Zero Hedge had an interesting article about 8 lesson the US can learn from Venezuela. You can read it here:Lessons From Venezuela
Venezuela Currency Collapse – Lessons for the US Inflation, Starvation
The Venezuela Currency Collapse, in fact the collapse of an entire nation is happening right before our eyes. Almost every day we read stories about how things are worse than the were the day before. And we thought the day before was horrific enough. You may have read a story in the New York Times a few days ago about hospitals not having enough water to wash blood off the operating tables, no sterilization available and rather than disinfecting with alcohol doctors were disinfecting their hands with seltzer. You should read the article to get a flavor of the horror unfolding.
There are severe shortages in basic necessities and people are waiting on hours long lines and sometimes still coming away empty handed. Even worse imagine waiting on lines for hours and finally getting some food to feed your starving children. Then being robbed of the food you just waited for. Desperate times cause people take desperate measures the wouldn’t normally have taken.
The Zero Hedge article is worth reading and you can get it here. Lessons From Venezuela
This collapse is not happening because Venezuela was hit by a war, major natural disaster, terrorist attack, or some other cataclysmic natural occurrence. To quote the zerohedge article “When debt spirals out of control, currency manipulation goes too far and government interference reaches ridiculous extremes, this is what can happen to an economy.”
I don’t want to repeat the article but amplify some points. Shortages can happen very quickly in basic food necessities. Changes in what your can eat may be limited by what is available. When people become hungry they become desperate and take desperate measures. Crime may spike up as people scramble for the available food.
Medical care may become limited both in the number of patients that can be helped and also the quality of care because basic hospital necessities aren’t available.
During a currency meltdown owning precious metals such as gold and silver becomes much more important. Venezuela has had to ship 2.3 billion dollars of gold to Switzerland because the bankers would not take their paper currency any longer. So much for bankers faith in a fiat paper currency “Backed by the full Faith in the Government that printed it.
But how did Venezuela get into this predicament? It’s sitting on one of the world’s largest oil reserves. How can this be? But Venezuela’s path is similar in several ways to the path the US has taken. Venezuela’s tale, if we heed it, can serve as a cautionary tale for the US and guide us away from the same shoals and rocks as Venezuela is breaking up on.
In our next video we will talk more about how Venezuela has gotten to this point. What are the similarities with the US and what we can do to avoid the same fate. We will talk about role precious metals should have in diversifying your portfolio and protecting your future.
Be sure to listen to the Precious Metals Investing podcast. It can now be found on both iTunes and also Google Play Music for android users.