Precious Metals are overrated
silvereagle
Posts: 290 ✭
I realize that most of the people on this board are pro-silver and gold, but still your arguments are so full of holes.
First, Yes the US govt is printing money like mad, but its not all give away. They are getting back securities in return. These do have value, and in time the gov't may get the vast majority, if not all the money back. Plus, I dont think it matters so much if there is 900 Trillion dollars in circulation, as long as the average joe is broke it wont matter that there is a lot of money out there. The vast majority of wealth is in the hands of the top 1 or 2 %. Most people are broke as a joke and will do about anything for a dollar. The dollar is far from being done.
Why do you PM people think the dollar is done just because there is a huge supply of it, yet you think PM's are going up when there is a billion new ounces of silver mined every year, and 50,000,000 new ounces of gold every year ?
Next, some say there is only about 50,000,000 ounces of above ground silver. Yet, there have been nearly that many US silver eagles made since 1986 ? Clearly, any silver that is in a product is not being counted because there is probably 10 times that figure in coin alone. Besides, why would silver miners mine more than what is projected to be needed. As long as its underground, you have a perfectly safe storage facililty. Mine it, and you either have to pay to store it or you flood the market with more than is needed and drop the price. Of course, the above ground unused in any product supply is going to be relatively small. The fact is, that they could mine 10 Billion Ounces of silver every year for the next 1000 years if need be.
Next, if there really were so much silver shorts, wouldnt that have been filled now that silver paper has been $8-$9 an ounce for a while ? What are they waiting on ? $2 an ounce silver ?
You cant comapre PM today with back in ancient times. How did they mine it back then ? With a shovel, I guess. That made quantity very limited. Today they could mine so much PM that it would make the dollar look scarce if they wanted to.
First, Yes the US govt is printing money like mad, but its not all give away. They are getting back securities in return. These do have value, and in time the gov't may get the vast majority, if not all the money back. Plus, I dont think it matters so much if there is 900 Trillion dollars in circulation, as long as the average joe is broke it wont matter that there is a lot of money out there. The vast majority of wealth is in the hands of the top 1 or 2 %. Most people are broke as a joke and will do about anything for a dollar. The dollar is far from being done.
Why do you PM people think the dollar is done just because there is a huge supply of it, yet you think PM's are going up when there is a billion new ounces of silver mined every year, and 50,000,000 new ounces of gold every year ?
Next, some say there is only about 50,000,000 ounces of above ground silver. Yet, there have been nearly that many US silver eagles made since 1986 ? Clearly, any silver that is in a product is not being counted because there is probably 10 times that figure in coin alone. Besides, why would silver miners mine more than what is projected to be needed. As long as its underground, you have a perfectly safe storage facililty. Mine it, and you either have to pay to store it or you flood the market with more than is needed and drop the price. Of course, the above ground unused in any product supply is going to be relatively small. The fact is, that they could mine 10 Billion Ounces of silver every year for the next 1000 years if need be.
Next, if there really were so much silver shorts, wouldnt that have been filled now that silver paper has been $8-$9 an ounce for a while ? What are they waiting on ? $2 an ounce silver ?
You cant comapre PM today with back in ancient times. How did they mine it back then ? With a shovel, I guess. That made quantity very limited. Today they could mine so much PM that it would make the dollar look scarce if they wanted to.
0
Comments
Camelot
And you know this how?
I knew it would happen.
return to some system that involves backing a portion of money
with PMs. This must be done eventually to restore the peoples
confidence in the money supply. That fact alone guarantees that
the value of Gold will be set by fiat at a much higher level and fixed
as it was under The Bretten Woods Agreement.
Camelot
Aside from some fringe thinkers, there has not been a loss of public confidence in the money supply. If the public had lost confidence in the money supply the consumer and businesses would be spending like crazy today in expectation that their money would be worth less tomorrow.
Instead of spending, people and businesses are hoarding money, including using the Treasury's vault as their private safe deposit box by purchasing T-Bills at or near zero interest. Even the banks are hoarding money, including the cash they got from the Treasury.
