I think that's a pretty smart way to look at things. He makes really good points based on Economics 101. Supply and demand would be all kinds of imbalanced if copper and nickel were to ever become a hot commodity. The only thing I would consider is unpredictable uses for copper and nickel. Who is to say that some computer company won't create some kind of technology that allows them to use less valuable metals and drop the prices of their products? Now, all of a sudden, copper and nickel are hot stuff AND silver stays in demand.
Copper is definitely appealing to the poor man... in more ways than one. See this story in the Business Insider: Thieves Steal 175,000 Feet Of Copper Wire From Overhead Lights On I-95 Rising copper prices and a bad economy are giving thieves reason to rob Interstate-95 of its copper wiring, used in overhead lights. According to CBS Miami, the larceny of over 175,000 feet of copper wire has rendered useless the lighting over a 33-mile stretch of Palm Beach County. The thievery has taken place over the last six months in 18 separate locations. "Obviously, the economy has driven this," Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Tim Frith said, referring to the recent increase in this criminal activity. "It does present itself as a kind of crime of convenience." Palm Beach County isn't the only stretch of I-95 where this is a problem. The South Carolina legislature recently enacted the "Copper Theft Bill", which looks to curb copper theft and make it easier to track scrap metal transactions. Additionally, The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries has set up ScrapTheftAlert.com, a website where law enforcement in the U.S. and even Canada can report scrap metal thefts. This information is passed to recycling plants near the incident. People selling scrap metal to plants must provide government issued photo I.D.
