debt enslaves. Our Government sets the worst example possible spending beyond its means in order to stay electable (and only just). The wastage on a multitude of non productive departments and agencies shows we still have heaps of fat. The best way to avoid financial destruction is to show mercy to the poor. That does not mean lining the pockets of ngo's and charlatans. The world's richest man wrote

'He who has pity upon the poor lends to Jehovah, and He will reward his dealing to him. (Proverbs 19:17)'

God is well able to keep the wise through good and bad times.

Yabby; there is a point that you did not make in that reply.
What effect is peak gold having ?
One reason gold has been rising in value is that poorer ores are being
exploited now and that is causing the rise in price.
However the rise in price may never be related to its value as a
currency backup but to the physical cost of getting it out of the ground.
This cost will rise and rise until nobody can afford it.

I think it would need a monetary expert to explain that.

Bazz you can not eat gold, investors keep it because it buys more money, you can not eat that either.
Yabby those who call for tariffs to come back call for destruction of our economy.
Blind only to jobs, ones that we could never have or hold world trade gives us more than it takes.
I do not fear A mining bust, we have uranium and gas, other products too.
But a world crisis?
it will come.
Here just in our country, people who have never known hard times will.
Housing first, it can not go on without a bust.
Personal credit will bring about big trouble and your 2 to 3 percent interest rise may be 5 or ten one day.
Some will thrive on others failures but we will have a lower standard of living one day.

*This cost will rise and rise until nobody can afford it.*

Afford it for what Bazz? Gold has very few industrial
uses. People buy it to look at it and hold it in their hands.

There was an interesting discussion on Charlie Rose last night,
where a group of informed old fellas were discussing gold.
Their take is that fear is driving the gold price. Alot of
seemingly very rich people got badly burned during the GFC,
by companies and investments that turned out to nothing in
thin air. Many of those individuals have seemingly become
so mistrusting of the system, that they have invested huge
amounts in gold. So far most of them have done ok.

Pericles,

You're absolutely correct.

However, the true value of gold is what is placed on it by, for want of a better term - the marketplace.

It can easily be revalued by mutual assent to whatever amount is agreed, but only after the governments hold enough to back up their own economies, and then it can start over again.

Also, even when we had a gold standard, nobody really knew if there was enough gold physically stored in the treasury to back it up. It worked on blind faith.

That's how the whole fractional reserve system started - Gold Merchants borrowing and lending on more than the amount they actually held in their vaults.

More than one commentator has said that the current system's too broken to be fixed and will need to be replaced with something else.

I have no idea what that may be.

Runner,
Just replace government with church and you are right on the money.
Ignorance sure is bliss.