The confidence that has been lost is in the economy as a whole. People are afraid of losing their jobs, their businesses, their homes, and the value of their investments in stocks, corporate bonds, and real estate. Even muni-bonds have become risky today.
If you want to see an example of people having lost confidence in the mone supply look at Zimbabawe.
CG
<< <i>Today they could mine so much PM that it would make the dollar look scarce if they wanted to. >>
Wow. You're joking, right?
or a real woman , I think I would go with what is real.
So the choice is between
A green piece of paper (which has lost 97 % of it's buying power in the last 100 years)
or Gold / Silver (been used as money/power/wealth, aka the "real deal" for thousands of years)
Im going with what is real , which is of course , the metal . Paper is for wiping your butt.
And , even worse is the upcoming "cashless society" . Hell, that's so crazy, you can't even wipe your butt
on invisable ,electronic money . At least with the green paper you actually had something you could hold in your hand
and look at .
Lewis
I sense a poll in the making.
I knew it would happen.
Yeah, if they wanted to go into some third world environment like Africa or maybe Bolivia and if they could get it out of the ground, assayed and fabricated, distributed to the market, and get paid for their effort at something near a profit, and still pay all of their investors, and they could time it for proper market conditions, and if they didn't have to forward sell their in ground reserves to pay for starting up or expanding their operations, and if they could find the labor to mine it in the first place. But even then, the miners would have to fight the paper people that short his market futures and the manipulators that like to keep the price with in a comfortable trading range, and the governments that force the market one way or another depending on their purchases and sales, and then he can deal with theft, losses from related operations like silver extraction, and then there is always depletion of resources or the loss of the mine through engineering mistakes like a collapse/flooding or something political like confiscation/nationalization of the property/operations or other legal pitfalls like a dishonest business associate. Yeah, they could make the dollar look scarce but it ain't gonna happen. If it were just lying around and anyone could just reach out and grab a handful, I guess it wouldn't be called precious anymore.
Please don't buy gold, keep shorting it with paper and keep making plenty of paper so dreamers have something to play with...got gold?
the governments of the world, including the US government, will NEVER return to a "gold standard" for currency.
the people of the world -- except for some board members here -- don't need a gold standard to "believe" in their money.
and frankly our money is worth only what we BELIEVE it to be worth.
even with a GOLD STANDARD you have to BELIEVE in gold in order to BELIEVE in a gold standard... and as we all know, we cannot eat gold.
Gold is really part of the "greater fool theory." you buy gold and own it hoping that a "greater fool" will come along and pay you more for it.
the "greater fool theory" also applies to art, collectibles, yes coins, stamps, you name it.
you might say that our "money" also follows the greater fool theory... you hope that the next fool also thinks your dollar bill is worth a dollar. LOL
www.AlanBestBuys.com
www.VegasBestBuys.com
Yes buying paper is much better
Link
If I believed all of the statements by the OP, I guess I would come to the same conclusion. Unfortunately I disagree with all the point offered. It's amazing that with us being so wrong about gold back in 2002 that in spite of all the holes to trip over, gold has tripled since that time. It must have been sheer blind luck that what was being discussed here on the forum in 2004 (including major bank failures and monumental derivatives blow ups) literally came true in 2007-2008.
the governments of the world, including the US government, will NEVER return to a "gold standard" for currency.
Never say never. The odds of this occuring, or some linkage to gold are increasing with every TRILLION dollar bailout.
the people of the world -- except for some board members here -- don't need a gold standard to "believe" in their money....and frankly our money is worth only what we BELIEVE it to be worth.
I can't even believe someone on the forum stated such a thing. "Belief" in paper. Unreal. So what if I "believed" that all my $1 FRNs could buy $20 worth of goods? As long as I believe it, the world's great. Hey, I got a $50 FRN note for an ounce of gold...any takers?
and as we all know, we cannot eat gold.
Well, what would any sound discussion on gold backing be without this tried and true statement? Thank you MoneyLA for reminding us of this fact. How about FRN's, how do they taste?
