Poverty Gold

style type="text/css"  !--{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%0A%09%09%40page%20%7B%20margin%3A%200.79in%20%7D%0A%09%09P%20%7B%20margin-bottom%3A%200.08in%20%7D%0A%09%2D%2D%3E--!--{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%0A%09%09%40page%20%7B%20margin%3A%200.79in%20%7D%0A%09%09P%20%7B%20margin-bottom%3A%200.08in%20%7D%0A%09%2D%2D%3E--/stylep style="margin-bottom: 0in" Asnbsp; I sat in the county jail scratching at the poison oak rash that seemed to redefine my genitalia, and most of my face, chest, and torso, it occurred to me that I might be on to something. I had contacted (and contracted) the vile bush on my way back into civilization from a journey that, if it did not actually take me back in time as it had seemed at the time, took me to a simpler society, with ldquo;basicrdquo; as the operative theme of day-to-day survival, reflecting the existence of the region#39;s denizens./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" I became suddenly aware of an American sub-culture which eschewed the major bone of contention in urban lives, namely Money. I reflected (scratching for all I was worth and gaining what would end up as very painful scratches in very sensitive areas) that this rumored root of all evil was hardly discussed during the four days I spent panning for gold and chipping away at river rocks, searching for pickers, plunkers, and nuggets of Gold. Gold as a means to an end was hardly mentioned, in fact most conversation had to do with things like the weather, firewood, daylight, supplies, and the ever-present river itself and the creatures which lived by its bounty. Which describes us all to a man (and a woman) who mine the banks of the American river for gold./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" I paused in my scratch to imagine how it would have turned out if I hadn#39;t come back when I had, to imagine life outside of cities and towns, in the wild lands of America... Mining gold-rich regions and amassing the means to live a comfortable existence, even if simply defined, until I reached the age when I no longer felt able to work./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" Many men sit in jails and wonder what might have been had they made different choices, and protest their relative innocence to the charges under which they are being held. Perhaps a million do so at this very moment, I donrsquo;t have the exact figures, but wouldnrsquo;t be surprised if it turned out to be more. This is not that story, so I will save that and return you to the world of mining for gold in the wilds of California in the 2010rsquo;s./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" After sorting out my legal issues I continued to research the phenomena of the gold trade, trying to learn as much as I could about the collection, sale and mining of the precious metal which once defined currency to more than just secluded pockets of society in America, as it does today. Our federal reserve used to back the dollar with gold, but this is not that story, either. The reasons behind the shift away from gold as a surety for our currency are as confusing to understand as the answer to the question of what it is currently backed by./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" Gold has a long and bloody history as the means of, and the reason for, the oppression of one people, by another. With my newfound respect for the difficulties people have faced extracting gold from the earth, the itchier facets of mining foremost in my mind, I resolved to find an easier way to amass precious metals./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" The most experienced gold digger will often spend long periods of time without seeing other people, as the most profitable strategy for mining does not entail sharing. Also, you can#39;t spend your finds in the wild lands (by all accounts bears are not impressed by gold), which gives a person time to amass more significant amounts to then exchange at the general store which caters to the needs of all the area#39;s residents, whether they be weekend hobbyist, local, miner, fisherman, or hunter of game. It is probably not much of an exaggeration to say that every dollar spent in Iowa Hill, in Northern California, is spent in the saloon, post office, and general store under the same name. I wouldnrsquo;t hazard a guess at how much of their custom is done in direct commerce with miners of gold for the product of their labors. Traded straight across for the supplies, which would then be hiked in to the respective claims which they supplied./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" The panning isnrsquo;t really rough once you get a technique you can live with, and chipping away at cracks in bedrock, paying close attention to existing cracks, sometimes will give surprisingly easy and substantive yields. The REAL work is keeping the chain of supplies uninterrupted for long enough to thoroughly exploit a region once you find color (gold). Less than five percent of the worldsrsquo; gold is in the nugget form. The remainder is processed from minute flecks harvested from the earth with a wide variety of methods in a number of places. Nugget gold is almost always sold for more than the actual weight to dollar value, because of the rarity and unique quality of each nugget it is a favorite for jewelry makers in its simplicity./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" As I researched gold as a medium of exchange, as it exists in our culture today, I also ran into the metal recycling industries which have of late made a common practice of recycling many electronic devices for the gold used in their construction. Gold is a conductive metal, which makes it common in processors and cell phones. Almost every person in urban America and suburban America has a cellular telephone and most homes have one or more of them sitting in a box or drawer that is no longer used. There are individuals as well as commercial interests who make the collection and reclamation of these items and others into a lucrative pseudo-industry./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" Seeing this trend grow and mature is likely in times to come. The price of gold has climbed to unprecedented highs, due to the demands of the industries which rely upon it, and investors see it as one of the safest investments in short or long term speculation. One thing is sure. Gold is making a comeback, and there is nothing to indicate it will ever lose much of its present value, unlike stocks or investments in currency, since currency isnrsquo;t backed by anything in particular, at least in the case of our bloodstained American dollars./p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" I got over the poison oak. I also got out of the county jail. But I am still afflicted by the bite of the gold bug. I see it as a reliable means to insure my future, if I am patient and wise in the acquisition of it. Being willing and able to work hard doesnrsquo;t seem to count for as much as it should in our society, and independence from the paradigm of fruitless labor and oppression which prevails in our society is an extremely attractive prospect, from where I sit. And so to all of the individuals, rebels and malcontents in our society I say this: Gold!!/p p style="margin-bottom: 0in" It represents a financial autonomy that most of America will never find. It isnrsquo;t an easy path to wealth, although there is always the possibility that you will stumble upon a substantial deposit, many miners nbsp;will work all their careers without seeing much more at one time than what they can exchange for the supplies to work another week or two. No worse than the subsistence slavery that most Americans live under, in urban and suburban jobs, sans the freedom and independence inherent in life outside of the grid./p