Saturday Open Thread: Gold Edition
by PubliusToday, in 2008, the price of 1 oz. of gold hit $1,000 for the first time. In future years, this may seem like the floor price.
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173 Comments
I just happened to watch Goldmember last night. What a coincidence!
Gold has been out of reach for me forever…I am glad that there are some out there, who have the opportunity to get i on this, as the (paper) dollar is now worth next to nothing!
Peter Schiff was right.
that is why we need to stock up a little at a time
on the basics because the inflation is going to hit
hard and soon
For those that think the price it out of reach, there is another strategy. Check it out here: http:// http://www.gradedms70.com
The image of the Fine Gold reinforces my assertion that Crummy Gold doesn't get enough respect.
For those that think the price is out of reach, send me an e-mail and I will share with you an easy way to afford it.
I have read where gold may hit $2,000. This will depend on China and what it does about the dollar???? I have another theory. I think that Israel will attack Iran and send it there. See my post
Israel Again Proves a Difficuly "Ally. "Why Now? Is Iran the Reason?
If you really need to get rid of gold because the dollar is worthless, bullets may be a better choice.
Y'all remember the old Gatlin brothers song, "All the gold in California, is in a bank in Beverely Hills, in somebody else's name."?
It's gone.
Symbolic of the crumbling American dream.
I miss Larry Norman. . .
Well, now that it's $1,000 an ounce…I don't see that happening!
In the end, it is all "fool's gold"!
The gold topic is an interesting one.
Personally, for me, and only my opinion, gold and precious metals is the biggest scam there currnetly is. Glen Beck is hawking it, the precious metals dealers like Monex are hawking it, yet it is a scam. Why would any serious investor want to jump into anything, at the top of the market, unless you really needed tax losses? I have known very few people who ever came out ahead with metals.
Back in the 80's, and again in the 90's I bought alot of metals. Gold Kruggerands from South Africa were hot agt the time, and I also bought silver. Big bars of silver. Do you know what a pain in the ass it is to get a safe, or a vault to keep the stuff safe?
Buying metals now, would be akin to jumping into the housing market in 2007, or the tech Nasdaq bubble in January 2000, or the oil market like Warren Buffet did, in June 2008.
Don't anyone take my investment advice, but in my opinion, the reason everyone is hawking gold so much, is they have to keep the hot air circulating, to keep air in the bubble so it continues to rise.
There is nothing more sacred than individual freedom, for it was the individual’s sacrifice of blood, body, and life at North Bridge in 1775 that gave meaning to our words of freedom before a single word of liberty was cast on our sacred documents. The words of some of our fathers are laid in granite, but the trial of time has worn down their connotations and thus are vulnerable to scheming and servitude. The simple virtues that formed our government are being exploited to chain us to a course unattended by those who did the writing. We have lost our measure of what it means to be an American to the corruption of our government.
You could try to stock up on some silver or even copper.
Save you pennies (pre-1982 specifically). It's not a huge effort and the copper content of them is worth more than the penny itself.
Also, you can even save even more by getting nickels instead of dimes. Both nickels and dimes contain the same two metals (copper and nickel) but nickels contain more of both and you get twice the quantity of nickels than dimes (Coin specifications: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin... )
It's a simple and small way to save.
Today, our government has become feral and the talk of freedom dismissed to placate the irresolute and corruptible so it may finish it’s task of conformity and total power. The law of the land was perverted to gives us the illusion of representation and thus an mirage of self governance to give the few the power over the many. Our liberty is being stolen one progressive tax, one progressive regulation, one progressive manipulation at a time and all in the name of the public good or is it for government good or is it the for the power and wealth of the few. We have arrived at a time when government picks who will succeed and who will fail and we are quickly approaching the dictation of who will live and who will die at the whim of a politician.
The measure of ourselves and our government is the devotion in our belief in individual sovereignty. When this measure is swept silent, then America will cease to exist. This is not a game, it is all of our lives, our country, our freedom and our posterity to defend or suffer. You can not steal another man’s freedom without the selling of your own, that is the lessen of history. Once government feasts upon the freedom of man it will not stop.