Gold is really part of the "greater fool theory." you buy gold and own it hoping that a "greater fool" will come along and pay you more for it.
This theory only came about after 1971 (pure fiat world). That great fool, Charles DeGaulle, was emptying the US gold coffers prior to 1971. Well, Nixon had enough of that and closed the gold window for good. He was not going to give away our gold for our paper in return. I guess Nixon was the greater fool by your logic (lol). What he did was save the gold, but he planted the seeds to help cripple our economic system. In all the years prior to 1971 one never heard the greater fool theory about gold, just about unbacked paper money. Our guess our founding fathers, esp Jefferson, were greater fools as well for they had seen the damage that fiat does to economies. From 1971 to date, we've only proven what TJ already knew. We just happened to last longer than the typical 15-25 years or so that previous pure fiat currencies have lasted....and that mainly due to owning the world's reserve currency. Without that, we'd have lost it back in the 1980's or 1990's. One thing for sure, there are a lot of greater fools who have maintained and increased their wealth dramatically over the past 37 years by owning quality art and collectibles. Those people were trying not to become a greater fool by staying invested in cash or its equivalents.
roadrunner
<< <i>and as we all know, we cannot eat gold.
Well, what would any sound discussion on gold backing be without this tried and true statement? Thank you MoneyLA for reminding us of this fact. How about FRN's, how do they taste?
roadrunner >>
And thus my new two pronged approach to dieting and reaching your ideal weight:
1. FRN's probably don't taste very good and have no nutritional value therefore you will lose weight if you eat only them.
2. Don't eat FRN's, just continue to spend the exact amount in FRN's on food in the future as you do now, and over time you will be eating less and presto!, once again you will lose weight!
My new one page fad diet paperback book will be out very soon!
<< <i>I realize that most of the people on this board are pro-silver and gold
You cant compare PM today with back in ancient times. How did they mine it back then ? With a shovel, I guess. That made quantity very limited. Today they could mine so much PM that it would make the dollar look scarce if they wanted to. >>
Yeah, they mined it with a shovel
Yet somehow they instantly refined and assayed it and created alloys and poured it into bars and manufactured coins............ with a shovel.
While most of us here are indeed pro precious metals, more than that we are pro common sense and some of like shovels too.
I don't think the OP's comments pass the smell test(or a spelling test, but I fixed that part in my quote, I used a shovel).
Back then, they knew what real money was. Amazing to me that after all these thousands of years and so many of their descendants have lost that bit of basic and very important knowlege.
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
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SHORT interest in SLV is pretty high.
The largest number of outstanding SHORTs came into SLV between $19+ and $16+/-.
Far fewer, but still a bunch, came in between $15 and $12.
Most positions feel they have no incentive to cover here. There is little upward pressure;
if the trend breaks downward HARD, lots of folks will start to cover.
Some folks are afraid of higher tax-rates in 2009 and beyond; they may cover sooner
than later. Most folks KNOW that tax-rates will NOT be much increased and they will
wait.
GLD is a little different. While most folks took the first SHORT bite in the mid-$900s,
they continued to hit it above $850. They don't have the kind of built-in profits that
the SLV bears do. If the whipsaw continues, lots of folks could panic/tire and cover.
..............................
I don't necessarily think PMs are "overrated." But, the past two-months have proven
that the equities market was MUCH under rated. While the profits have not come in
a straight line - and some averaging down has been necessary - the profits are HUGE.
The biggest I have ever seen on the short-term LONG side.
Folks who tied-up ALL of their cash in PMs have missed a once in a lifetime chance to
GET RICH trading stocks during the past 60-days.
EVERYBODY should have some PMs. NOBODY should have ALL of their money in PMs.
Seems to me that many more people have got hurt the last 60 days than became rich trading stocks. So for every one that got "rich," how may would say took a bath? 10? 20? 100? I could see getting into gold stocks as many of those have come back 50-100%. But not enough to get you rich unless you were rich to begin with.
