"As far as gold, silver, and paper currency goes, one of these three is much more abstract in value than the others...... Paper currency is valuable when you have a cohesive society that agrees to use it, beut when the society falls apart, cash become worthless. If you don't believe this, take a look at what has happened to Russian, some south American, and Mexican currencies in the last 10 years or so. Some of these currencies have become almost worthless, and would be completely worthless if carried across the border to a more stabile nation."
I the United States became economically unstable, and our currency became worthless, I can't figure out what border we could cross that would have a more stable economy. Canada would likely be in about the same position we would be. If the US economy colapsed for any reason, I wouldn't go anywhere near Mexico with less than an expeditionary force. The examples cited above are valid in thier context, but I don't think they translate well to the situaion of the US economy collapsing. Their currency was worthless because of political issues, and there were more stable economies and governments in existance. If the US economy or political system collapsed, it would more likely be in a worldwide collapse. Our currency has gennerally always been accepted worldwide, and besides we are talking hometown USA here, not world trade to be able to get groceries. I just don't see the scenario that is so popular of "complete upheaval" or a "Mad Max" sort of thing for years on end. People tend to work to get things back to a tolerable local economy when things get difficult. The rural areas of this country during the deppresion had little cash, but had a lot of trade and self providing people. The "Sarejevo Survival Guide" indicated that paper money was acceptable, and a local economy developed that adapted to peoples needs at the time and place.
"If I remember my history correctly, the CSA printed greenbacks during the civil war, which became absolutely worthless at the end of the war. If a person had gold, they could easily carry it across a border and trade it for something of equal value in any country that was stabile. Gold is pretty much the ultimate in portable wealth, ....."
The CSA reference isn't a good example, they were a defeated government in a civil war. As mentioned above, if our economy is in collapse, I'm not sure where anyone could cross a border and find a better economy. Our economy is tied to the world economy, and our closest neighbors will be in the same situation as we are. We are also a driving force in the world economy, and certainly in area that includes Mexico and Canada. Any "currency" has to be agreed upon by both trading parties. In local economies, I seriously doubt people will abandon paper money. They may not take checks or cedit cards tho.
Maybe I just don't have the right "TEOTWAWKI" gene to play. I'm all for being prepared for difficult times or situations, but I haven't heard a compelling argument for a true TEOTWAWKI scenario. It's fun to talk about. Most sound like hollywood scripts, but not very realistic. Sorry for being a wet blanket. Just how I see it.
