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Anonymous
You guys are missing the point of the OP.
In the good old days of the gold standard, every dollar in circulation had to be backed by an equal amount of gold. Now, the only thing backing the value of our dollar is "the full faith and credit of the US government.". Does THAT make you snicker? It fucking should.
The US Dollar is worth shit, and is worth even LESS shit every single day. This is because we don't use the gold standard. Every dollar added into circulation reduces the value of every other dollar already in circulation. Every time somebody takes out a loan, new money is created from nothing, and 10 times that amount of dollars are put into circulation (look up fractional reserve banking if you don't know what it is).
Precious metals, on the other hand, never lose their value.
Go back several thousand years, say to Greece. An ounce of gold would have bought you a fine toga, a nice belt, and a good pair of sandals. Present day, an ounce of gold will buy you a fine suit, a nice belt, and a good pair of dress shoes.
Now consider gasoline. By the gallon, gasoline is cheaper now than at any time in the history of gasoline. It's cheaper to harvest, produce, and transport. But the dollar is worth SO MUCH FUCKING LESS than it was back then, that looking at it strictly at face value, the numerical price of gasoline is higher than it's ever been.
Interest earned in typical investment in just about anything will be outstripped by inflation. Invest in government bonds, and by the time they mature and pay full interest, they are worth less than what you paid for them.
In short, we are fucked.
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