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JD Breen's avatar

Great essay, Matt. For added perspective, in 1990 I was a junior civil engineer earning $35K in Northern California. I was able to comfortably afford an apartment (no roommates), a car, and some entertainment and savings in one of the most expensive places in the country. At the prevailing price of gold (about $400), I earned ~60 oz/year after taxes. That’s about a third of what the engineer on the canal made. But today’s engineer makes only about a third of what I made just three and a half decades ago. He’d now need to make $260K just to match my salary when I started. As you noted, fiat money is destroying the ability of Americans to support themselves, and taking the culture with it. And the erosion is accelerating.

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James ( Jim) Marshall's avatar

Very good history summary for the value of the USD vs Gold. Actually shocking to see the two examples. I am the same age as Doug and have been reading a lot of his writings for years (in parallel with Bill Bonner) but your association with Doug adds a great positive addition to your joint Crisis Investing writings. When the revalue of the USD comes it is going to be a mind blower for the world!

Jim Marshall

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