Dear Reader,

The bill just came due. The U.S. military has spent $43.6 billion on the Iran war as of September 3. More than $28.1 billion of that went to replace weapons. Missiles. Interceptors. Precision munitions. Used up. Now they need more.

And the Trump administration is now asking Congress for a $1.5 trillion military budget. That is trillion. With a T. Plus a separate $95 billion emergency package for the war.

Inside today's issue:

• The War Tab: $43.6 billion and climbing. $28.1 billion is weapons replacement. The U.S. burned through its missile stockpile. Now comes the $1.5 trillion budget ask. Every empire that chose guns over sound money paid for it later.
• The Dollar Math: War spending gets borrowed or printed. Ten-year Treasury yields are above 5 percent right now. Lenders are charging more because they see what is coming.
• The Silver Setup: Silver hit $121.64 in January. It is $66 today. Down 46 percent. Yet this is the sixth straight year of a structural supply deficit. The paper price dropped. The physical shortage did not.
• Larry Benedict's Oil Skimming: Larry Benedict just released a new presentation on a strategy called "Oil Skimming." It's worth a look. (Brownstone Research)

THE WAR TAB

They call it national security. I call it national bankruptcy.

The U.S. military spent $43.6 billion on the Iran war through September 3. The Congressional Budget Office had already put the cost at $38 billion through August 1. That means this war burned through $5.6 billion in 33 days.

More than $28.1 billion of the total went to weapons replacement. Missiles. Interceptors. The stockpile is depleted. Defense Secretary Hegseth was in Austin Friday pitching the solution: a $1.5 trillion military budget. Plus a separate $95 billion war package.

"The U.S. military's price tag for the Iran war has grown to $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3."

Here is what the headline does not say: this war is repricing your dollar.

Every billion spent has to come from somewhere. The Treasury borrows it. The Fed monetizes it. The 10-year yield sits above 5 percent because lenders are reading the math. They see a government that cannot stop spending. They charge more to lend to it.

I have been saying this for 30 years. Governments do not collapse in a day. They bleed out slowly. They fund wars. They borrow. They print. The currency erodes. The people holding cash wake up one morning and realize what they're holding.

For millions of Americans, this is that morning. Most just haven't checked their statement yet.

THE SILVER SIGNAL

Silver hit $121.64 per ounce in January of this year. Today it sits near $66.

That is a 46 percent drop. Wall Street calls it a correction. I call it a gift.

Here is the number they are not talking about: the silver market has run a structural supply deficit for six straight years. In 2026 alone, that shortfall is 65 to 70 million ounces. The physical metal is not there. The paper price crashed because traders repriced for tighter monetary policy. The physical deficit did not care. It just kept growing.

I bought my first silver in 1965. I have been buying it ever since. When the paper price drops and the physical shortage grows at the same time, I pay very close attention.

But before I show you why the war tab makes this setup more urgent than ever...

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THE PLAY

Let me connect the dots.

A government spending $43.6 billion on one war. Pushing a $1.5 trillion military budget. Borrowing at 5 percent. That government is not going to stop spending. It never does.

Rome did not fall in a day. But historians know exactly when Rome chose to debase its coins to pay for war. That decision took decades to play out. It always does. The people holding gold and silver when Diocletian started shaving coins came out ahead.

Silver at $66 with a 65-to-70 million ounce annual deficit is the setup. Industrial demand for silver is climbing: solar panels, EV batteries, electronics. Mining supply cannot keep up. Above-ground stockpiles have drawn down 762 million ounces since 2021. The paper traders will figure this out eventually. They always do.

I am not telling you to bet the farm on a single day's price. I am telling you to look at the pattern: war spending grows, the dollar weakens, and the physical metal runs short for the sixth year in a row. That combination has always rewarded the patient holder of real assets.

Stay out of paper. Stay in the real thing.

To your freedom,

Robert Kiyosaki
Author, Rich Dad Poor Dad

P.S. A new briefing from Larry Benedict: "Oil Skimming: a Better Way to Play Oil." If you're looking for a way to profit from energy markets without touching the futures pits, click here to see it.