I got started with a response here last night, but got distracted, so I’ll start over.

Overall, I like your thoughts, DT, but I’ve come to look at the upcoming end-of-the-world a bit differently.

Being prepared for a rough future is both prudent and very hard to do. What kind of Apocalypse do you envision? Do you foresee a currency collapse? A stock market correction? Another Great Depression? A widespread repeat of the 2020 “Summer of Love”? A pandemic (a real one this time, not that fake one that we remember so well)? These are all very different problems to solve, but these problems can stack up on themselves too, and that would change your thinking too.

I like Peter Schiff, and don’t disagree with him. He’s been on this same point for some time. But I’ve come to look at Schiff and other financial and monetary doomsayers as those who have correctly called 15 out of the last 3 recessions. They haven’t been necessarily wrong, but had I listened to everything they said exclusively, I’d have missed out on other opportunities.

You mention a confiscation of 401k’s. For as much as the commies we see today coming out from the shadows might like, I think that that would be a tough sell. America panicked in 2008 when the value of our homes and 401k’s cratered. The Zillow Home Value Index fell from $207k in April 2007 to $157k in Jan 2012. In that period, many, many people lost their homes. Our 401k’s might have had a considerable exposure to the equity markets and the S&P500 lost 37% in 2008. The .gov’s response was to turn on the Money Printer with QE1, then QE2 and it has continued since then. The nominal balance of your home’s value and 401k balance have returned, but the dollars themselves are worth less. The panic receeded, but I think that the lesson is that Americans are wedded to their homes and retirement investments.

My real concern is that they begin to push a Universal Basic Income. This is a very old idea, and one that Obama has signed on to. An AI-induced increase in unemployment might help the commies advance this thought, to our great detriment.

I am fairly comfortable with my “prep’s” here. I have a greater-than-average retirement savings, but it is exposed to the markets. The Lovely Mrs. azlib has–wisely–insisted that the biggest part of our retirement monies are handled professionally by our financial advisor and he’s done better than I might have. I do have a very small account that I play around with myself, and I have lucked into not losing it all. I have more cash in the banks than I should, and some cash here at the house. Every one of those dollars is deflating. I have physical gold and a smidgeon amount of silver. If I had to do it over, I’d have more silver. We talked a year ago about buying a silver “Monster Box” of 500 Silver American Eagles when the Box ran $15-17k. But that was (and is) a lot of money to pull out for just one thing, and we let the moment pass. Today that Monster Box will set you back triple that…$45.7k. Right now is a good time to buy Gold, and if I can convince the Lovely Mrs azlib, I’d buy gold by the gram. The problem with both the physical cash and the metals is that you have to be able to store them securely, and then at The-End-of-The-World, you have to be able to safely trade them for what you need. Our pantry is well stocked….I still even have that huge stack of toilet paper that I stood in line for at Costco during the Covid-times. The vehicles are all in good order, but for a number of reasons, we’ve decided that we’re Bugging-In, rather than Bugging-Out. Being an Arizonan, I’m not terribly worried about keeping warm in the winter if the power were to go out. My one potential failing is that I don’t have enough water that would get us by. I do have a pool, but it is a salt pool, and distilling it to be drinkable would require a considerable effort. Firearms? Yeah. I’m covered, both for me and mine, as well as for most of everybody else on the block.

Regarding gold, my Facebook and social media feeds are beginning to show me ads for Goldbacks. These notes ostensibly have 24k gold in them at amounts small enough to be useful in everyday life. They’re also very pretty (IMO) and some might see some collector value to them. However, as a purchase of gold, these Goldbacks are incredibly over-priced. A 100 Goldback Note is said to contain 1/10 Troy oz of gold and it retails today for $868. But if you were to buy that same 1/10 oz of gold in the form of a 1/10 oz Gold Eagle, you’d pay $530. Methinks that the Goldbacks people are selling their notes to the naive and a bunch of grandma’s who are have been scared out of holding dollars. While I am reluctant to share financial advice (my history with finances is not great), the one piece of advice that I’ll offer is that if you want physical gold, avoid these Goldbacks.

I’ll end with this: These thoughts about the upcoming End-of-The-World consumed me for a number of years from my late 40’s and into my late 50’s. I saw Doom everywhere. But I had an ephiphany when I became a grandfather 12 years ago…..I could continue being that sour old guy who never had anything good to say, or I could choose to be happy with what I have. A loving wife. Kids who are each in their own way, successful in their own lives. Grandkids who mean more to me than I can express. That Doom is still out there, and arguably, it is greater than it was, but I just can’t let it dominate my every thought. Life is better than that.