I have always thought that gold is a hedge against inflation. Assuming you’re not talking “apocalypse” and just an economic slowdown with very low inflation, very low interest rates, and a risk of deflation, wouldn’t gold be a bad hedge? Not that buying now makes any sense to me either; I find it hard to believe that the price of gold is likely to go anywhere but down at this point.
Throw in that NCR Ranger badge and it’s a deal!
Gold is a medium of exchange that is recognized across the world. It is resistant to inflation because it is somewhat finite in quantity. When greenbacks are worth less and less, the quantity of gold can still purchase at the level it did before.
“Ultra-right-wingers” like gold because it’s a form of money that can’t be easily devalued by the governments they so heartily distrust. Many otherwise respectable people are advocating that the US government just print a bunch of dollars and pay off our dollar-denominated debts with it, thus wiping out the deficit. That’s great unless your life savings is in dollars. The prospect doesn’t bother liberals as much because their net worth is mostly in designer shoes and subscriptions to “O” magazine.
A dollar bought you 1/35th of an ounce of gold from 1934 to 1971; as of the time of this post it buys you 1/1782nd of an ounce. Even if gold is not an ideal medium of exchange, can you draw a lesson from that?
Ahh, yes, the “manny peoples think” defense. Who other than Pat Buchanan is advocating monetizing the debt?
Just dispel a little ignorance - the hard core True Scotsman ultra right wingers I know and love (both my father AND father-in-law) believe in gold. They don’t buy certificates though, they buy actual coins of gold, and also silver in both coins and bars. They store these in various heavy duty safes as their personal inflation hedge, plus also as a means of exchange when we hit hyper-inflation like Germany did (yes - that is the example they use).
Now, less you think that their gold coins won’t mean much, these types ALSO stockpile ammo, firearms, powder, etc. As for meds, they are the ones that made sure I had large supplies of Cipro when the Anthrax scare was going one, and the various pills you use in case of nuclear fallout, etc.
I realize it is fun to make a caricature of the paranoid, but in the two cases I am personally acquainted with, they have gone through multiple levels of preparation and security.
Steve Forbes mentions it regularly in Forbes magazine, and it was part of his campaign as I recall. Ron Paul is another, who has gone so far as to demand an inspection of the gold in Fort Knox - not trusting the governments statements.
Clean water will be the currency post apocolypse.
Naw, you can find little bottles of purified water just about everywhere. And if push comes to shove you can always find dirty water bottles or just drink out of the toilets or sinks, if you are willing to take the radiation hit. A couple hits of Rad-Away and you’ll be good as gnew…
-XT
This post is awesome. Subscriptions to “O” magazine! Is it a whoosh? Please say it isn’t!
Can I use part of it as my sig?
cite, please. I don’t recall any prohibition of the term itself, only of direct application to posters here at SDMB. But I stand ready to be corrected by a hyperlink.
BTW, does the prohibition also apply to “right wing nutjobs”? Or only to terms referring to the left side of political spectrum?
Consider it a favor: the less you use words like this, the more likely you are to be taken seriously in a debate.
If your post isn’t a whoosh, then neither is mine. Also, the dollar went down from 1/1782nd of an ounce of gold to 1/1791st of an ounce of gold since I posted two hours ago. I am laughing just like that guy in the “Forbes’ Insoluble Dry Plates” poster.
If it is ultra-right-wingers that have been into gold then you now have a large bunch of ultra-right-wingers that not only have been proven correct, but have the money to prove it. Rich ultra-right-wingers with the outstanding morale that comes from having correctly predicted the future and with gold to spend… well, make of it what you want. Personally I think it is a shame if it turns out that gold should be a better investment than stocks. Gold is a zero sum game. Nobody outside those holding it benefits from investing in gold. Investing in companies put people to work, creates prosperity, manufactures things people want.
No, it just means that a stopped clock is right twice a day. Gold like other commodities has its ups and downs; if you constantly recommend buying it, naturally at some point you will be correct. That doesn’t mean they have a rational basis for their attitude, nor does it mean that they’ve made a net profit since they’ll also be buying gold when it’s a bad idea.
Once again I remind everyone that the actual strategy of those advertising “Buy Gold!” is to SELL GOLD - not, in fact, buy it. So, if one were to adopt their actual strategy, rather than their advertising message, one would sell.
Most of my life Platinum has been going for more than twice the price of Gold. My mother wanted me to sit in on her session with her financial planner one day, about two years ago because she was having a bad memory day, and I had just seen that morning that the Gold price was actually above the Platinum price. Financial planner and Ma started talking about Gold, and what a bad idea it was. I piped in with “Sell Gold, Buy Platinum!”. Financial planner LOLed.
If you want a real investment opportunity, and currently have lots of Gold, trade it for Platinum. Check the historical prices, you’ll see… 
More generally, the US has a rich tradition of investment scams: diamonds, Florida real estate and coffee futures are but 3 classic examples. Mark Twain provided some colorful accounts.
Slow down gonzo. Gold isn’t a medium of exchange anywhere: if you want to buy something in an economy with a weak currency you use dollars or euros, not bullion.
Think about it. Gold is a pain in the ass if you want to purchase something. You need to weigh it and have an assay done. Why take on the hassle? They used to do this sort of thing before say 1800s, and every nontrivial transaction involved minute inspection of the quality of each and every coin, as well as tiresome haggling.
As for inflation, there are far better hedges. Inflation protected bonds are one example. More deeply, gold fluctuates a lot in value, both in terms of dollars and at an inflation-adjusted basis.
hijack!
- code_grey: Please accept this friendly observation: use of the word libtards makes you appear either moronic or ironically moronic. Better phrases are “Liberal loon” or in a pinch “Moonbat”. Of course, such language is properly confined to the pit.
Adam Smith marveled that water had enormous use-value but was very cheap while diamonds were wholly frivolous (at least in the late 1700s) but very expensive. Today, iron and even copper aren’t scarce enough to be a good store of value: they are too bulky. Then again, I understand that light bulbs were used as currency for a while in certain South Pacific islands.
3. Those thinking about survivalist scenarios or civil unrest need to back up and treat the problem with greater rigor before forking out their cash, IMHO.
Der Trihs (whose handle took me forever to figure out), you are my latest nominee!
You’re wasting your time. He’s said publicly, many times, that he refuses to attend his own pittings. You’d do better trying to catch him in someone else’s pitting.
ETA: But I, on the other hand, am going to read your thread. My first reading of your OP caused me to say “Meh, not worth my time…” The start of the third page, which you linked to, here, seems worth reading…