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Politics : Welcome to Slider's Dugout -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill on the Hill who wrote (10815)	7/17/2008 5:17:46 PM
From: SliderOnTheBlack	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50103

re: ["Gold will stay stable relative to the true value of assets. It has throughout history."] First, I have a confession to make to everyone. My name is Slider, and I am a gold bug. I want to see the Fed and the IRS abolished, and I want the return of a gold backed dollar. And I'm willing to spend time, money, and effort to do so. But, what I'm not willing to do is this... b>"Make a 21 Year - 1,000% mistake based on history, or my wants." Yes, on average over the last 2,000 years, an ounce of gold has been able to buy a good men's suit. But, I'm worried about those 20 year periods of time, when it hasn't. When it didn't stay stable relative to other assets like the stock market, or real estate, such as the two decades of the 80's and the 90's. The DOW went up +1,092%, and the average home in America doubled during that time frame, but gold lost -56%. I think we need to challenge everything we think we know about gold, inflation, deflation, and the great depression. Don't get me wrong, you'll never hear me tell anyone not to set aside "some" physical gold, and/or silver; because I think everyone should, and I have. I just don't think that gold is going to give people the protection they think they'll have in an actual deflationary collapse. It didn't in Japan... This is the most recent major deflationary collapse, experienced by a modern economy, and it is very similar to what we are now experiencing in the US. Collapses of bubble in both real estate, and equity markets. Look at how the various asset classes performed. I'm sure it's not what you expected. Gold wasn't the answer during Japan's deflationary collapse. The Yen outperformed both gold held in Yen, and held in US Dollars. And the US Dollar - a foreign currency, actually outperformed them all. Paper beat gold... whodathunkit? But the most valuable commodity, and the most valuable asset to possess during times of crisis, deflation, or a great depression, don't appear on that chart. Here's a photo of the both the most valuable commodity, and the most valuable asset of all, that you can possess during deflation, or depression... The name of that commodity was information and the name of the asset was contrarian thinking. A man that possessed and used them both, was Joe Kennedy. And that trade generated 4 generations of wealth, and power. Never stop asking questions. Never stop studying history. Never stop challenging the status quo. And never stop asking why... Mo later, ...I got ribs to grill. S.O.T.B.