[rorykoehler]

I don't resent anyone who chooses to play the game and wins. We just make the best of the system we exist in however I do believe in being honest about the system too.

Gold has a value purely due to it being vital in many technologies. That said I can't imagine the price we pay for mined material, gold or otherwise, even comes close to reflecting the cost of what it will take to repair the damage we are doing to our environment during the extraction of these materials.

Regarding productivity there are many instances of financial products which are not even remotely linked to any kind of productivity. If the stock market was strongly linked to productivity the down cycles it experiences would be minor in comparison to what they are.

[meric]

Yes, I only invest in gold mines in my own country, where there are more strict protocols with regards to the environment, where a 'environment cleanup' bond must be lodged with the government before mining begins. The area is rehabilitated when mining completes.

The down cycles and bubbles are pumped up by central banks. When the stock market isn't doing well central banks lower interest rates, encouraging people to take out loans, to buy houses and stocks, and if they didn't, the central bank would lower the interest rate until they did.

It is market intervention that is exacerbating the phenomenon you're talking about. A small down cycle is a healthy event that cleans up all the almost productive companies and reallocates their capital through liquidation. It is zombie companies propped up by government subsidies and central bank intervention that is causing the rot in America's economy. It is akin to a forest fire burning all the weeds so the forest can rejuvenate.