I have seen this environment take shape in the past. I recall the Dow at 600 in 1975 and that was the bottom give or take. There was genuine fear in the markets then and gold was on the launching pad. Nixon's disgrace was a fresh memory and the treasure spent in Southeast Asia (lives and money) was enormous.

We witnessed the greatest gold bull market in history. Junior gold Co's made their highs in the last half of this bull market. In Jan. 1980 Paul Volcker put a stop to inflation by raising interest rates to 15%. I had a 12 month term deposit at 19% with my Canadian bank.

At that time the economy was just about able to absorb these severe measures. House prices declined but lending practices had been much more conservative.

As I see it this time we might not be as fortunate. Central banks cannot raise rates to correct excesses as they are the cause of same.

America began as a democracy wishing to avoid foreign entanglements. Ike warned about the "military industrial complex/establishment."

For these and other reasons I buy gold and its like.