John T. Reed book and thoughts on gold

[BP]

Has anyone ever read Mr. Reed's book "How to Protect Your Life Savings from Hyperinflation & Depression, 2nd edition"?
http://www.johntreed.com/hyperinflationdepression.html

His thoughts on gold (he is not a fan): http://www.johntreed.com/golddisadvantages2.html

[Libertarian666]

Has anyone ever read Mr. Reed's book "How to Protect Your Life Savings from Hyperinflation & Depression, 2nd edition"?
http://www.johntreed.com/hyperinflationdepression.html

His thoughts on gold (he is not a fan): http://www.johntreed.com/golddisadvantages2.html

He forgot to mention that you can't eat it. Otherwise he made all the usual arguments of someone who doesn't like it.

[stuper1]

Anyone know what his recommendations are in a nutshell for protecting against hyperinflation/depression?

[Austen Heller]

His thoughts on gold (he is not a fan): http://www.johntreed.com/golddisadvantages2.html

I checked out the link, we've all heard a lot of his arguments before.  There is no disputing that gold is taxed at a high rate, has previously been confiscated, is targeted by counterfeiters, etc.  Folks on this forum usually look past most of these problems due to all the benefits physical gold offers.

One thing I found interesting was his claim that gold does not track inflation as well as a broad-based commodity index would.  That may or may not be true, but at least in recent years, gold seems to also have benefits as a "Flight to Safety" or "Anti-Fiat" asset.  Check out the comparison between gold and DBC, the commodities ETF:

[notsheigetz]

The only persuasive argument on his list for me was item#1 - the 28% tax on long-term capital gains - that is if it's true.

As a soon-to-be retiree hoping to make the typical move of reducing or even eliminating taxes by lowering my income, the thought of having to pay a 28% tax on part of it is very unpleasant. I know this has been kicked around before in the the gold forum but my current understanding is that the 28% tax only applies if your top marginal rate actually reaches that figure. This is still very unclear to me, however. Googling on the matter I found the blanket statement that the 28% tax applies many times but only found one page stating it the way I understand it. Are there any tax experts here who can clarify?

I will still not be dissuaded from holding gold even if the tax applies but it will definitely affect whether I hold it in a taxable or non-taxable account. I currently hold physical in taxable, and paper gold in an IRA, the majority in the latter but I have been shifting it around lately. Will stop doing that if I find out that the 28% tax actually applies.

[Libertarian666]

The only persuasive argument on his list for me was item#1 - the 28% tax on long-term capital gains - that is if it's true.

As a soon-to-be retiree hoping to make the typical move of reducing or even eliminating taxes by lowering my income, the thought of having to pay a 28% tax on part of it is very unpleasant. I know this has been kicked around before in the the gold forum but my current understanding is that the 28% tax only applies if your top marginal rate actually reaches that figure. This is still very unclear to me, however. Googling on the matter I found the blanket statement that the 28% tax applies many times but only found one page stating it the way I understand it. Are there any tax experts here who can clarify?

I will still not be dissuaded from holding gold even if the tax applies but it will definitely affect whether I hold it in a taxable or non-taxable account. I currently hold physical in taxable, and paper gold in an IRA, the majority in the latter but I have been shifting it around lately. Will stop doing that if I find out that the 28% tax actually applies.

The IRS instructions are fairly clear on this point, as are the H&R Block At Home instructions:
The maximum rate for long-term gains on "collectibles" is 28%. The actual rate is the lesser of that and your marginal rate.

Note: I am not a tax expert, do your own diligence, etc.

[notsheigetz]

The IRS instructions are fairly clear on this point, as are the H&R Block At Home instructions:
The maximum rate for long-term gains on "collectibles" is 28%. The actual rate is the lesser of that and your marginal rate.

Note: I am not a tax expert, do your own diligence, etc.

Just as I thought. I therefore conclude that Mr. Reed's #1 argument is misleading, whether he realizes it or not.