Gov't entitlements are going to double over the next decade. All those retirees will have to be paid including benefits yet the replacement workers will have to be paid too. But the economy is not growing and hasn't for 6 years. The decline started in mid 2007. There aren't enough jobs created to keep up with college graduates. All told this is a nightmare scenario. Taxes are going to go through the roof. Property taxes, new online sales taxes just to try and keep this thing going. Rising interest rates will not kill gold in fact just the opposite because the interest on the debt is so ridiculously large. People look at the rise in the stock markets like they're proof of an economy on the mend. My ass. This is money fleeing from Europe and Asia for the exact reasons I wrote about above. Look at Japans aging population and the state of its finances. There are a few years lag but that shit storm is coming here too. Gold and silver (and everything else) falling below production costs will only fuel the next mega rise.