You mean with a hoe and a shovel? You mean just for your own consumption? You think food production is a simple task that costs nothing, or generates a return? Are you saying you can grow all the food you need, or concentrate on a few species and sell it?
If you consider farming to be an investment, back it with some numbers, and don't twist the numbers into pretzel logic as you constantly do with gold.
Meanwhile; sold gold at the top. Waiting for the bottom to buy it all back... again.
As I've shown you before, since the mid 70s, a $10k 'investment' in gold has grown from 80 oz into 234 oz, simply by buying (near) the lows and selling (near) the peaks.
In the same 30 years, the house cost 115,000 to build. $67,000 cash down, borrowed $48k for 30 years at 11.75%. Refinanced over the years to have averaged 8%, including closing costs at each re-fi.
That's $67k + $126k P&I + $45k property tax (house in the country = 'low' taxes) + $19k maintenance costs = net loss of -$33k over 30 years.
Versus $10,000 for 80 oz which has become $280,800 for 234 oz, waiting to buy back at the bottom, which should yield at least 280 oz as a guess at this point.
Had I the skills necessary to grow food, can, irrigate, etc., to the point where I was completely self sustained (not likely), I would have saved $210k in food costs over the 30 years... LESS the costs of equipment, water, labor, drought years, etc.
Gold still wins, and I've only casually engaged in buy/sell/buy gold over those years. If I had had the balls to put the $67k into the gold pot as well, instead of the house, and been more diligent in gold trades...
You do the math.
OTOH, you are absolutely correct in your assessment of the Fed making full use of inflation/recession cycles to trade an astounding amount of real wealth for worthless paper.
Instead of errantly beating the dead horse ("gold is not an investment" "gold is not money", etc), stick with your original premise and give us more historical evidence, possible scenarios, time lines, etc.
We'll all benefit and the silly bickering will fade away.
Bosso
