LongSFMI and others who plan on touring the Sinker: please send us your thoughts before you eat the pizza. Or, please send us the mushrooms.

Excerpts from Professor von Braun make some good points and remind us all that projects like SFMI were life savers for many in the last depression:

“Since a monetary debacle of this size has not been seen before, there is nothing to compare it with, for not even the depression of the 1930’s comes close. Then people still had savings and the US $ was, until late 1933, pegged to gold at $20.67 per ounce…

Today all debts are now due, since the banking system can no longer lend its way out of its own dilemma and this is what needs to be clearly understood by investors. The dollar is a liability and as such being in cash is also a liability. Government securities are also liabilities…

The precious metals are not a liability and ownership of them is a very wise move given the uncertainty surrounding everything else that is happening.

The example given by President Roosevelt’s revaluing of gold in 1934 is of interest and contains pointers to the issue of cashflow. Small mining operations sprung up in many parts of the US. The reworking of tailings dumps from previous operations became common and with the increase in price gold mining became one of the few sources of consistent cashflow. Employment for miners was assured and towns that were close to producing mines did not nearly suffer the downturns and bank closures of areas that were not.

The production of gold is as close to guaranteed cashflow as you can get, even if gold is confiscated and a new ‘official’ price created, the gold that is being mined does have to be purchased and paid for by somebody. Will there be a resurgence of small privately owned gold mines?"