tenant turnover and long leases can also lead to consistent net operating income (NOI) and stable, robust cash flow for Limited Partner (LP) investors.

Accredited investors can now tap into this opportunity through platforms such as Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

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But real estate isn’t the only alternative asset class drawing attention as investors grow increasingly concerned about inflation, market concentration and stretched equity valuations.

Read More: Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it

Invest in the finer things

Some investors are now looking beyond traditional markets altogether in search of assets with lower correlation to stocks and bonds.

In 1999, the S&P 500 peaked, and it took 14 long years to fully recover.

Today? Goldman Sachs is forecasting just 3% annual returns from 2024 to 2034. It sounds bleak but not surprising: the S&P is trading at its highest price-to-earnings ratio since the dot-com boom. Vanguard isn’t far off, projecting around 5%.

In fact, nearly everything feels priced near all-time highs — equities, gold, crypto, you name it.

That’s why billionaires have long carved out a slice of their portfolios in an asset class with low correlation to the market and strong rebound potential: post-war and contemporary art.

It may sound surprising, but more than 70,000 investors have followed suit since 2019 — through Masterworks. Now you can own fractional shares of works by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more.

Masterworks has sold 27 artworks so far, yielding net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.*

Moneywise readers can get priority access to diversify with art: Skip the waitlist here.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd .

Whether viewed through a political or personal lens, the calculus remains the same: As $39 trillion in debt looms, preserving your purchasing power against persistent inflation demands action. Diversification into hard assets isn’t a partisan choice — it may well be a financial necessity in an uncertain world.

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Thomas Kent Senior Staff Writer

Thomas Kent is a senior staff writer at Moneywise covering personal finance, markets and economic trends. He specializes in translating complex financial topics into clear, actionable insights for everyday readers.

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