So here’s a interesting question for precious metal experts… If other world currencies start to tank relative to the USD because (again they themselves aren’t immune to the financial crisis), what happens to the price of gold?
Peter Schiff thinks this is exactly what is going to happen. Gold becomes the new defacto reserve currency and it’s value (relative to fiat currencies) soars. He envisions a future where the private industry supplies a ‘gold’ ATM; that credits/debits your gold holdings with a private company.
I think this is a real possibility.
However, I disagree with Peter Schiff that the US is going to collapse and the rest of the world take off like a skyrocket. I personally think our problems (credit/housing bubble) are really global in nature and we are better prepared to handle the correction/collapse than other countries.
We have a tremendous amount of natural and human resources and the capacity for progressive government. Our open immigration policies and world-class universities will continue to attract the worlds best.
And speaking of gold, we have more gold bullion reserves than any other country. So if the world decides to return to hard money; we’ll have more of it than anyone else, regardless.