In this time of lie is a truth and the truth is a lie we find ourselves at the moment of decision. Do we finish our duty to individual sovereignty begun in 1775 and complete a nation dedicated to that freedom or do we accept progressive slavery and become property to a crown. We must honor our history and our fallen and finish our duty to individual sovereignty and measure ourselves and our government to that individual sacrifice or the echo of that shot so long ago will cease to exist and the trading of words will be over.
Nothing like investing in lead and brass. ;^)
Although dated, here is a very interesting article about gold:
http://www.bullnotbull.com/archive/gold1980.html
There are a lot of similarities between then, and now.
"Once at the top, would you have the courage to sell? Undoubtedly there were people at the time calling for much higher levels: "The economy is going to hell! Gold is going to $2,000 and beyond! You'd be a fool to sell." Times may change, but human nature does not."
Gold and metals, are nothing more than a commodity, like corn, and sugar, and oil. I watch gold and oil on a daily basis, as they are good markers. They are appreciating currently in the market. Why> is is because gold and oil are more valuable? No. It is because the dollar is getting weaker. That is why it costs more dollars to buy them, the dollar is getting worthless. In 1980 dollars, current gold is worth about $275.00 an ounce as opposed to the current $1,000.00 per ounce, and current oil is worth about $19.00 a barrel as opposed to the current $82.00. Everything is relevant.
I'll not be a slave.
Barrak Hussein Obamas Hope and Change has turned into Hoax and Chains. I'll not be shackled.
I really know very little about buying gold, I tend to agree with you…If things really get bad and you have a safe deposit box, the banks might not let you have access to it;;;;Beck isn't the only one hawking it, you can't turn the radio on or the television without hearing or seeing tons of gold commercials….That was another thing that made me feel a bit uneasy….I'm wondering if the best thing to do is to learn to be self sufficient?
"I'm wondering if the best thing to do is to learn to be self sufficient?"
If folks could do that, the sense of freedom experienced would be empowering. I wonder, has anyone ever been able to eat a gold bar? I wonder how it would taste? Sure, it might give folks the warm and fuzzies, but in the scheme of things, in my opinion gold is worthless. In my world there are things worth more than gold. Powder, lead, salt, meat, a garden and a fresh source of non-government water. With those six things, it doesn't matter to me who is in the White House.
I tend to agree with you, Cowboy, but I must say that precious metals have a built-in hedge against inflation quality to them. However, like anything else, their value fluctuates with the supply and that supply can be manipulated. We could very well be seeing a manipulated market value for precious metals which is hiding their real value.
For whatever it's worth, I think that the lesser precious metals will be a fine investment though, for no other reason that they are more utilitarian in their nature.
Who was it again that got us away from the gold standard and enabled the dollar to become worthless?
[...] » Saturday Open Thread: Gold Edition – Big Government [...]
That's a very good post, however, as I stated before, metals do have a hedge against inflation aspect to them.
For example, in Roman times, an ounce of gold could buy you a very well made toga and sash, an excellent pair of comfortable sandals and a fabulous meal. Today, that same ounce of gold could buy you very-well made suit with a belt, an excellent pair of shoes and fantastic meal at a top-notch restaurant.
Personally, I tend to look at things from a contrarian point of view. Here is my true opinion. I am a fan of both FOX News, and Glen Beck. FOX is owned 5.7% by Saudi Prince Alaweed and I have no problem with that either. Prince Alaweed is also the single largest shareholder in Citi Bank, and he owns huge gold reserves. Who then stands to gain the most, from rising gold prices? Prince Alaweed. It bothers me that every other ad on FOX, and on Beck is an ad hawking gold. Those precious metals dealers are as slick as aluminum siding salesmen, all they are working for in their slick sales pitches, and high gloss brochures, is a sales commission.
Honestly, do you think that in a hyper-inflation situation that people with gold will somehow be better off? When people are starving, food has the most value and gold is but a useless hunk of metal.
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
- George Washington
"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from it's government"
- Thomas Paine
"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
-Thomas Paine
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Ben Franklin
They knew, they saw it coming in the future the same way they experienced it in the past.
