Investing in gold/silver was more or less the crux of the video I just finished sitting through as well. The argument was "the dollar will be worthless soon (thanks in part to various past bubbles) so gold is only going to keep rapidly accelerating in value as it has been for awhile better get on board and invest now so you'll be RICH!"
It's not even a tax on cynics or the desperate as much as it is on the easily swayed.
"The easily swayed" is a pc term, I won't say what for.
Hearkening back to your first post, I can't disagree with your rationale or outlook but can posit : As things stagnate and decline, resources dwindle, and especially with the wealth disparity already being what it is and not likely to decrease anytime soon, I'm not sure if the general population (of this country, of the world) will stand by and just let it all be okay without ultimately leading to major reforms being instituted. As you said, neither political party has an applicable answer, if this continues (the same problems we've had for decades being exacerbated with no real change in sight) I see the government gearing itself more and more toward self-preservation, as the citizenry position themselves to instigate some sort of revolution. I'm not concerned about some completely broken down apocalypse and I don't see America fragmenting or anything particularly drastic, but I do think continuing to allow the wealthy ruling class look for a solution (and dominate the resources and forums necessary to find and implement one) to the problems (of everyone who isn't part of the wealthy ruling class) within the current global debt-based economic system in which we've entrenched ourselves and everyone who will be born is...what's the word...futile? Just altogether the wrong approach.
Giant impossible figures of debt plaguing the richest and poorest nations alike, a staggering portion of the human population living in extreme poverty, no prioritizing of resources or development, no real mission statement from any company other than "Profit." It doesn't benefit anyone, any country or people, except a ridiculous few individuals on the planet, and I don't see what about that is worth preserving. "But it's been poorly working for this long" is not a reason. "It got us to the moon!" is not a reason. COMMUNIST SOCIALISM DERISIVELY IN ALL CAPS is not a reason. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic, or optimistic, but with we as a species facing daunting problems on a larger scale than anything we've seen just due to the sheer number of people alone, I hope people can work out some way of doing things that is more effective and imaginative then continuing to plug holes in a ship that's been sinking for a long time, or some metaphor that is actually apt.
Incidentally, re: "hoarding water," an approaching critical lack of fresh water in this country is one of the things I am staunchly tinfoil about.
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