The S&P and Dow have experienced crazy volatility the past 2 months where only a seasoned day trader taking posistions by the minute (not even by the hour or day) might make them money. This was not the place for J6P to try his hand at investing. I've seen the blogs of several "traders" who have been closing out their positions on a daily basis, if not sooner. That's not "investing" to me but just another form of speculation...just like all the so-called "investments of today's world.
That "once in a life-time" chance will be back soon enough when the Dow bottoms for good in the 2500-5000 range. And for those rich people who hang on too long before the next downdraft, they'll become unrich. Those holding on to gold will outperform the stock markets in the next few years as Dow/gold approaches unity. To seasoned traders like Storm888 who play all the angles, it's a different world than what J6P can deal with.
roadrunner
True. And that storage facility is right next to all the crude oil storage.
Anytime someone needs some, just go out shootin' at some food. And up from the ground comes a bubblin' crude. After the Black Gold is done, there's always the silver.
<< <i>Besides, why would silver miners mine more than what is projected to be needed. As long as its underground, you have a perfectly safe storage facililty
True. And that storage facility is right next to all the crude oil storage.
Anytime someone needs some, just go out shootin' at some food. And up from the ground comes a bubblin' crude. After the Black Gold is done, there's always the silver. >>
Don't forget your shovel.
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
Camelot
Mr. T....... I pity da foo....
roadrunner
<< <i>
<< <i>I realize that most of the people on this board are pro-silver and gold
You cant compare PM today with back in ancient times. How did they mine it back then ? With a shovel, I guess. That made quantity very limited. Today they could mine so much PM that it would make the dollar look scarce if they wanted to. >>
Yeah, they mined it with a shovel
Yet somehow they instantly refined and assayed it and created alloys and poured it into bars and manufactured coins............ with a shovel.
While most of us here are indeed pro precious metals, more than that we are pro common sense and some of like shovels too.
I don't think the OP's comments pass the smell test(or a spelling test, but I fixed that part in my quote, I used a shovel).
Back then, they knew what real money was. Amazing to me that after all these thousands of years and so many of their descendants have lost that bit of basic and very important knowlege. >>
Oh my god. How third grade. You found one word that wasn't spelled correctly because two letters were inverted. I guarantee I can find words spelled wrong by you. Maybe it wasn't mined with a shovel, but they sure as hell weren't mining 900 million ounces of silver a year in ancient times. That was the point.
None of you pro-PM people can explain your contradiction. You say the dollar is dead because the US gov't just keeps printing up more and more and more, yet PM's are golden. Guess what, the mining companies just keep making more and more and more.
<< <i>
I don't know about the well respected part for many of these but no one has yet mentioned CMI.
They extruded many larger sizes and pumped out massive quantities, though I don't know the dates they were in operation.
I've seen and own a number of thier bars from 25 and 50 to 100 ouncers.
Exact same shape as Engelhard 100 ouncers and just scaled down for the smaller sizes.
>>
THIER ?????
<< <i>It seems to me that governments of the World will be forced to
return to some system that involves backing a portion of money
with PMs. This must be done eventually to restore the peoples
confidence in the money supply. >>
There is no problem with peoples confidence in the money supply. In the last month, the gov't has sold trillions of dollars in 10 year T-Bills at close to 0 % interest. A lot of people think there is going to be a long deflationary spiral. Which, in turn means they are expecting the dollar to only get stronger over the next decade. Most people are broke as hell. That is not when confidence is lost in the money supply.
<< <i>I don't know, call me crazy but if I were given a choice between a blow up inflatable doll, or a real woman , I think I would go with what is real.
I sense a poll in the making.
........
I just love it when someone makes a totally unsubstantiated statement and doesn't have to back it up with any sources, then proceeds to lay it on thicker and thicker without being called on it.
Why bother to debate it, if he can't back up a single claim? Why would anyone believe any of his other inflammatory claims, when it's obvious that he knows nothing?
I knew it would happen.
