Which is more likely to be seized, gold in safety deposit or money in 401K?

[cubical]

I agree to a point, but printing money only works until your currency collapses. I was assuming this would happen (confiscation) AFTER a currency crisis.

The government has over 8000 tons of gold already. They don't need your 3 ounces. It wouldn't be worth their time and the political damage going after private gold.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

The government has over 8000 tons of gold already. They don't need your 3 ounces. It wouldn't be worth their time and the political damage going after private gold.

I agree that it wouldn't make sense for them to do it. But you just never know what gov't might do. Best to be prepared: even for the unthinkable.

 

[mosquitobite]

The hardest to seize would be your seeds and food supplies.

You can't eat gold.

 

[Madison320]

The hardest to seize would be your seeds and food supplies.

You can't eat gold.

But you can use it to trade for food.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

You can't eat gold.

The majority of useful things in this universe either cannot or should not be eaten.

And actually, you can eat gold.

 

[Madison320]

The government has over 8000 tons of gold already. They don't need your 3 ounces. It wouldn't be worth their time and the political damage going after private gold.

That's a good point. Plus the fact that the vast majority of people don't own gold. So fishing for it in safety deposit boxes probably wouldn't be worth it.

What about commodity ETFs like gold and oil? Maybe if the govt only targets "speculators" they can avoid political fallout and crashing the market. I would think a much higher percentage of people own bonds compared to commodities. The govt could blame the speculators for crashing the bond market and they might have political support to transfer wealth from the "greedy speculators" to the "patriotic bond holders".

 

[helmuth_hubener]

What about commodity ETFs like gold and oil? Maybe if the govt only targets "speculators" they can avoid political fallout and crashing the market. I would think a much higher percentage of people own bonds compared to commodities. The govt could blame the speculators for crashing the bond market and they might have political support to transfer wealth from the "greedy speculators" to the "patriotic bond holders".

It's good to ask questions like this. It's useful to then try to really think through what would be going on were crazy things like this to happen. If this kind of craziness were happening, it would mean there's a big crisis, I mean a serious no-joke crisis going on and in full swing in the US federal government. That would be a scary and unpredictable time. A time like that is precisely when you want some of your wealth safely overseas out of the reach of the US government. That will be the biggest thing that will protect you in that scenario. It will help you keep your nerves and make better decisions. It will give you decisions to make in the first place, rather than being trapped. When there is a crisis, you may not be able to get your money out of the country. Better to get it out now, while it's relatively easy to do so.

Rule #13: Keep some assets outside the country in which you live.

Don't allow everything you own to be where your government can touch it. By having something outside the reach of your government, you'll be less vulnerable — and you'll feel less vulnerable. You'll no longer have to worry so much about what the government will do next.

For example, maintaining a foreign bank account is quite simple; it's little different from having a mail or Internet account with an American bank or broker.

-- http://www.harrybrowne.org/articles/InvestmentRules.htm​