This whole farce that is the US government shutdown is a reminder of why I buy Gold and Silver. Our government is a corrupt, bureaucratic and most notably a bankrupt mess. According to our governments own admission, we currently have about $20,600,000,000,000 ($20.6 Trillion) in debt outstanding. The numbers have gotten so big and mind boggling that they don't really even illicit a reaction from the markets or media anymore.
“We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much.”
― Ronald Reagan
Regardless of who or what party is in the white house, this number will continue to grow at an exponential rate.
These are just on the "on-balance-sheet" obligations. There are over $100 Trillion ($100,000,000,000,000) in "entitlements" that no government shutdown stops the clock on. They don't even count these obligations in the debt numbers yet.
If you have never had a chance to happen by http://www.usdebtclock.org/ its an interesting site to take a look at. They have a relatively accurate debt clock counter where you can watch the future prosperity of our children ticking away.
And Greshams Law cares not about your politically party. The overspending of the US government is going to continue to eat away at the value of the US fiat dollar (all fiat currencies really).
“Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero.” (Voltaire, 1694-1778 )
Since 1913 when the US Federal Reserve was created, the US Dollar has lost almost 95% of its purchasing power. This is tragic and immoral but what really concerns me is the day it starts dropping to 0. This scenario has played out over and over again in history. If you've not see it before, here is a list of 609 fiat currencies that have failed in the past 500 or so years and the average lifespan of those currencies is about 38 years. The US dollar, not backed by precious metals since Nixon closed the Gold window in 1971, is on year 47. How much longer are you willing to bet this is going to last? By the way, included in that list of 609 currencies, is the first US fiat currency the United States Continental which also went to 0 due to overspending!.
How much longer do you really think the US dollar in its present form is going to last? When it starts to really drop, do you think people are going to rush into Bitcoin or Steem dollars for protection? Maybe, but there are an infinite number of Cryptos that can be invented and while I'm invested in the Crypto space, I'm not betting the farm on it.
