inflationhawk wrote:There is only one way for a government to escape a debt crisis and that is to inflate your way out. Metals and other hard assets are a great way to protect yourself. Plus, I enjoy coins so its an added bonus!
There is one other choice that is equally disasterous. The government can simply default on its debt. I think the crisis that awaits America will involve a combination of the two. And you're right, owning commodities is good protection. In Germany under the Weimar Republic, its citizens would buy whatever they could with the currency they possessed because they knew on the next day that money would purchase even less. Eventually, Germany just admitted that it was in trouble and couldn't pay all the war reparations with which it was obligated following World War I. Enter stage left the darling little Adolf with his "coordination" legislation to make things all better.
Fast-forward to America in 2011. We haven't lost a war per se, but we certainly can't claim we won in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. The endless wars are costing us precious lives and wealth. We owe trillions at home and abroad. There is no will in Congress to stop the bleeding and the Executive Branch only wants to spend and tax more.
"Metals and other hard assets" acting as protection must include tiny little projectiles that fly through the air at high speeds and have the remarkable ability to surprise someone doing something he shouldn't be doing. Make hay while the sun shines.