Which has just been downgraded because we can't stop spending money. Our costs are increasing, along with our deficit, debt and inflation. Unless we curb this, it's going to lead to more downgrades, defaults and financial collapses of US currency. The US dollar lost half it's value when we broke the gold-link and it continues to fall every year, consistently, due to the practice of printing money to sustain our debt spending. The US has too many open-window spending policies that don't create more wealth, but simple waste money. That's incredibly stupid and it has to stop. The Federal Government is irresponsible and unconstitutional.
And it can't be betrayed, unlike the "full faith" of the US gov't. Gee, another psychic. You know what I want, eh? You seem to think (see how I did that? I acknowledge that I don't really know) that the word "dollar" actually has meaning. Why would gold need to be a million dollars and ounce? Why can't a car cost $98? Corn rots and becomes worthless, just like a politician's promise.
In the Industrial Sense that's only a part of what Gold can be used for... you should look up as to what other products it is being used in Industrially. If you purely railing against Gold because it's lack of uses purely in the Productive sense you have a case for it but, Gold has been used for thousands of years as a Currency to trade with. People like shiny things... shiny rare things are what people want the most. To completely disregard Gold because of it's lack of uses would be to simply toss out any cosmetic items, jewelry and decorations into the category of useless. History has proven that the resources you deem to have "No Value" or little of value have been the highest of the wanted goods since the inception of civilization.
I'm voting for Ron Paul precisely because he is 'nuts'. Most Americans just want the same old thing over and over again, please give me a democrat with a side of republican and vice versa the next term. Are we supposed to take either of these parties seriously? They are corrupt to the core. All these supposed sane people winning the election over the years has proven one thing, Americans are too stupid for real CHANGE.
Pretty shiny things have no real part in maintaining life, lol. Food, clothing and shelter are NECESSARY and of value, gold is just pretty. If you want to stock up for the downfall of America, stock up on food, clothing and build a fort, then supply it with guns and ammo. Leave the gold and silver to the fools who will come to you begging for a can of soup and offer ten pounds of gold for it. Oh, but then you won't have to trade. They will be weak, starving and totally useless, just shoot them and take their gold, if you want it, ROFLOLOL.
Nope, food has real, intrinsic value, it keeps you alive. You can eat all the gold you want, you will still starve.
So if we're Living in the Road Warrior world your logic would work... I don't see a Nuclear holocaust or any midgets running around currently screaming about Barter Town so your logic fails in this WORLD. The past 6,000yrs decorative items have been in the Marketplace and have been desired quite a lot since the start of Civilization. The World isn't going to turn into Road Warrior where everyone is fighting over scraps of food like savages... please take your logic to the trash bin where it belongs or better yet make another Mad Max movie about people hoarding Gold while Max kills them all. Also why do you own a Computer to type on? I thought only food, guns, shelter and water mattered... go convert your PC into some food so we can stop reading your posts about its inherent uselessness.
Yes, food, clothing and shelter are necessities but the belief that "gold is just pretty" is pure ignorance. Gold happens to be one of the most useful metals on earth with properties so unique that even with its extreme rarity and related high costs there are often no replacements for it. Were it not for its rarity and related cost we could easily consume 100 times the entire world's supply of gold in a matter of a couple years in industry. http://geology.com/minerals/gold/uses-of-gold.shtml
My previous remark was for end of America nuts. I personally have changed nothing in my life for fear of dollar devaluation. Gold today is of less value (per hour worked) than it was in 1920. Speculation in commodities is the best way to go broke. Gold is a commodity, like pork bellies, lol, but has much less real use.
Hmm, its related cost is because of idiots speculating in it. As far as I am concerned, anything whose price is controlled, by idiots that speculate on it, has NO use as a monetary substance. I will stick with my dollars supported by the worlds, largest, strongest, richest, and most stable government.
Food is NOT valuable because consumers value it, it is valuable, because humans MUST HAVE it to survive. Gold is a toy, a trinket, something humans may or may not want, it is NOT necessary to life as food is.
Now with Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the race. All the others have no chance. Perry is the ONE that will bring Obama down and out. Amen.
To bring this back, are you saying we should base our monetary system on foodstuffs, are you okay with the present faith-based system, or do you think we should have a different system?
I am saying our money is fine, based on the full faith in, and credit of the United States of America. But, if you for some nutty reason want to prepare for the complete bankruptcy of America, then stock up on food supplies, guns, ammo, clothing and non-hybrid seeds, NOT gold.
Personally, I think bankruptcy may be the best thing for American liberty, but that's an issue for a different thread. I'm sure we'll continue with the faith-based monetary system. It's too lucrative for the sponsors to abandon.
All value is subjective. When one has enough food, gold serves as a store of wealth for purchasing more food in the future when current stores run low. This is the purpose of any medium of exchange.
No, it's valuable because consumers value it. The way you talk suggests that you think you're in a position to know what's "best." Everyone should prefer this commodity to that commodity, you think, and if they don't, they're wrong. Well, that fact of the matter is that personal preferences vary from individual to individual. There is no intrinsic value to food or anything else; it's value lies in subjective desires of individuals. If an individual wanted to commit suicide, food would have less value to him than a loaded gun. Furthermore, people don't value every bit of food equally. I can't stomach an olive; I'd much rather have a beautiful gold trinket. Then there's the matter of marginal utility: if people already have a lot of food, they're not going to value MORE of it very much. They might prefer a piece of gold. You can't know, which is why you have to leave it up to the individual.