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I can ballpark it pretty good, though. Under three figures. By the way, I always get annoyed by the people who think they've said something by insisting "but you don't KNOW." No kidding. The fribbling fops of fallibility is the best I could come up with.

Find one prediction in what I said. Please try to contribute when you post.

There are some things that everybody seems to think are so that just bother me, such as: Myths: a) inflation is inevitable. False. Weimar and the 1970s were a vast exception. You only go off the gold standard once. The British consol hovered around 2-4% from the death of Napoleon to WWI...

How much is currency of your total net worth?

So who else is so lame that they've searched for their own username to bask in the brilliance of their old posts? Don't tell me I'm the only loser to do this.

Essentially when interest rates are low enough, the long bond and gold become equivalents.

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2011/09/gibsons-paradox-and-the-gold-boom.html "Gold is and always has been a super Treasury bond: a very long duration asset that is or at least is perceived to be "safe" in the sense that its price does not trade at a discount (due to risk and default premia)...

what does "stuck in the middle" mean? this is my thread, oldtime. You take it somewhere else. I don't see you adding any value to the thread so far.

Like I said, the gold bugs are masters of ignoring evidence. Here is a data point with a 300 year history. Admittedly this is the UK, but still relevant: http://digressionality.blogspot.com/2012/08/yield-on-british-perpetual-bond-is-at.html Basically, the consol has never been at a...

No, you don't know what I already knew, sorry. Here's the problem for the gold bulls: THE RALLY ALREADY HAPPENED. It might last for a blow-off top, but the gold rally already happened. When the inflation arrives, the gold bulls are going to sit and wait for the RALLY THAT ALREADY HAPPENED...

But that's the nature of productive assets. They grow. Gold never grows. An ounce of gold is always an ounce of gold. Even if the ounce of gold appreciates, it doesn't create more gold. Productive assets do. In the past, the vast majority of wealth was in land. That's not true today. All the...

The funny thing is that "fiat money" has done a good job of maintaining the price level. Inflation is so low these days as to be almost undetectable. A gallon of milk has been $3 for as long as I remember. This says a full gallon is ~$3.50, but I can buy a gallon for $2,99 at Target no problem...

I mentioned that gold is a speculation, not an investment. Jamie Dimon when he was on Capitol hill was asked the difference between gambling and investing. He said that in investing, the bank is the house. This is not correct. The lender does not win only if the borrower loses. Speculating and...

The real question of the thread was, what businesses and investments thrive during inflation? I suggested a few in the OP. Gold is a speculation. It may or may not do well during inflation for the reasons I stated. How do you explain the last ten years of gold appreciation during a deflationary...

You're making the case for gold as a currency. Fine. But the question was about investments. For most people, the amount of wealth stored in currency is very small. The vast majority of wealth is in cars, real estate, small businesses, etc. Income producing assets. Very little is in currency. So...

If they're desperate and need food, who is going to buy your gold? The hungry can't eat gold. You've made an argument for farm land, not gold.

Actually I think the reason that paper assets in general do poorly during inflation, even if they are linked to short term interest rates (like money markets) is that paper assets are denominated in a particular currency.

True. I agree that money markets probably aren't the greatest choice. Here is Warren Buffett: My own preference -- and you knew this was coming -- is our third category: investment in productive assets, whether businesses, farms, or real estate. Ideally, these assets should have the...

When inflation returns, yes.

Farmland is another good one. I'm just not convinced gold is a good inflation hedge. Gold generates no income, so why would I own gold if I could own a money market fund paying a nice return? Hard to believe gold will appreciate compared with income-paying assets.