LINK
I know, I know. The US geological survey is wrong or just flat out lying. Its all a big conspiracy against the silver lovers. Sorry about not providing links and proof for every comment I made. I just thought that was the order of business here. What with all the short sellers being at record shorts ( with no proof ), silver being heavily consumed ( no proof ), market manipulated down ( no proof ), only 50,000,000 ounces above ground supply ( not only no proof, a flat out lie), comex going to default ( no proof, and wrong), shortage of silver ( no proof, its everywhere), dollar is dead (no proof), people have lost confidence in dollar ( no proof and false), and a million other silly conspiracy theories put forth by the silver lovers with no proof whatsoever. Sorry, I didnt realize it was such a one way street. By the way, How sis that comex default thing work out. LOL.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>I realize that most of the people on this board are pro-silver and gold
You cant compare PM today with back in ancient times. How did they mine it back then ? With a shovel, I guess. That made quantity very limited. Today they could mine so much PM that it would make the dollar look scarce if they wanted to. >>
Yeah, they mined it with a shovel
Yet somehow they instantly refined and assayed it and created alloys and poured it into bars and manufactured coins............ with a shovel.
While most of us here are indeed pro precious metals, more than that we are pro common sense and some of like shovels too.
I don't think the OP's comments pass the smell test(or a spelling test, but I fixed that part in my quote, I used a shovel).
Back then, they knew what real money was. Amazing to me that after all these thousands of years and so many of their descendants have lost that bit of basic and very important knowlege. >>
Oh my god. How third grade. You found one word that wasn't spelled correctly because two letters were inverted. I guarantee I can find words spelled wrong by you. Maybe it wasn't mined with a shovel, but they sure as hell weren't mining 900 million ounces of silver a year in ancient times. That was the point.
None of you pro-PM people can explain your contradiction. You say the dollar is dead because the US gov't just keeps printing up more and more and more, yet PM's are golden. Guess what, the mining companies just keep making more and more and more. >>
OK, now you're just a jerk!!
It wasn't about your spelling at all, yes I see your second post. You have no concept of humor.
It's clear you are an ahole looking to pick a fight.
It was about your arrogance and ignorance. Both traits which you clearly show remain in full strength.
Don't you think we see enough trolls from other forums coming over here as it is?
Did you actually expect to have us all bow down and say we were all selling out immediately and thank the all knowing Silvereagle?
Crawl back under your rock, be thankfull this is the internet.
Here's the obvious, no doubt it's gone right over your head previously;
For over 15 years we have used more silver than has been produced, often by a great margin.
When silver is used in industry and medical, it is just that, used........ that means gone forever. It's electrons have been converted to energy or heat or absorbed by the human body. There comes a point when we can no longer do that and many of us have watched this for the last decade and thought, hmmm, push is going to come to shove eventually and that day is within our lifetimes. Maybe only a few more years.
When you have far more paper silver out there than there is physical silver on the planet, well something like this cannot stand. In spite of all the manipulation, it will have to come crashing down at some point.
They can't just mine more of it, doesn't work that way. Silver is a surface metal, all those easy pickings are long gone.
It now costs more to produce than this artificial spot price. How long can that go on?
I'm sure you don't know that there is more refined gold on the planet than there is refined silver.
Yes, that's correct, silver is rarer than gold. Go think about that for awhile and don't bother getting back to us.
BTW, don't put words into our mouths either. Few believe the Dollar is dead, only that it is slowing sinking into being worth much less via inflation.
If that was the pont, then why didn't you just say that? Mined with a shovel is just another not so subtle put down, we're not as stupid as you must think. Previous production thousands of years ago and current production with far more uses are two vastly different things. OTOH, silver production is off by around 35% for 2008. Yes, there wasn't in increase in silver mining for the first time in decades. Did you know that? I doubt it. Continued mining is becoming more costly, what does that do to a commodity? Even someone like you, still in third grade, should be able to grasp that basic concept.
How many paint chips does one have to eat to come up with a post like that?
You should stay on the other forums where you also know nothing, but are afforded plenty of camouflage.
