Boomer Home Equity Crisis: Why Housing Prices Must Fall for America to Recover | Between The Lies 023
Sat Jan 31 2026
Trump's team announced you might be able to raid your 401k for a down payment on a house. Sounds like IBC at first glance, right? Not even close.
Welcome to Between The Lies, where Rob Brayton from Perfect Spiral Capital helps me understand why government solutions to government-created problems always make things worse. This week we're tackling Kevin Hassett's proposal to let people withdraw 401k funds for home purchases, and why it's actually a desperation play disguised as help.
What We Cover:
Why withdrawing from your 401k kills your future earning capacity permanently
The fundamental difference between removing capital and borrowing against capital with IBC
How 401ks are a government solution to a government-created problem (taxation)
The retirement myth: Why this modern concept might die with the boomers
Sound money solutions versus endless government interventions
Why housing unaffordability traces back to monetary policy, not down payment access
Boomer home equity: What happens when the largest generation exits the market
The political impossibility of real housing solutions
Key Insights: Rob breaks down the mechanics most people miss. With 401k withdrawals, you're permanently removing capital that was compounding for your future. With infinite banking, you're borrowing the insurance company's money against your cash value while your policy continues earning. Same surface idea, completely different outcomes.
We also tackle the uncomfortable truth: Trump knows how to fix housing. Every administration does. They won't do it because the real fix wipes out boomer home equity, which is where most Americans store their net worth. No politician will run on "your parents' house is worth less now."
The conversation gets philosophical when we challenge the retirement concept itself. This idea of a permanent vacation after 65 barely existed before boomers. The statistics on people dying shortly after retirement because they have nothing to live for are sobering. Maybe the whole framework is broken.
The Silver Lining: Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson" reminds us these patterns repeat because people keep expecting different results from the same interventions. Once you understand the game, you stop playing by their rules and start building systems they can't touch.
Rob emphasizes creating stable assets in your own portfolio that allow you to weather whatever storm comes. Whether housing crashes or inflates further, the goal is coming out the other side with something rather than hoping politicians make the right calls.
Perfect Spiral Capital Insight: When your 401k is the only tool they give you, of course people will use it for immediate needs. The alternative is building systems where capital is always accessible without destroying future compounding. That's what infinite banking provides that government programs never will.
Ready to build real wealth instead of raiding retirement accounts? Visit PerfectSpiralCapital.com/podcast for the free toolkit.
Websites Referenced:
PerfectSpiralCapital.com/podcast
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt (recommended reading)
Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash (referenced)
More
Trump's team announced you might be able to raid your 401k for a down payment on a house. Sounds like IBC at first glance, right? Not even close. Welcome to Between The Lies, where Rob Brayton from Perfect Spiral Capital helps me understand why government solutions to government-created problems always make things worse. This week we're tackling Kevin Hassett's proposal to let people withdraw 401k funds for home purchases, and why it's actually a desperation play disguised as help. What We Cover: Why withdrawing from your 401k kills your future earning capacity permanently The fundamental difference between removing capital and borrowing against capital with IBC How 401ks are a government solution to a government-created problem (taxation) The retirement myth: Why this modern concept might die with the boomers Sound money solutions versus endless government interventions Why housing unaffordability traces back to monetary policy, not down payment access Boomer home equity: What happens when the largest generation exits the market The political impossibility of real housing solutions Key Insights: Rob breaks down the mechanics most people miss. With 401k withdrawals, you're permanently removing capital that was compounding for your future. With infinite banking, you're borrowing the insurance company's money against your cash value while your policy continues earning. Same surface idea, completely different outcomes. We also tackle the uncomfortable truth: Trump knows how to fix housing. Every administration does. They won't do it because the real fix wipes out boomer home equity, which is where most Americans store their net worth. No politician will run on "your parents' house is worth less now." The conversation gets philosophical when we challenge the retirement concept itself. This idea of a permanent vacation after 65 barely existed before boomers. The statistics on people dying shortly after retirement because they have nothing to live for are sobering. Maybe the whole framework is broken. The Silver Lining: Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson" reminds us these patterns repeat because people keep expecting different results from the same interventions. Once you understand the game, you stop playing by their rules and start building systems they can't touch. Rob emphasizes creating stable assets in your own portfolio that allow you to weather whatever storm comes. Whether housing crashes or inflates further, the goal is coming out the other side with something rather than hoping politicians make the right calls. Perfect Spiral Capital Insight: When your 401k is the only tool they give you, of course people will use it for immediate needs. The alternative is building systems where capital is always accessible without destroying future compounding. That's what infinite banking provides that government programs never will. Ready to build real wealth instead of raiding retirement accounts? Visit PerfectSpiralCapital.com/podcast for the free toolkit. Websites Referenced: PerfectSpiralCapital.com/podcast Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt (recommended reading) Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash (referenced)