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I've been investing in stock since the mid 1980s and even back then, you had the know-it-alls chortling that the bottom was about to fall out and that all those Wall Street types would get their comeuppance and that I would be much better off buying bricks of gold with my money and burying them under the floor in my basement.

Even back then, the whole "buy gold" argument puzzled me. If the U.S. dollar was really so worthless, then why were all these traders so willing to accept these "soon to be worthless" dollars in exchange for their precious gold bars?

Furthermore, if the doomsday predictions ever came true and the U.S. economy suffered a total collapse, then how would I go about using all those gold bars that I stored up? Would I take a gold bar down to the corner store to buy milk and bread? How would I get my change?

Lastly, if I ever showed up at the corner store with a bar of gold, how likely would it be that somebody would follow me home? I would say very likely.

I guess someday the gloom and doomers will be correct but in the meantime, I've been doubling my net worth on average about every 6-7 years with the stock market (rule of 72 principle combined with dollar cost averaging).

Even back then, the whole “buy gold” argument puzzled me. If the U.S. dollar was really so worthless, then why were all these traders so willing to accept these “soon to be worthless” dollars in exchange for their precious gold bars?

Same reason that Nordstrom is so willing to accept dollars for all the shoes they claim are so wonderful.

They’re retailers/traders who profit from the transaction. they’re not commodity owners for a living.