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I was one once, they may sort of be right. Gold will never become a "standard" again, but it could be extremely useful for preserving wealth from one standard t

I was one once, they may sort of be right. Gold will never become a "standard" again, but it could be extremely useful for preserving wealth from one standard to another. Gold has always been touted as a hedge against inflation, it's not, it's a hedge against financial system instability, inflation being a major symptom of such instability.

tryptophan 7y ago
I've read that gold is a hedge against unexpected inflation, but this dumbed down to 'gold is a hedge for inflation'.
roenxi 7y ago
Since around 1970 (US leaves the gold standard) gold has slightly outpaced inflation according to the US BLS inflation calculator [0]. Calculator thinks $6,000/kg => $41,000/kg, actual price $6,000/kg to $48,000/kg. That makes sense because 'true' inflation (consumer goods + assets) probably outpaces official inflation (consumer goods only). Gold can't exactly get more or less valuable over time. It is a rock. We have no practical uses for it. [0] https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
- ehvatum 7y ago
  Gold can't exactly get more or less valuable over time. It is a rock. We have no practical uses for it. My impulse to point out that it's a very useful metal is tempered by my surprise that only 10% of gold production goes to applications where gold does something other than look golden or just exist as a physical store of value. It seems a little silly. Gold mining is quite destructive; environmentalists should fly around the world, giving speeches on the worthlessness of gold, but where's the glamor in that?
  - roenxi 7y ago
    Yeah, it would have lots of uses if we had industrial quantities of it. > Gold mining is quite destructive; environmentalists should ... If it makes you feel better, it is common for gold to be found as an enriched layer sitting on top of a copper deposit. So a big chunk of gold mining isn't gold-for-gold's sake, it is something mined on the way to a much more practical substance - copper. Actual gold mines doing environmental damage are a thing (cyanide ahoy!) but the footprint is small and hopefully not important.
  - linuxftw 7y ago
    Wait until you hear how destructive lithium mines are. There are lots of towns in the western US polluted by the mining industry.

tryptophan 7y ago

I've read that gold is a hedge against unexpected inflation, but this dumbed down to 'gold is a hedge for inflation'.

roenxi 7y ago

Since around 1970 (US leaves the gold standard) gold has slightly outpaced inflation according to the US BLS inflation calculator [0]. Calculator thinks $6,000/kg => $41,000/kg, actual price $6,000/kg to $48,000/kg. That makes sense because 'true' inflation (consumer goods + assets) probably outpaces official inflation (consumer goods only). Gold can't exactly get more or less valuable over time. It is a rock. We have no practical uses for it. [0] https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

ehvatum 7y ago
Gold can't exactly get more or less valuable over time. It is a rock. We have no practical uses for it. My impulse to point out that it's a very useful metal is tempered by my surprise that only 10% of gold production goes to applications where gold does something other than look golden or just exist as a physical store of value. It seems a little silly. Gold mining is quite destructive; environmentalists should fly around the world, giving speeches on the worthlessness of gold, but where's the glamor in that?
- roenxi 7y ago
  Yeah, it would have lots of uses if we had industrial quantities of it. > Gold mining is quite destructive; environmentalists should ... If it makes you feel better, it is common for gold to be found as an enriched layer sitting on top of a copper deposit. So a big chunk of gold mining isn't gold-for-gold's sake, it is something mined on the way to a much more practical substance - copper. Actual gold mines doing environmental damage are a thing (cyanide ahoy!) but the footprint is small and hopefully not important.
- linuxftw 7y ago
  Wait until you hear how destructive lithium mines are. There are lots of towns in the western US polluted by the mining industry.