THIRTY-FIVE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ANSWERED 247
rating services out there. If it’s a highly rated bank that’s small
and local, it may be a better option. I would also recommend
just having some cash. Just have $5,000–$10,000 in hundred
dollar bills so when they shut down the ATMs you’ll still have
walking-around money.
Do you think that gold will be confiscated like it was
in the 1930s?
I don’t think it will be. The government might want to do
that but I think there would be pushback. In the 1930’s trust
in government was much greater than it is today. People went
along with it because they felt desperate. Today they may feel
desperate but they don’t trust the government. I think the gov-
ernment knows that.
Are credit unions safer than banks?
Generally yes. Again, I don’t want to be in the business
of recommending specific names because I don’t know every-
one’s circumstances. But I am familiar with the credit union
business and they’re very solid. They have not been a source of
any problems over the last 30 years.
What are the chances of gold and silver mining
companies being nationalized during the crisis?
There’s some possibility of that. But in countries like the
United States and Canada, where there’s the rule of law, they
could only be nationalized on one of two bases. One is they’d
have to change some laws which you would see coming be-
cause the legislative process is so clunky. The second what is
through the president’s emergency dictatorial powers. When
I say that to people roll their eyes and respond, “What’re you
talking about, he’s not a dictator.” Well, in a way he is — he’s
a dictator in a legal sense.
Few people know that the United States is operating un-
der a state of emergency today. President Obama extended the