Jeff presents a lot of old gold bug thinking. That doesn’t make it all wrong, but it’s certainly wrong to call Trump fascist and Hillary communist.
Hillary is a kleptocrat – someone who seeks power in order to profit and make the people conform to what she feels is good for them. She’s more of a third world dictator than a communist. She’ll use immigration to roil the country and change the voting demographics. Hillary will create crisis, and never let a crisis go to waste. Her most cherished supporters are the press who move the voting public about 20 points to the left. See Left Turn for a discussion.
Trump is the opposite. His main characteristic, in my view, is an overwhelming drive to succeed. He has chosen as his political philosophy paleo-conservatism (what I call small ‘r’ republicanism), discussed here: Understanding Trump. If he can win by motivating a large number of forgotten Americans (like in Brexit), I judge that his program will work.
The national debt is astronomical, and “any trend that can’t continue won’t”. Obama has stolen and wasted and redistributed trillions with nothing to show for it. It’s the perfect crime because he got away with it in broad daylight. But much of the debt (25-30%) is held by U.S. governmental agencies for pensions (the largest single holder is social security at about $2.8 trillion). Another big holder is the Fed at $2.5 trillion and that money has effectively been moniterized all ready. It could just be gotten rid of through accounting skullduggery. About $6.7 trillion is held by foreign entities (governments and individuals), the biggest two being China ($1.2 trillion) and Japan ($1.1 trillion). That’s enough that they don’t want to see the dollar killed. Source
Twenty trillion in debt is ‘unsustainable’ and insane, but I (and other gold bugs) thought it insane at ten trillion too. I suspect that nobody knows what’s really going on – the issues are just too large and complex. But the U.S. can probably muddle through without a disaster as long as a trend that can't continue doesn't.
Gold is a fever gauge of the economy. Gold is at the high range of its multiple with silver:
Gold to Silver Ratio - Historical Chart
If good economic times return and spending and debt controlled, wither gold? It could go down in real terms and in relation to silver. Is it going to $50,000? I much prefer gold to pictures of dead presidents, especially if we get the kleptomaniac in the White House.