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
<< <i>The US geological survey, which is linked to in this report says so.
LINK
I know, I know. The US geological survey is wrong or just flat out lying. Its all a big conspiracy against the silver lovers. Sorry about not providing links and proof for every comment I made. I just thought that was the order of business here. What with all the short sellers being at record shorts ( with no proof ), silver being heavily consumed ( no proof ), market manipulated down ( no proof ), only 50,000,000 ounces above ground supply ( not only no proof, a flat out lie), comex going to default ( no proof, and wrong), shortage of silver ( no proof, its everywhere), dollar is dead (no proof), people have lost confidence in dollar ( no proof and false), and a million other silly conspiracy theories put forth by the silver lovers with no proof whatsoever. Sorry, I didnt realize it was such a one way street. By the way, How sis that comex default thing work out. LOL. >>
Does this survey tell you how much more expensive it will be to mine deeper and refine from forever less giving ore?
The rest of your post makes it obvious you aren't too well read on the subject. There is plenty of proof to refute you on every point.
You're more like someone who has passed gas in an elevator... the rest of us are just uncomfortably trying to distance ourselves from your fatuous blurtings - and hoping against hope that you'll get off on the next floor.
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
<< <i>In the last month, the gov't has sold trillions of dollars in 10 year T-Bills at close to 0 % interest. >>
Let me get this straight... you want to PAY the gov't to borrow YOUR MONEY? That's insane.
"Let me get this straight... you want to PAY the gov't to borrow YOUR MONEY? That's insane."
some simple explanations
///////////////////////
Folks with lots of cash need some place "safe" to park it.
Gold and Silver are not "guaranteed" to return the principal.
I wish I have that problem.
San Diego, CA
heat is too hot for me ;-)
now if i could just find another few hundred ounces of silver for under
12 an ounce... i would be happy for a couple weeks. :-| ok, days.
the stuff pretty much sells itself in hours.
Those that say that PMs are risky and can not.......ARE RIGHT!
be considered investments in the true sense
Those that say there is never a new paradigm.....ARE RIGHT!
of investing. The old rules will never be out of date
for very long. Eventually the piper must be paid
Those that say that Stocks, bonds, real estate, ...ARE RIGHT
rare art objects rare coins, cash can, under
various conditions, lose money
SO, what do we do under the situation we now...YOU MUST PROTECT AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
find ourselves in? POSSIBILITIES.
Deflation and depression....................................FDA INSURED ACCOUNTS, TREASURY BILLS, COLD CASH
IN A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX OR A HOME VAULT.CUT SPENDING.
INFLATION , Stagflation.......................................PMs, RARE ART, RARE COINS, REAL ESTATE,
Hyper Inflation..................................................... Wiemar Republic Syndrome
10,000% and up, annually Up to date passport, guns, silver coins, small denominations of gold coins
Store up on staples and dried foods.
What is the guaranteed way to protect yourself....Darned If I know. You hunker down and hope for the best.
Camelot
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
<< <i>
<< <i>It seems to me that governments of the World will be forced to
return to some system that involves backing a portion of money
with PMs. This must be done eventually to restore the peoples
confidence in the money supply. >>
There is no problem with peoples confidence in the money supply. In the last month, the gov't has sold trillions of dollars in 10 year T-Bills at close to 0 % interest. A lot of people think there is going to be a long deflationary spiral. Which, in turn means they are expecting the dollar to only get stronger over the next decade. Most people are broke as hell. That is not when confidence is lost in the money supply. >>
<< <i> By the way, How sis that comex default thing work out. LOL. >>
You can track it Here
I knew it would happen.
From my view it seems to be working out pretty darn well for those looking for physical gold strength. For one thing, the normal rates of delivery per month have been averaging 1%. December is already >10x the average rate.
43% of registered Comex gold is now set for delivery....in one month.
That seems pretty significant.
