The dollar has lost 98% of its purchasing power since 1913 — but sure, gold is the risky asset.

In 1913 we got a central bank to keep the dollar stable. It has since done its job with such enthusiasm that the dollar now buys about two cents of what it used to.

Two cents. After a hundred years of expert management. You could have achieved the same result by doing nothing at all, only faster.

And yet the man on television still calls gold “speculative.” Gold, the thing that has held its footing for five thousand years, is the gamble. The paper that melts in your hand is the safe choice. Make of it what you will.

The people who print the money, you may notice, keep quietly buying the metal. They are not confused about which is which.