Originally Posted by willravel

That's a social security program we can all get behind.

The risk of having a recession or inflation damage your investment is there when your investments are private. Social Security is supposed to be an investment without those risks.

Originally Posted by samcol

On the short term gold markets are speculative or gambling, on the long term gold does nothing but go up in relation to US dollars. I'm not buying gold to try and make money, I'm buying it to maintain value. And my point is I don't see any of these retirement accounts with the ability to keep up with inflation. Sure you'll see the dollars in your account racking up with intrest, but the buying power of those increases doesn't out weigh the devaluing dollar (short of risky speculation).

100 years ago I could buy a nice middle class house for about 100 Double Eagle Gold Coins (approx. 1 ounce gold, $20 dollar face value). Today I could buy a similar middle class home at today's standards for the same 100 Double Eagle Gold coins. The home from 100 years ago was $2000, today that home is closer to $100,000.

Gold has held it's value for thousands of years. Fiat currencies don't. I don't see how gold is a gamble.