"The Death of Money": Q&A with James Rickards

"Everything that was 'too big to fail' in 2008 is bigger and more dangerous today," says New York Times bestselling author James Rickards. Rickards predicts the crash of the global currency market and insolvency of the U.S. dollar in his latest book, The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System. "We're waiting for the catalyst that will cause this catastrophe to come tumbling down."
Reason Managing Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward sat down with Rickards to discuss the future of money and a return to the financial stability of the gold standard in an event co-hosted by the Charles Koch Institute.
About 30 minutes.
Cameras by Amanda Winkler and Joshua Swain. Edited by Swain.
Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's KZbin Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.

[@johnmoran3754]

Finnian Cornelison, Your right not too many of us have the coin to buy gold, rare art, or large tracks of farm land. However you do have the ability to buy silver. Silver is the poor man’s gold. Giddy up however because the London Silver Fix ends in a just a few days.

[@AlexPrimus]

That time just flew by... I could watch him for hours.

[@jorgancrath2885]

I agree that there are numerous problems with the systems that are in place but free market interference that James Rickards proposes is just more of the same and does not understand that the cheap currency provided by the federal reserve is what encouraged risky investments both before the beginning of the great depression and the Global financial crisis. This guy should try debating Peter Schiff.

[@BitcoinMotorist]

I had to Google SDR while listening to this. Special drawing rights. This is why I like KZbin.

[@mennehgambia1962]

8 years later, anyone who knows about SDRs, CBDCs and XRP, knows he is well in advance and understands the subject.

[@sommi888]

💚💛🧡💙 Watching in 2020! 💚💛🧡💙

[@redherring5078]

I'm starting to like Rickards, but sometimes what he says needs more explanation. He said that the Dollar may just become local currency like the peso. That doesn't really make sense because if the rest of the world doesn't find value in our currency anymore, they will ship all of their holdings back and then we will be flooded with trillions of our dollars. Wouldn't that make the dollar completely worthless even to us?

[@999Tyrael]

we really need a resource based economy

[@PlayerDuce]

This guy sounded like he may have known what he was talking about in the beginning but as soon as he opened his mouth about Glass-Steagall I realized he was full of it. There is a well written article on Wikipedia about Glass-Steagall and its relation to the financial crisis. Even the most die hards stopped blaming the 'repeal' of Glass-Steagall because of the evidence and changed to blaming the "culture of deregulation" that the 'repeal' of Glass-Steagall represented, that we should have been adding more regulations to cover the new financial instruments that caused the financial crisis instead of getting rid of outdated regulations.

[@aaroncohn8322]

My hats off to the Kochs for supporting this. The more I learn about those quiet billionaires the more I respect and appreciate them. That they make Harry Reid apoplectic is sort of like a bonus.

[@PiroozAzDirooz]

One of the few brilliant human beings left on earth.

[@CaribSurfKing1]

Jim, I am not worried about the date or the hour of the collapse, but if it actually happens! I have been hearing about the USD collapse for 50+ years!!! Still waiting!

[@joe9083]

The Dollar collapsed in 1971 under Nixon,when America went off the Gold standard.

[@trevortaylor3773]

we had different dollar 50 years ago....it wasn't a federal reserve note

[@JinGwee]

'Collapse' doesn't mean it disappears from the face of earth. 'collapse' in this context is similar to a stock 'collapse'. The value just drops drastically. And it has happened to the dollar. A bigger fall awaits.

[@JinGwee]

@The real Scot. like i said, the USD will still be around. Just with a much lower value.

[@JinGwee]

@The real Scot. Do you understand what "the USD will still be around" mean?

[@francisd2386]

I have to disagree with Rickards on Glass Steagall. The part of GS that was struck down (because no, the whole bill was not trashed, only partly) said commercial banks can't buy Wall Street's crap to gamble which is exactly what they *didn't* do, they actually *sold* their bad loans to Wall Street and then the government said we have to bailout Wall Street because "commercial banks and dark ATMs!".

[@CaribSurfKing1]

Gold is not in a bubble now, but it was in 2011!

[@jamesderickson8225]

Wow! 10 years later, everything he states is coming to fruishen.

[@kaetamine]

Charles Koch, Mercatus Center, Wendy Lee Gramm, Phil Gramm...

[@ChefClary60]

You can certainly argue that these guys are "doom and gloom", what you can't argue with is the fact that, historically, there is ALWAYS a crash after a bubble. The bubble we are living in is bigger than all previous combined. The question is not "Will the market crash?" but rather how bad will the crash be?

[@spirittoo]

1995 ... the coming collapse 2003 ... the coming collapse ... 2005 ... the coming collapse 2008 ... the coming collapse ... 2012 ... the coming collapse ... 2014 ... the coming collapse and this time we really mean it? What to say that the people that are controlling the markets can't do so indefinitely????

[@AhmedMahmoud-jo1he]

I feel stupid now

[@raykarush186]

Deep [blue] Purple interview! Highlight;"Too late to save the system, but not too late to save yourself?" Sounds odd. Let's question: "What is the leverage?" For the system, easy, it's the gold; for commons it's a belief. So simple. Don't believe? Comment on.....

