Dear Editor:
This civil debate on the status of the Dollar–and thanks, by the by, for keeping things civil on your blog–all comes down to a matter of not “if”, but just “when.” The United States Dollar will soon be dead meat. Finis. See this article: Reckoning Day for US Dollar Coming Next Year. We just need to ask: will the[definitive] end [for the dollar’s dominant reserve status] come in six months, or six years? So, no matter when, I’m hedging by building up my stash of silver and lead. (The kind that goes “bang.”) Since I’m still paying off college loans, my investing is very “modest”. As one of the impoverished masses, I followed your advice and I’m gradually building up a supply of nickels. I’m also culling through a few rolls of half dollars from my bank every week. (I live in a small town in Texas.) So far I’ve found 9 pre-1965 [90% silver half-dollars] and 46 post-’64/pre-’71 [40% silver] halves. It’s like finding buried treasure! It sure beats watching Wheel of Fortune on TV. The result of my effort is tangible. Thank you, thank you for mentioning [searching through half dollar rolls]. It is great way for people like me that are just getting started, after college. – Jason V.
Dear Jim and Family,
Those were interesting responses to my post that this dollar-dump rumor is just another rumor. I must point out, importantly, that everything the Saudis say is a lie, including “Hello”. They promised $200 per barrel oil in 2008. Lie. They promised repeatedly to decouple themselves from the US dollar unless we do their bidding. Lie. They swore they do not provide money to Osama and his Al Qaeda terrorist network. Subsequent research by reporters proved this to be a lie but the Saudis went to the UK, sued for libel, won in the UK, and had the ruling applied to the author of the book and articles in question here in the USA under some sort of twisted reciprocity ruling which makes sense only to judges and crazy people. Yet another reason that globalism is bad.
Yes, the Dollar is dying. However, it is not dying quickly, and while there’s a slim chance it could all go at once in a single day, history, particularly recent history, shows that to be unlikely. The Housing Bubble [collapse] happened over months. The Dot.Com [stock[collapse] took weeks. The Derivatives market crash is still happening and the housing bubble is still half inflated and won’t be resolved until 2012 or 2013, depending on government interference, bankster greed, and economic inertia. A dollar crash would cause too many nations would lose control of their violent populations — by this I mean populations counting on bribes, payoffs, and other forms of corruption bought with dollars to keep their peace. The ones who would gain the most by decoupling from the Dollar are also those who have the most to lose. If there was a viable world reserve currency which was everywhere the dollar was, from bars in Panama to the swamps of the Congo, the banks of Switzerland, the docks of Shanghai and the factory in Abilene, then I think we would have reason to worry. Without that existing everywhere, like the dollar, this is a silly rumor just like all the other silly rumors to erupt from the mouth of yet another lying Saudi.
It isn’t Optimism if you’re realistic and observant. They call this “Pragmatism”. Sincerely , – InyoKern