What will the world look like in a year?
Five years?
Ten years?
It’s a question that was hard to answer before, and all but impossible to fathom now.
As the world continues adjusting to the worst public health crisis in decades, it faces a looming specter of economic upheaval that could be just as drastic.
That’s according to the World Trade Organization. This past week it warned that global trade could plummet by up to 32% this year.
“These numbers are ugly and there is no way around that,” said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo.
This outlook, according to many, would put the world in a worse place than it was in 2008. Some say it might even be as bad as the Great Depression of the 1930s.
That, of course, would come on top of domestic economic crises faced by countries all over the world.
As entire industries shut down and unemployment numbers climb, uncertainty continues growing. It’s gotten to a point where many don’t ask themselves what the world will look like tomorrow. Instead, they ask what life will look like a month from now.
Erosion of Government
It goes without saying that this all happens as central banks and governments around the world continue trying to ice-skate uphill. If you’re keeping track, we have ongoing money printing, manipulating interest rates, and bailouts for corporations at the expense of citizens. This is all done in the name of trying to delay what’s coming. At the very least, it’s trying to slow down what’s already here while denying that it’s actually unfolding before our eyes.
Nevermind that these actions erode what little trust people collectively have in the government.
Nevermind that these actions are only going to make the inevitable worse when the things being done to delay it stop working.
It’s gotten to the point where surviving the economic fallout that’s unfolding has fallen on the individual. Those in leadership roles are more concerned with making sure they and their friends get theirs than keeping the people they’re obligated to safe.
In many cases, the bare minimum is being done to support frontline health care workers, the people playing some of the most critical roles in this crisis. Why, then, would the people at the top be looking out for those of us hunkered down in our homes?
Beyond empty lip service, botched program rollouts, and one-time payoffs, I mean.
Gold and the Importance of Agency
If nothing else, this whole situation has shown a lot of people that having some degree of agency is the best way to survive in a crisis.
It could be a health crisis, a financial crisis, or anything else along those lines. Your best bet is to take action for yourself. That way, you can ensure that you’re able to thrive no matter how the situation may play out. It’s especially important in a constantly changing environment like this, where what happened yesterday may not necessarily apply to today.
When it comes to your finances, that means you need to have a stake in gold, the one asset that has thrived in crisis time and again.
As the national debt climbs and the dollar continues to weaken, what you have saved away will buy less. That’s assuming it hasn’t continued vanishing while this all plays out.
But gold can help protect your wealth so that, one, five, and ten years from now, you’ll come out of this in better shape than when it started.
The details are here in this latest report. Don’t leave your financial future to chance.
