Ron Paul wiped out on the stock market

[Dr. Trainwreck]

Irbis neglects that people in WWII accepted gold and silver as currency because they felt the war would end one day. Victory or defeat, life had a chance of returning to normal, and these metals had some value under normal conditions.

Now, if you take the survivalist scenario, the world has completely collapsed and you can finally kill anyone you want and say it was self-defense. People who stock gold and bullets generally plan for a situation where nothing is normal and nothing will return to normal at least in their lifetimes (a real possibility in nuclear war). We are essentially cavemen in this case, and have about as much use for gold as they did.

[Aaron MkII]

Then you should stocking up on things reasonably portable and easily traded. Food, medical supplies, the most widely used ammunition in your area, hygiene products, etc.

Theres far more immediately useful kit and I can't imagine gold having a use in such a scenario other then as bait for a crow or something else that likes shiny stuff.

[Irbis]

So uh by buying gold in case of the apocalypse, you will most likely just fatten the fat cats even more. Possibly the very same fat cats who'll bring it about

Yeah, it's pretty much lose-lose on both fronts. Not that gold fanatics are thinking this one through

Irbis neglects that people in WWII accepted gold and silver as currency because they felt the war would end one day. Victory or defeat, life had a chance of returning to normal, and these metals had some value under normal conditions.

Um, read it again - I made point modern war would be much more sudden and drastic, plus one that gold was nearly worthless in WWII era, so logically, the point I made was the same as the above, it will be worthless and life won't return to 'normal' anywhere near as quickly to ever try to make advantage of having it.

[chitoryu12]

Gold doesn't defend your family or put food on your table. It has worth mainly because society says it has worth, so you can trade it for something valuable. A shit-hits-the-fan scenario strips away the society that makes precious metals valuable. Unless we suddenly end up with a supernatural apocalypse and silver is worth more than its weight.

[Soontir C'boath]

Frankly, if I'm robbing your house during/after the apocalypse, I'll be looking for food and better shoes than your heavy ass gold bars.

Anyway, was Ron Paul really wiped out or did he manage to recover since then?

[Dr. Trainwreck]

Um, read it again - I made point modern war would be much more sudden and drastic, plus one that gold was nearly worthless in WWII era, so logically, the point I made was the same as the above, it will be worthless and life won't return to 'normal' anywhere near as quickly to ever try to make advantage of having it.

Then I misread that. Think of my post as an addendum.

[Elheru Aran]

Anyway, was Ron Paul really wiped out or did he manage to recover since then?

I can't say for his stocks or whatever but I imagine he's probably still pretty cozy financially outside of his investments or whatever... he doesn't strike me as the type to have all his eggs in one basket. He was a doctor before he went into politics, after all, and in general that sort don't live on the low end of society...