Water is the new gold in the west……..I agree Cowboy…..you can't eat gold ….
Been working on that investment since I was sixteen and first employed. Actually going shooting here in a few hours, got 3 bricks of .22 and 300 rounds of .40 to "un-invest" today.
And hell, 1 oz. of gold at the current price (1,101.48), I could get a new gun today and still buy more ammo than I could put out of it at the range later…
35 bucks a gram currently…
I tend to agree with the sentiment that buying gold when you can't watch an hour of tv without seeing gold commercials is probably not wise.. and about water being more important and maybe soon more valuable monetarily. I noticed another interesting twist to a commercial this week. The 'survival seed pack' – enough non-genetic altered garden seeds in a sealed tube for storage has now added to their sales pitch that– 'in a severe economic failure these seeds would be more valuable than gold and hold more barter value as well.' — right in line with y'alls self sufficient point. And Cowboy's point about what self sufficient does for your self-esteem and character can't be over -stated. Even without economic failure – it's an important but now missing ingredient to the American culture.
GOLD EMMMMM EMMM EMMMMMM. I never understood gold never will. It is for the most part an ornamental metal. Its value? It has held its value for ages but why? My fear in investing in gold is one day everyone will wake up and go. "Gee it sure is shiney but what can I do with it" Im not suggesting that currency has any real value either, but at least you can burn it to stay warm. I like land "Land Katy Scarlett its the only thing that matters". It is intreasting Roosevelt used Gold to moneterize debt. Obama I suspect is planning on inflation doing the same thing. The intresting thing about inflation is it trashes the debt holders, the savers and crushes the working poor. Thanks to COLA it leaves uneffected the unions and the dependent classes. WOW sounds like income redistribution.
Just keep in mind Israel can't do a thing without our approval. If they get it and attack though, gold will be soaring. Enjoyed your article.
But should we buy it right now, maybe not. Most of the times, during other recessions the price goes up to $1400 and then every time, it drops, any investment would be lost. If you have buying it as insurance it may be worth it but not as an investment. I have been watching the price of Gold on http://www.americanparchment.com and found that it is still very volatile. The problem right now is that the Dems and the President are destroying the dollar. After November 2010, when the Republicans hopefully take back the House or the Senate they will try to keep a good lite on what Americans want and do things that will strengthen the economy and stop the spending. If they don't they will be thrown out again, give them a chance. If the Republicans get in there and are able to help stop the destruction of the dollar, that gold will be worth very little, that is why it may not be the best investment and when it comes to insurance, Food is my number one concern, then gold, you can always eat the food if the recession goes away.
The best financial position to be in is; Out of Debt.
I don't know but I'm blaming Karl Rove
Imagine how much more you could save if the regulations and taxes werent so bad
I know this says something about Gold, but since it's also says open thread, my wife and I are wondering how health care reform if passed would actually affect us?
We are empty nesters, getting health insurance through work, with a household income a little under 100k annually, play by the rules, and look forward to a little traveling, visiting our upcoming first grandchild type, etc.
It seems we would continue getting health insurance through our work, but probably be unable to not get it through work if we didn't want the insurance. Probably a forced deduction like income taxes, even if we wanted to to do a self insure type thing.
It seems like the only thing that would actually change for us would be a reduction in freedom to choose.
Any comments, clarifications, amplifications, etc.
Aside from silver & gold being the only Constitutional and therefore legal form of money (and with good reason…
given the depravity of politicians,greed crazed capitalists and Kenzian economists )…I have relatively little interest
in the shiney stuff….however it nestles nicely in a gun safe,which I recommend,having lost a sizable collection in
a catastrophic fire (military amo boxes are the safe way to store those other precious commodities)….it is,
however insurance that holds it's value better than fiat currencies or political promises.I's not an investment unless you can take your profit when you achieve your goal/expectations….which requires discipline and timing….
but I'm just a farmer and what do I know about gambling….hahaha
This is so right Paul. It's liberating beyond words. everyday life is dramatically improved in so many ways. – and then there is the icing on the cake that being contrary to the bretton-woods fed/res scam is…
When Isreal attacks Iran, I would be a lot more concerned with the price of oil than I would be about the price of gold
I started my arsenal 10 years ago and because of the inflation in the gun market, I could sell my guns at a higher price than what I paid for them brand new. Thing is, unlike gold, NO ONE gets my guns!
