Cherob, the problem with being contrarian is that you can't oppose EVERYONE. Unless you're off the planet, someone will agree with you. My version of "conventional wisdom" now is that the yanks believe a little patience is all that's needed; Sir Greenspan will deliver them from the wilderness. Gold is NOT being discussed in the general community nor these chat sites the way nickel was in '72 (OK chat sites didn't exist then, but my dry cleaning delivery guy WAS talking about Posiedon) nor techs in '99. Bugs are still definately in the minority.
As for why everyone could hold a little gold, it's a bit like insurance. The chance your house will burn down in any year must be about 1,000 to 1. Never the less, you write a cheque for $500.....lost for ever......and more next year. Even if everything goes fine. The chance of a financial meltdown in USA is much higher than 1,000 to 1. If the very worst were to happen and fiat currency ($US) were to collapse you could still trade Au & Ag DIRECTLY for the necessities. The premium paid is a one off cost and interest forgone a modest annual cost. To be useful this way you would need to hold clearly marked, small value, popular pieces. Kilo bars of gold would be awkward. Now if the sky doesn't fall in, and the world comes out the other end of this tunnel relatively unscathed, bullion coins would resell at much the same price as now, probobly higher. I doubt many stock pickers will match that for the next few years. He who loses least wins.
