end times currency??

[jackknifeh]

I read the first post now I'm typing. I know nothing about economics. Here is a theory and I'll try to keep it short. The only reason for money is greed.

If everyone in a group does their job then goes home to their family along with the necessary daily tasks all would be well with no paychecks or money. When we go to the store we shouldn't just fill up the car. Get what you would get today if you had to pay for it on your budget. Don't order every Spyderco you want just because you don't have to pay for it. The guy/girl on the Spyderco assembly line should do the same thing. Don't just get stuff because you don't have to pay for it. Just get what you need and some of what you want. That goes for everyone. The ditch digger and the corp. executive. This is delving into the communist lifestyle I think but it would eliminate poverty or reduce it. I think the hippies in the 60s tried this lifestyle but it failed (and always will) because humans are involved and we by nature want more. That's why there is money. It controls what we do. It also makes it possible to "get ahead" in life. At 18 years old we go to school or get a job and when we are 40 we should be making more money, have bought a house, have a family, etc. At 18 we shouldn't be making $1,000,000.00 a year and at 40 be making $30,000.00 a year.

If I wanted a Ladybug and owned a Gayle Bradley and you wanted a Gayle Bradley and owned a Ladybug we could trade. We both got what we wanted without even thinking about money.

This type of lifestyle may work in a community of less than 1000 people but on a planet??? I doubt it. There does need to be some standard. Who decided it would be gold anyway? I think it should be pecans. I have 3 pecan trees in my yard. That way I could say pecans (money) do grow on trees. :) It would be the same as having a gold mine in your yard. :D :D :D

Ok, that's enough. I'm sure my example wouldn't work for reasons way beyond greed. Reasons economists understand. Anyway, just a thought.

Jack

[phillipsted]

I still don't know why you would want to invest in an asset that is trading near its all-time high price. If the end-of-times collapse doesn't happen on schedule, you'll end up losing your shirt financially.



TedP

[salimoneus]

I still don't know why you would want to invest in an asset that is trading near its all-time high price. If the end-of-times collapse doesn't happen on schedule, you'll end up losing your shirt financially.



TedP

How so? Gold has basically continued to climb consistently, why would the trend not continue? Surely the world currencies aren't going to solve all their problems overnight. Far from it, we're probably looking at a decade or more of down times.

Of course anyone who was smart got into gold and silver a long time ago. But I wouldn't say it's too late. There's every reason to expect gold to hit $2k and silver near $50 again.


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[JNewell]

I gave away all my gold. I figure if the end times are really coming, I won't need to worry about food, clothing or shelter. :rolleyes:

[Monocrom]

I still don't know why you would want to invest in an asset that is trading near its all-time high price. If the end-of-times collapse doesn't happen on schedule, you'll end up losing your shirt financially.

TedP

Unlike the real estate market, you can't get a bunch of greedy idiots to ruin the steady climb of gold. It's only going to go higher. So now is actually a good time to invest.

Only way gold is going down is if someone discovers a HUGE hidden supply of it. Thankfully, unlike paper money, the greedy idiots can't just print more of it.

[coonan]

I grab on to silver eagles a few gold eagles medical sup. and lots of ammo. dif.cals and a lot of food. oh and water filters .

[Enkidude]

First you want water, food, and firearms covered. Gold and silver will only be good when civilizations return to "normal". Keep in mind that Silver has never been illegal to own and Gold has.

[JB3]

any tips?

Spyderco's will probably be decent trading material!
I'm saving all of them that I can!

[phillipsted]

Interesting factoid about gold:

If you gathered together all the gold that has been mined and refined since the beginning of history, it would fit within a 60' x 60' (20m x 20m) cube.

TedP

[SolidState]

Gold only has value when there is money to back it, much like money only has value when there is gold to back it.

Like Doc said, Ammo, Cigs, Coffee - now those have bartering power. Ever seen someone who is months away from their last cig, coffee or bullet when it's not by their choice?

[JNewell]

Interesting factoid about gold:

If you gathered together all the gold that has been mined and refined since the beginning of history, it would fit within a 60' x 60' (20m x 20m) cube.

TedP

Pussy and I are on it.

[monsterdog]

Gold is not best viewed as a currency - it is really a commodity like corn or pork bellies.

I give you props for the "Trading Places" reference :)

[Sequimite]

How so? Gold has basically continued to climb consistently, why would the trend not continue? .

In the late 70's and early 80's we had a recession coupled with high inflation. My boss was a gold bug and I read all the literature he subscribed to. Gold made an incredible climb in value for years until it collapsed. This upward trend will eventually collapse for the same reason; which is that there is little need for gold at higher prices other than luxury goods. The value is going up for the same reason that Beanie Babies did: because of the expectation that it will go higher still. It's a pyramid scheme where the people holding gold at the end of the climb will lose 80% of the money they have invested.

The graph is bogus because it only shows the time period that promotes buying gold. Look at a longer time period and you'll see that the value has gone up and down over time with $400 being the most stable price.

[Sequimite]

I'm going to add a few more points because I really am concerned that younger folks will be taken in by this scam.

Rarity does not create value, the ratio of demand over supply does. Demand is being whipped up by companies that are profiting from the high demand. It would be different if, like platinum there were crucial industrial applications in which the commodity had such value that it justified a high price.

The stock market went up for years before Black Friday in 1929.

The internet bubble of the 80's lasted so long that even skeptical financial "experts" endorsed the idea that a new economic paradigm was creating value that justified the prices.

They're not making any more land! The real estate bubble was based on the safest investment ever, and yes while I was smart about gold in the early 80's and internet stocks I lost my a$$ on real estate.

The rule of thumb is that what goes up must come down.

[phillipsted]

Unlike the real estate market, you can't get a bunch of greedy idiots to ruin the steady climb of gold. It's only going to go higher. So now is actually a good time to invest.

Only way gold is going down is if someone discovers a HUGE hidden supply of it. Thankfully, unlike paper money, the greedy idiots can't just print more of it.

Don't forget that gold hit a high point in 1974 with a price around $800/oz. It subsequently lost 75% of its value within 10 years.

Gold won't always go up-up-up. It responds to international financial pressures like any other commodity.

TedP

[DedRok]

Generators, Food, Clothes....

[Sequimite]

Only way gold is going down is if someone discovers a HUGE hidden supply of it. Thankfully, unlike paper money, the greedy idiots can't just print more of it.

There is a huge hidden supply. As the price climbs it becomes economically feasible to mine more and more of it increasing the supply until the price falls .

[JNewell]

Generators, Food, Clothes....

As many people in my area have found, the issue with generators is fuel...no power, no fuel, and no fuel, no power. :o

[O,just,O]

Sequimite is on to it. You may not like to see it, but it's true.
O.

[psimonl]

Precious metals like gold have always been used as currency. At one point, all of our coins contained precious metals. Since they no longer do, I suppose the only reasons they're kept around are for use in vending machines and because the masses are used to them. Discontinue metal coins, and maybe folks will actually wake up to the fact that the so-called "money" in their wallets really is just pretty pieces of paper. Oh, can't have that!

Love the folks who think gold is worthless. Anything scarce or rare has value. At one point, in the middle east, gold was traded nearly ounce-for-ounce for salt. Salt was very difficult to come by at that time and place.

In the 16th century, pepper had the same value as gold.... In today's currency, you would pay 16 000.00$ for a kilo of pepper!!!!

Those were the days when things had the value of its purpose. As in an apocalyptic scenario, food, ammos and security (be it guns, knives, house, fences...) will be most valuables...

Hope it wont happens soon,

Simon