That's my thinking too.
If ALL I had was a freezer full of beef
And ALL you had was a safe full of gold what would be the exchange rate.
In 1980 my then boss bought an ounce of gold for $660 (the historical high at that time) and bragged that it would beat the stock market or a CD. If he sold that ounce today he would, figuring for inflation, lose $800. I'll stick to CDs and mutual funds.
"but I'm just a farmer and what do I know about gambling….hahaha "
Getting to be spring time!
"It seems like the only thing that would actually change for us would be a reduction in freedom to choose".
Yeah don't worry about that, what's the worst that could happen, O is looking out for YOU.
Check this out:
http://www.nma.org/pdf/gold/his_gold_prices.pdf
From 1976 to 1980 , the average price of gold quadrupled, then over the next 2 years, the price was cut in half, after that it took 26 years for the average price of gold to return to the 1980 average, and that is in static dollars, not inflation adjusted. So, honestly if you bought gold in 1980 and held it until today, you just recently saw any type of actual gain on investment if any at all, since in 30 years the absolute price of gold has only doubled. T-bill at 2% anyone?
Check this out:
http://www.nma.org/pdf/gold/his_gold_prices.pdf
From 1976 to 1980 , the average price of gold quadrupled, then over the next 2 years, the price was cut in half, after that it took 26 years for the average price of gold to return to the 1980 average, and that is in static dollars, not inflation adjusted. So, honestly if you bought gold in 1980 and held it until today, you just recently saw any type of actual gain on investment if any at all, since in 30 years the absolute price of gold has only doubled. T-bill at 2% anyone?
You could say that gold is a currency, not an investment. A currency that cannot be "printed" up out of nothing. The "exchange rate" on the currency is rising because there is a whole lot of financial problems around, and the entire world has settled on trying to print their way out of trouble. It is all Bernanke can and will ever do. Touch anit-inflation is cheap talk to try and have it both ways. And now BHO gets to select three more Fed governors, including Yellen, who's quoted as saying she'd have negative interest rates if possible. Gold is also a relatively tiny market which contributes to sharp price swings in either direction. So there are fundamental forces in place pushing the price up. I don't believe it's reached bubble stage yet. If and when that happens, one thing we've learned from the last three bubbles, is first, that craziness goes far beyond what seems reasonably possible, and second bubbles always end badly and do attract dishonest players before all is said and done.
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
here's a thought, Gold is only of value when the goods you are seeking to purchase are more abundant than the gold itself.
It's a case of supply and demand, on a normal day, gold isn't a great investment, however, if inflation occurs, Gold will retain it's value during inflation.
If things get worse and socity breaks down, other goods (such as food, gas or ammunition) over time will become more scarce and your gold will buy less.
That said. It will take a severe shortage to remove gold from the top of the barter list. The only item that will outlast golds value in such a terrible situation is probably food water and ammunition.
Those are my thoughts on gold, it's protection from inflation, and a medium term survival tool.
Right now, as we speak, there are folks from southern California, here in Montana trying to buy up water rights on the Yellowstone River, trying to trade out our water here, down south.
One thing for sure: whatever dollars one holds are going to have a lot less purchasing power a few years from now.
I like the self-sufficiency strategy as well, but that's not so simple to achieve either.
Precious metals & self-sufficienct measures aren't mutually exclusive. And neither has to be all-or-nothing. People could start by getting out of debt, stocking a few extra supplies, improving home security, learning self-suffiiciency skills, etc. In any case, folks better start thinking about ways to prepare for a storm that's coming. In 2008, money-printing and bad debt contributed to a near finanical meltdown. Our brilliant leaders decided the solution is…multiplying the money-printing and bad debt. It has succeeded so far in postponing disaster.