[@Blurns]

Aww. I thought this was going to be about post-scarcity.

[@LuisManuelLealDias]

yeah me too instead it's just the usual scaremongering, This is the current status quo, pretending it's not.

[@wendellfitzgerald2]

Taxing economic rent estimated at 40+% of GNP gets nary a peep as part of the solution as usual. Instead buy assets like land that only returns economic rent as a way to protect yourself? That only leaves about 90+% of us out of the game all the while creating the basis of the next bubble. Nice. Since debts that cannot be paid won't be paid is reality, debt forgiveness is part of the solution as well it would seem.

[@CaribSurfKing1]

Remember all those who bought Gold in the late 70's because collapse was coming! I am sure those that bought Jim's currency Wars book in 2011, read it, bought Gold at $1800, are, well, really really really pissed off right about now at $1260 Gold almost 3 years on! I know my friends and family are! They could handle being underwater a little bit on their Gold investment for a year or 2 ( not everybody can be Nostradamus, not even Jim ) But being wrong for 3 years and 35% underwater is about their limit! I recommended the book to them! They never want to listen to me ever again! My great uncle wont even talk to me anymore! All investments are about timing, 2011 Gold was not it, it was a bubble!

[@hkrainman]

All asset class have corrections. The art is to distinguish Correction from Bubble bursting. Gold is in Bull market, with health mid range correction. By the way, China just implemented asset registration for all who owns it. This means all the corrupt individuals need to dump everything they have and convert to asset the central Goverment cannot track.. guess what that is..?

[@CaribSurfKing1]

hkrainman I hear you, however, I have been hearing these stories about how Gold is about to explode for, well, getting on 6 years! 25% rise in price in 6 years is not wise investing! Look what happened when things blew up in 2008, Gold tanked!, followed by the bubble of dreams until 2011! its all about timing your asset class trades. Gold is no different than anything else! Of-course I could be proven wrong, but 1979-1980 should always live in the mind of a Gold bug

[@jasonbic9026]

If you bought gold in the 70s it was about $450 an ounce. It hovers around $1250 now. Nearly a 300% profit sounds like a great investment to me

[@CaribSurfKing1]

Jason Bic a 300% in almost 40 years. Again, thats 40 years. I will repeat that, a 300% profit in...... wait for it......40 years You may want to rethink that one. By the way, as most investors that have money especially thinking/nearing about retirement, you statistically, would also be dead! Asset class is mostly irrelevant when investing. Its all about timing

[@jasonbic9026]

CaribSurfKing And government bonds/interest is paying anywhere between 0.05 - 2% APR. You don't buy and sell gold as a short term investment unless the opportunity arises. That is common knowledge. Also that gold shouldn't be your only investment, only used as a hedge in a safe investment portfolio

[@AndyAce83]

Oh, I am so tired of people predicting "the death of [anything]". I predict the death of cars, the death of dance, the death of humor, the death of people exclaiming "death of anything" (Note: Not a death threat ;-) the death of iPhones, the death of the internet, the death of gravity, the death of crime, the death of freedom, the death of slavery, the death of death.

[@marytica123]

"THE DEATH OF MONEY" SAYS IT ALL, BUT FEW PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT IT REALLY MEANS. Right now, you have physical "currency" in your pocket. You can see, touch, & exchange it for goods & services. HOWEVER, in the near future, this physical currency will be reduced to ZERO value - it will be "called" by its makers. You & I will be required to turn in ALL currency (dollar, pounds, euros, etc.), and receive "virtual credits" in return. Gold & silver will be confiscated. All transactions will be electronic. If you choose NOT to participate, you will STARVE.

[@marytica123]

***** Exactly - your supposed counterpoints actually prove my statement. "Transactions are already electronic" - true, and this makes physical currency obsolete, in the eyes of the Fed & their masters (international bankers). The polyglot system brought about when all nations removed their currency from the gold standard has only created economic chaos. A new means of exchange will take the place of all currency, and it will be universal. "You'll only starve if you produce nothing of value" - I assume you are still working; let's see how pragmatic your attitude is when you retire, and they consider you a "useless eater" who produces NOTHING.

[@albionicamerican8806]

Libertarians need to make up their minds about natural resources. You can't support both cornucopianism and the gold standard because they make contradictory assumptions.

[@XCritonX]

So... swap one worthless fiat currency for another worthless fiat currency? Forget fiat, buy gold, silver and digital currencies. Buy BlackCoin (Google it).

[@SeverSTL]

I think loan forgiveness will be the last snowflake.

[@jpenneymrcoin6851]

Union faculty? less than 6% of workers in america is union...this tells me this guy is blowing nonsense.

[@drsaggamusic]

Welcome to the new world order :D

[@ChristianGustafson]

What's with her hair? Maybe at half your age, honey.

[@bonjourmssr]

Is that all you have to contribute to the discussion? *slow clap*