Why Gold Would Be Useless in an Economic Apocalypse

[bvar22]

39. "Lessons from Argentina's economic collapse"

This is a 1st Person account written by someone who lived through Argentina's Economic Collapse in 2001.
It is eye opening, very much worth reading.

Lessons from Argentina's economic collapse
Part One

URBAN OR COUNTRY?:
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Of course that those that live in the country and have some land and animals were better prepared food-wise. No need to have several acres full of crops. A few fruit trees, some animals, such as chickens, cows and rabbits, and a small orchard was enough to be light years ahead of those in the cities.

Chickens, eggs and rabbits would provide the proteins, a cow or two for milk and cheese, some vegetables and fruit plants covered the vegetable diet, and some eggs or a rabbit could be traded for flower to make bread and pasta or sugar and salt.

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Those that live in cities, well they have to manage as they can. Since food prices went up about 200%-300%. People would cut expenses wherever they could so they could buy food. Some ate whatever they could, they hunted birds or ate street dogs and cats; others starved.

When it comes to food, cities suck in a crisis. It is usually the lack of food or the impossibility to acquire it that starts the rioting and looting when TSHTF. When it comes to security things get even more complicated.

Forget about shooting those that mean you harm from 300 yards away with your MBR. Leave that notion to armchair commandos and 12 year old kids that pretend to be grown ups on the internet.

Some facts:

1) Those that want to harm you/steal from you don't come with a pirate flag waving over their heads.

2) Neither do they start shooting at you 200 yards away.

3) They wont come riding loud bikes or dressed with their orange, convict just escaped from prison jump suits, so that you can identify them the better. Nor do they all wear chains around their necks and leather jackets. If I had a dollar for each time a person that got robbed told me, "They looked like NORMAL people, dressed better than we are", honestly, I would have enough money for a nice gun. There are exceptions, but don't expect them to dress like in the movies.

4) A man with a wife and two or three kids can't set up a watch. I don't care if you are SEAL, SWAT or John Freaking Rambo, no 6th sense is going to tell you that there is a guy pointing a gun at your back when you are trying to fix the water pump that just broke, or carrying a big heavy bag of dried beans you bought that morning.

http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.08/tshtf1.html

IIRC, he says that gold (especially coins) did remain a medium of exchange,
but guns, ammo, food, medicine, and batteries were more in demand.


The problem with GOLD is that the market is completely manipulated.
There are countries that hoard vast amounts of gold,
and if one of them decides that it is time to Crash the Market for whatever reason,
or if the Big Boys on Wall Street decide it is time for some "Profit Taking",
then it is OVER for every small customer who is buying Gold "as an investment".
Like the Real Estate Bubble Collapse, they will be left Holding-the-Bag.

In 2005, my Wife & I decided on Bubble Proof unspoiled rural land surrounded by National Forest with mild Winters and an on property source of clean drinking water.
We live there now, and grow a good percentage of our own food (veggies, fruits, & berries)
raise chickens, and keep Honey Bees.

We are NOT "Survivalists".
We are just old hippies who have always been attracted to this independent, sustainable, green lifestyle.
We sincerely hope that a collapse does NOT happen
because that would make things harder on us too.

There ARE some "Survivalists" who have moved into this remote area.
They stock up on MREs & guns, and fantasize about the day it will be OK for them to shoot hungry people.
They scare us, and we stay away from them.