In the event that the unthinkable happens, I am pretty sure that we won't be walking around with bags of gold dust to purchase staples. To my way of thinking the more independent we are in terms of being able to fend for ourselves. That means all the things mentioned above and more. The bad thing for city boys like me, is there is no way to stash enough fuel to keep things running if the power goes out for an extended amount of time. there is much to consider.
Yes.
You just reinforced the point I was trying to make above. When it comes to precious metals, you'd have been further ahead in 1980 to have bought a new Corvette, or Mercedes sports car convertible, never driven it, put it in climate controlled storage and brought it out to auction today. It would have appreciated more, dollar for dollar, than gold, and that car, in the scheme of things is only sheet metal and plastic…………
Farmers and ranchers don't gamble at the tables. It would be boring.
Look back in history at the old Jews, of Europe, back to the days of the World Wars. What did they covet as a hedge? Diamonds. They always kept a reserve, and they are portable and easier to hide. You can hold more value in diamonds in the palm of your hand, than a man could lift, if that value were converted to gold.
The flaw in your cowboy logic is you fail to consider the vast amount of money being created by Bernancke. If you expect significant inflation, the precious metals may well be a solid investment. No, you don't have to eat the gold, all you need to do is sell it for food.
If you expect deflation, holding cash will be your best option.
Hmmm, Obama appointed Yellin to the Fed last night. Expect inflation:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025...
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/po...
That's so true.Gold only has value because we assign this intrinsic value to it in relation to it's worthiness as a useful commodity, as all other commodities, except food and water, which are the most basic and most needed essentials to live.
Our entire economy, at it's most basic level, is supported by consumer confidence, nothing more.When the people realise the extent of our economic woes and lose confidence in a return to prosperity the sh!t will hit the fan, so to speak. +Hanzo+
I would be a hell of a lot better shot than I currently am, I know that much at least. Hard to practice much with the price.
I stumbled on another point.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODMyM2Yz...
The takeway is the idea that the US might eventually be forced to price our bonds in foreign currency. That is what happened to Argentina. That did not end well for them.
Yes, out of debt and prepared for the worst. +Hanzo+
I agree with you Cowboy.
You can't eat gold, and you can only produce a limited number of things with it.
I really wonder where folks come up with it being a store of value. Glenn Beck maybe?
Is that Copper-jacketed lead? ;^) +Hanzo+
"Our brilliant leaders decided the solution is…"
Consider this if you will — there was no decission to be made because there is no choice. The 1913 chosen Bretton-Woods financial system dictates that monetization is the only choice that will keep the Bretton-Woods debt based system alive. It's going to fail anyway, because the $trillion dollar layer of debt fed/gov provided it is only temporary, is about the peak debt possible and the source of last resort. Under Bretton-Woods declining debt is deflationary and immeninent failure of the system. – so, we not only had to maintain growing debt for Bretton-Woods to have a few more breaths of life but if we don't now monetize that debt Bretton-Woods' long-term ability to survive declines as well.
The needs of the debt based system dictated the path taken. There was no choice.
There were choices, bad choices, made. We didn't HAVE to borrow and spend on bailouts, ineffective stimulus etc. But the bad choices might be inevitable in a democaracy where politicians have powers of taxation and fiat money and dole it out with abandon to cronies and special interests. Some villains here being dishonest , irresponsible politicians, unlimited power to tax-and-spend, fiat money, and a growing number of Americans with an entitlement mentality.
Isn't it true that George Soros (wiki- Man that broke the Bank of England) has taken on gold and is actually betting against the American dollar? The influence he has on the Administration and media is a concern. Isn't it possible that all this out of control spending is playing right into that. When you think our president doesn't know what he is doing, he may know exactly what he is doing. Couple that with the obvious lack of caring for who and what America is, this is the theory that makes sense to me.
If gold is such a great investment, why are they selling it on television? If you had an investment that was guaranteed to go up in price, you'd hoard it, not sell it.
Once you see gold commercials on tv, that means the market for it is at or near the peak.
Is Boone behind them? He's been tryin' to sell Texas Panhandle h2o for 10 or 15 yrs.
Old SoB, wonder who'll torment us after he's gone. Can't wait to find out, maybe Kent
Hance of Jim Sowell. I guess they're everywhere. Each region of the country probably
has it's own predatory movers & shakers.