Of that 43%, the real question is how much of it leaves the Comex warehouse and is no longer available for the "Comex shuffle." (ie what's mine is yours and what yours in mine). Down the road, having a bar registered in your name might not be enough. At a minimum you'll probably have to go through legal hoops and delays to get it delivered once TPTB decide that remaining contracts will be settled up in cash.
roadrunner
<< <i>Those that say PMs are a storehouse of value.......ARE RIGHT!
Those that say that PMs are risky and can not.......ARE RIGHT!
be considered investments in the true sense
Those that say there is never a new paradigm.....ARE RIGHT!
of investing. The old rules will never be out of date
for very long. Eventually the piper must be paid
Those that say that Stocks, bonds, real estate, ...ARE RIGHT
rare art objects rare coins, cash can, under
various conditions, lose money
SO, what do we do under the situation we now...YOU MUST PROTECT AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
find ourselves in? POSSIBILITIES.
Deflation and depression....................................FDA INSURED ACCOUNTS, TREASURY BILLS, COLD CASH
IN A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX OR A HOME VAULT.CUT SPENDING.
INFLATION , Stagflation.......................................PMs, RARE ART, RARE COINS, REAL ESTATE,
Hyper Inflation..................................................... Wiemar Republic Syndrome
10,000% and up, annually Up to date passport, guns, silver coins, small denominations of gold coins
Store up on staples and dried foods.
What is the guaranteed way to protect yourself....Darned If I know. You hunker down and hope for the best. >>
That really sums it up well. The problem is that no one knows which of the above conditions will prevail in the short or long term, although there are many "experts" out there (and in here) who believe that they know.
<< <i>I don't know, call me crazy but if I were given a choice between a blow up inflatable doll, or a real woman , I think I would go with what is real.
I sense a poll in the making.
Would this involve dancing?
<< <i>A lot of comments here that I won't address, but this one I will....
the governments of the world, including the US government, will NEVER return to a "gold standard" for currency.
the people of the world -- except for some board members here -- don't need a gold standard to "believe" in their money.
and frankly our money is worth only what we BELIEVE it to be worth.
even with a GOLD STANDARD you have to BELIEVE in gold in order to BELIEVE in a gold standard... and as we all know, we cannot eat gold.
Gold is really part of the "greater fool theory." you buy gold and own it hoping that a "greater fool" will come along and pay you more for it.
the "greater fool theory" also applies to art, collectibles, yes coins, stamps, you name it.
you might say that our "money" also follows the greater fool theory... you hope that the next fool also thinks your dollar bill is worth a dollar. LOL >>
in value due to emotional reasons and panics.
It is also true that gold is a standard because
for 1000 years people have believed in it as a
standard of last resort. The truth of the matter is that
anything that has stood the test of time for 1000 years
seems to be a standard one can count on. It is not an
investment in the sense that one can earn dividends
on it , nor is it an investment as one would think of
Microsoft unless your timing in and out of gold were
perfect. In truth, gold is a storehouse of value. Meaning
it will buy today what the same amount of gold would buy
50 years ago. It plays a stabilizing role in maintaining
value in the face of inflation, wars, panics or a breakdown
on an economic and societal system. The American Indians used
cowry shells for money and the Yap Islanders use stone wheels.
I believe that I prefer gold.
As for the modern production methods producing more and more gold.
One has to keep in mind the growth of world population as well as the
world economy in relation to all the gold ever mined. Also, the easy gold
has already been picked off. New gold is more expensive and difficult to
mine today and it will get progressively more so with time.
As for gold being a barbaric remnant of the old world, what would you have
people put their trust in? Human body parts? Our current money is only backed
by the BS from Washington. While I suppose that it is better then nothing, after
seeing our Government run for the past 70 years, my observations do not fill me
with great confidence in Government promises backed with borrowed money that
has no actual supportive value. Call me suspicious, just don't call me Ishmael.
Camelot
You know - that "overrated" yellow metal. I had to transfer some of the electronic fiat stuff to the Mint in trade.
I can't believe they keep sending me the physical stuff for paper and electrons! It's like getting real money for fake money!
I knew it would happen.