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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;NorthKorea, post: 1299289, member: 29643&quot;]I come to a slightly different conclusion, given Mr Durden&#039;s posting a week later about Zimbabwe going onto a gold standard.</p><p><br /></p><p>The problem with the concept of the dollar failing amid a worldwide shift toward a gold standard lies in misunderstanding of what backs the dollar.</p><p><br /></p><p>Assuming the dollar gets unseated as the primary reserve currency, Treasury rates will increase and the value of US <i><b>DEBT</b></i> will decrease. If the world decided to unpeg currencies from dollar denominated securities, that would actually decrease the national debt. Why? Because the US dollar is backed by the US government.</p><p><br /></p><p>People argue that the US government doesn&#039;t have goid. People argue that the US dollar is a fiat monstrosity waiting to implode. These same people have an agenda that profits only from a scenario in which the US dollar fails miserably.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gaddafi demanding payment in gold for oil reserves in Libya, assuming it&#039;s true, would be more of a problem for fellow OPEC nations than for petroleum importing countries. In order to stabilize the petro-dollar economy, non-Libya OPEC members would merely boost production to off-set the oil that Libya refused to sell.</p><p><br /></p><p>Given the arrangement between the US and OPEC, OPEC wanting Gaddafi dead makes for a better conspiracy theory. The US merely &quot;rallied the troops&quot; to please its petro-dollar counterparts.</p><p><br /></p><p>OPEC nations are oil-backed currencies. As we enter into the latter phases of peak oil (assuming peak oil hit in 2007), these nations need to find a different vehicle to define their currencies and obligations. The thing with the US is that we haven&#039;t begun to tap the resources that would make the dollar truly the strongest currency in the world. The US controls four/five major resources for the next century:</p><p><br /></p><p>1) Land. The United States government owns 650mm acres of land. For comparison sake, the UK occupies 59.7mm acres of land, and McDonald&#039;s owns a paltry 2,847 acres.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) Military. The world relies on the United States for weaponry and ballistics.</p><p><br /></p><p>3) Natural Gas, Coal &amp; Shale. There is enough carbon chain energy stored in the United States to support continued industrial growth for 50-85 years. That assumes not using nuclear, solar or geo-topography energy sources... oh, and assumes a complete abandonment of external petrol.</p><p><br /></p><p>4) Rare Earths and uranium. The United States has large stores of rare earths, uranium, and even platinum group metals that have not been exhausted. Large jade deposits in the NW (including Alaska) add to existing (but dwindling) gold and silver supplies.</p><p><br /></p><p>5) Water &amp; Food. As the world transitions into its next enviro-economic age, water and food will become far more valuable resources than we give them credit for now. Many parts of the world hate the United States for its gluttonous culture. The United States throws away enough food in a day to feed smaller countries for weeks or months. The United States wastes potable water on irrigation of soil. If water/food value ever normalized with demand/lifestyle, the United States is primed to control the global economy.</p><p><br /></p><p>For all the talk of the failure of the United States economy, the failure was in the economy of excess. This is why the &quot;I am the 99&quot; protests are so popular among recent college graduates. It&#039;s not that they can&#039;t find honest work. The issue is that they can&#039;t access the earnings of excess which are spotlighted on television.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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