Gold and Silver in a Dangerous World
Originally published at The Market Oracle
Peter Ginelli writes: Since the inauguration of President Trump, it appears that nearly every morning we wake up to a new major political crisis at home and around the globe. From Syria to North Korea, Russia, Iran, ISIS and beyond, the world has become an increasingly dangerous place to live or invest in.
The lesson of the past eight years, during Obama’s presidency, is that complacency and lack of leadership by the United States, can have dire consequences, making the world into a very unsafe and, indeed, dangerous place for everyone.
Many on the left accuse President Trump for the mess we witness on a daily basis in the news. However, what might have been lesser events have been transformed into major crises due to incompetence, complacency and a lack of leadership over the past two decades. On the economic front, we have central banks around the globe printing hundreds of billions of dollars daily to keep their economies from a meltdown, rather than fixing the problems all have been faced with long before the 2008 financial crisis. Make no mistake about it, the 2008 financial crisis did not begin in 2008, it merely showed the world the ugly results of irresponsible spending by governments for decades prior to the crisis. But what seems even more incredible is that the world economy’s near meltdown didn’t teach most of these government leaders anything. They created financial instruments that lined the pockets of a select few, which lead to a massive meltdown. They are spending even more today than they did before the crisis, expecting better results, and find themselves amazed that things are not getting better.
The Federal Reserve chairman, Janet Yellen, sits in front of the cameras and tells the American people and the world, with a straight face that our economy is on its way to health and recovery. Really? If so, why are the interest rates still at historic low versus the higher returns of the equities market? Why is the Labor Participation Rate at a 40-year low? Why has wage growth been in stagnation for nearly 20 years? Why is the poverty rate among American families at an historic high? Why is the stock market at record highs while GDP is at levels we have not seen in over a generation?
Has the economy improved since the great meltdown of 2008? Yes, but as Peter Schiff once said, “Give me ten trillion dollars and I will show you a good time too!”
What does it all boil down to? We cannot trust what financial and political bureaucrats in Washington, New York and around the world tell us, since their primary interest seems to be to want to save their own backsides at everyone else’s expense. Folks, I am not a “doom and gloomer,” far from it, but I am not seeing much to celebrate about lately in this or any other country around the world. We have dug ourselves into a deep hole that seems to get deeper with each passing month and year.
It is no wonder that we are witnessing unprecedented political upheavals around the world. Go back and look at history and you will see each time the world has gone through a massive financial meltdown, major political conflicts between nations follow soon after. Indeed, the two World Wars we have experienced over the past 100 years, occurred after major financial crises.
You ask: what does any of this have to do with the title of this article?
The simple truth is that if history has taught us anything, it is that we cannot rely on those in charge to make things right. After all these are the same people who have put us in the mess we are in now with their irresponsible policies in the first place. And every time we think things will be different, we are confronted with the same, if not worse, outcome. Only falsely placed optimism would prevent a rational person from buying health, auto, homeowners or financial insurance. You cannot base your financial safety net on sheer hope any more than you can build a home on san
The protection of your wealth by partially diversifying into gold and silver will help you sleep better at night, knowing that if these so-called leaders continue to act irresponsibly, as they have been for decades, you and your family can weather the next financial storm in flying colors. Once the turmoil really takes off, it is too late to start preparing. That is like calling your insurance company to buy collision coverage after you have already wrecked your car.
Put your trust in something real, like precious metals, rather than the hope and dream of better times. If I am wrong and everything goes well, you will still have something of value you can cash out or leave for your children.
Believe me, when the next storm comes, and it is coming, they will thank you for your foresight and admire you for your wisdom.
Peter Ginelli