Patrick Moore3 said:Since my name was brought up, I figured I'd jump in... I don't have a "dismissive" attitude toward the crisis. It's just a different perspective—one that isn't built solely on a couple of charts or some articles from ZeroHedge and King World News...
I've got my biases. I don't buy that precious metals are hitting $3500/oz anytime soon. If that even happens, we'll be deep in an inflation cycle where everything else quadruples in price. But I don't see that happening in the next 15-20 years, and if it does, it'll just be standard inflation. Hyperinflation? The total collapse of the monetary system because of it? Not seeing it. Simple reason: central banks have unlimited power to print money, which means they have unlimited power to pull it back out of circulation, too. On the flip side, hyperinflation wipes out debt, sure, but it also nukes all savings and pensions. Since the debtors aren't the ones calling the shots, that scenario seems unlikely. And WW3? Not happening with one military superpower backed by the entire NATO alliance. Regional wars? That's just Tuesday; they never stopped. Plus, look at the global situation. People are drowning in debt, unemployment, soaring energy and food costs, and rising taxes. In a society obsessed with instant gratification, who's actually going to spend money on metals to drive prices up? Especially when people are selling right now instead of buying? Given how things stand, all I see is a massive, long-term deflationary period and the inevitable crash of the artificially inflated Western standard we've lived under for the last decade or so. We have to pay back that credit-driven, consumption-based lifestyle with interest. That process is going to take a long time...
It seems some of us are still clinging to delusions, aren't we?
The fact is, not everyone is drowning in debt; for every person in debt, there is typically someone on the other side😂—people who don't necessarily need to sell anything, but instead, they actually need to buy...😍
Why would those holding massive amounts of cash—which buys less and less every day—just sit idly by when they could protect themselves by purchasing real assets?
(They don't strictly have to buy gold or silver—there are plenty of ways to hedge—but gold and silver are the easiest to liquidate if you suddenly need cash.)
The reality is that here in the States, average people (who aren't following global investment trends) are selling their gold (and they barely own any silver) just to cover their utility bills. Yet, despite that heavy selling pressure, the price is sitting at $1,774/oz... and it'll likely clear $1,900 by year-end...
And speaking of central banks, how do you explain the fact that some of them are actively buying gold?
Why would they buy it if they can just print whatever amount of cash they need?
At least you can't accuse them of being financially illiterate... or perhaps you can. 😂
By the way, ZeroHedge and King World News host plenty of brilliant minds. 😉
Not everyone, obviously, but there are enough—you just have to know which ones to listen to.