Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 10010 For example, consider this story from the head of media relations for the Drug Policy Alliance in 2015: “Research indicates that up to 80% of all drug cases in the United States may be based on information from informants, and the 60 Minutes program estimated that 100,000 people are currently working as confidential informants. The piece starts with Andrew Sadek, a college student who was caught selling $80 worth of marijuana. Chief Jason Weber, head of a four-county drug task force in eastern North Dakota and Minnesota, warned Andrew that he is facing up to 40 years in jail unless he wants to “help himself” and work as an informant. Andrew was forced to set up and buy drugs from three other people. Before he was able to finish his assignments, he was found in a river with a bullet through his head.” One of the reasons that I insist that my clients and subscribers impeccably obey the law is that entrapment is a serious problem in many areas. You and I are surrounded by people who can make money snitching or setting us up while every word we say across the phone lines and through the Internet is tracked and available. Bottom line: The personal character of the people around you matters. The higher the integrity, the greater the likelihood that your time and money will be respected. Protection from low integrity can be the difference between life and death GLOBALIZATION Development of legitimate global markets makes sense because, as a rule, there are benefits when folks can communicate and trade freely. Jack Ma is right: “War starts when trade stops.” Globalization that creates a win/lose dynamic and shrinks the pie for all but a chosen few does not make good economic, political, environmental, or cultural sense. After thirty years of intense globalization, local firms are becoming more competitive. Now that the debt growth model is over, subsidies are diminishing and security concerns are rising. Efforts at globalization that are uneconomic will be harder to rationalize and sustain, while those that make economic sense and increase the pie for the majority are more likely to emerge. Consequently, globalization is in a consolidation trend that will rebalance local vs. global choices. Beyond this rebalancing, expect the globalization trend to continue. You need to be able to interact globally. Learn other languages. Get to know people from other places. Travel if you can. If you can’t, travel from your armchair by watching foreign movies and documen- taries. Read. Become a person who can function successfully in the global market environ- ment. Bottom line: In the shift to a multipolar world, economic globalization will keep on going – embrace those opportunities. The Solari Report 2016 Annual Wrap Up / Introduction