Mark – we are of the same mindset. There are core cultural issues to be addressed.
I just propose to consider some of these core issues individually and the inevitability of a debt based financial system is pretty well based in math. – a natural law.
another kinda out-of-the-box consideration about fiat money, taxation and digital transfers of money. I read it somewhere and the concept keeps coming back to thought.. – fiat currency and digital currency transfers pretty well makes money ficticious. No real limits to what the gov can create and provide to the dependent citizen, corporation or employee. With this in mind there is no real need for taxation to provide revenue for government operations. This leaves taxation's only real purpose to be used as a control mechanism.
Gold is an asset that people love to hate. Politicians and Wall Street hate it because it's like anti-matter in a world of fiat money, exotic financial instruments and leverage. That said, i'm no fan of the tv ads either.
No.
Boone isn't behind them. For years though, he was focused on the water in the Canadian River, up in the Panhandle, wanting to build his pipeline and move that water downstate to Dallas.
The last few years, as usual he was focused on his Pickens Plan and wind energy. Interesting enough, and not too many people know this fact, in 2008 when he was pushing the Pickens Plan, Madame Nancy Pelosi and her husband invested in Ol' Boones whirl-li-gig biddness….
It is scary that you would agree with me.
Nah, I won't bite on Glen Beck being behind gold. He is only selling advertising. It doesn't matter to Beck if it's gold, or Charmin toilet paper, or Viagra. He'll hawk for a sponsor.
The gold scam has been going on for over a generation. Just take a look at Monex…………
"I am a fan of both FOX News, and Glen Beck"
God you people are stupid.
I keep tryin to remember what my family talked about from the 30's. Sugar & coffee
were big, but I guess about any foodstuff would have to go to the top of the list, esp-
ecially proteins. As far as your freezer full of beef, hope you can maintain a constant
flow of power. Heard my mother & aunts talk about butchering a whole beef & cann-
ing it in 1 & 1 1/2 gallon jars. Meats take forever to process, even in quarts, I think it's
an hour. Mother Earth News, here we come <sarc>. I remember seeing some of it
on shelves in the basement of one of my aunts homes. Didn't look very appetizing,
reminded me of things I saw in science lab in HS. Although there's nothing like hunger
to overcome our persnickety-ness.
I inherited gold. It was originally bought in the late 80's knowing that the price could go way down but could be a good way of buying yourself out of a situation if the "world went crazy". That's basically what I think of it now.
I remember the 80's when gold was around $2000.00 per ounce in today's dollars. BAD time to buy.
I suppose your heros are Al Gore, Keith Olbermann and MSNBC, which are owned by GE and is getting several sweetheart government deals from the current administration for furthering the healthcare and green jobs cause. Personally, I am a fan of the free market, and the smart money says: "You, Anon are a dumba$$".
The flaw in your logic is that if we are in a catastrophic situation, you would have to find someone stupid enough to part with their food for some of your worthless gold. Cash would be worthless as well, but I would rather use my cash now to buy food rather than gold.
Look, you sawed off little mother-jammer, about the only thing I could say to you that you would savvy, is: RUN FOREST, RUN!
Since there is no ignore button here that I can use to make you invisible, just know this will be my last post to you, ever. So go ahead and continue to post to me and yap away. I'm sure you'll continue to want to get the last word in, just like my ex-wives………..
oh c'mon mac – you can't contest the superiority complex of the indoctrinated – it's the whole of their value system :~}
i cant afford to invest in gold, so i invest in something more practical, Copper,brass and lead.
The theory is based in simple economics. There is a set amount of gold, but dollars can be freely produced. So, if we remain in a stable state, the value of gold necessarily goes up when the value of the dollar goes down. The flaw in that logic is twofold: gold itself is a commodity that is consummable in several industries including jewelry, electronics and medical supplies and as such the value will fluctuate with demand. The second is the basic assumption that the economy will remain stable, if hyper-inflation happens, the value of gold will be meaningless when compared with food. The theory of gold being a stable commodity is ages old and has nothing to do with Glenn Beck. But if you pay me a few thousand bucks, I'd make a commercial too. The question is who will be dumb enough to believe the commercials, and frankly I am surprised you are not a gold bug Anon as your level of intelligence on everything else you write suggests you should be.
Good point MV.
Lodtom – can you explain why Israel can't do anything without out approval? I did not think it was that close.
I am gratified you liked my article. Thanks!
Most of the ads on TV are to buy gold not sell it.
have a few bucks I could invest in gold – but there are problems that go with it, as I see it. I may be wrong, so feel free to correct any errors.
One – I want something I can hold in my hands. I don't want more of my wealth in a bank or vault somewhere under another persons control. If the caca hits the revolving airfoil – what's to stop the government from closing up all of these storage vaults? Then you have nothing again. I have the will and the means to safeguard my own money – I don't want it stashed away someplace I can't get to.
Two – supposing it does hit the fan, and even if you have your own gold. What do you do with it? You can't buy gas with it, or food, or other supplies? How do you get change for a $1000 Krugerand at a gas station or market?
Buy some goldschlager, it's a schnapps with gold flakes in it.
FDR confiscated the peoples gold in 1933 i believe. He also made it illegal for U.S. citizens to own gold, however foreign countries could still redeem dollars for gold. Nixon, one of the worst presidents in our history, permanently severed the dollar from gold in 1971 famously claiming "we're all Keynesians now". He also instituted harsh wage and price controls bringing us to near complete economic fascism at the time.
If you want to see how the break from gold has screwed up the economy since 1971 go look at the historical graphs at:
http://mises.org/markets.asp#monetary
http://mises.org/markets.asp#federal
http://mises.org/markets.asp#macro
http://mises.org/markets.asp#interest
reactionaries, you are so right about folks in the cities. The gvt will do all they can to funnel
foodstuffs & fuel to the cities, because of the risk of rioting, & civil unrest. In the city you will
be more likely to have products available to you, if you dare risk going out of your neighbor-
hood to find them. If food & fuel become the major focus of daily life, rather than precious
work, we will pine for the days when our food consumed less than 10% of our income. My
wish is to see no ones children hungry, for I realize being in the minority as I am, there will
be someone who will come to take my larder. If not Uncle Sam, who may wish to redistribute
the fruits of my labor, it will be those who are desperate to save their families from hunger.
The US Government policy of cheap food for America has long been recognized, for a full
belly makes for a docile populace. The reason farmers have received subsidies for 80 yrs
is clearly an admission of our gov that it routinely manipulates markets to maintain more
stable & somewhat lower prices than the truly FREE market would support. Oversupply by
Americas farmers is desirable in the eyes of Congress.
I remember when in the late 1980's to early 90's the price of gold was about $900 and my ex and I had a lot invested in that shiny stuff. Then the bottom dropped out and you couldn't sell gold shares if you wanted to on the open market for $250 or even $220. It was a disastrous time when panic selling took over. There is way too much promotion of it right now and yes Cowboy, the Prince is smiling. I don't trust all this hype.
Yes, Fed money-printing (fiat money) is hidden taxation. It took me awhile to get that, but it's true. The fact that the dollar has lost about 97% of it's purchasing power since the Fed began working its magic is telling.
Politicians often try to kill two birds with one stone with tax policy. Raise revenue, in a way that nudges societal behavior in a way they deem beneficial. Nowadays, "they" are getting carried away with doing this, and "they" are out-of-touch, devoid of common sense and corrupt.
Funny how history repeats itself. The founders had all kinds of warnings about dangers of out-of-control bankers, taxation and fiat money leading to ruin. Going back even farther in history, here's a timely quote ….from 55 BC:
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." … Cicero – 55 BC
Glenn says he is prepared to lose everything, & start over, but his admitted hoarding of
foreign gold coins seems to me somewhat hypocritical
[...] » Saturday Open Thread: Gold Edition – Big Government [...]
& you call yourself 'the barbarian', I think NOT, for no barbarian ever spoke so
eloquently of our task.
thx mac, I continue to hammer it, food & fuel, food & fuel.
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