Is copper going up in value?

Answer 1

What do you think it means for something to be going up in value... Do you think having to pay more dollars for something means it is more valuable? If doesn't. It means that dollars are becoming weaker and weaker. Copper would go up in value if there is increased demand for it, or if new uses for it came to light. Simply having to pay more for it now than you did a month ago is more an indication that dollars can do less and less.

You can think about houses in the same way. A house's intrinsic value is what it is. Its desirability and the amount of tangible goods that could be exchanged for it are pretty much what they were a year or two ago. When the dollars needed to buy houses increase by unimaginable amounts, it just reflects that the more or less constant value of the house is the equivalent of more, and consequently less powerful, dollars. We are wrong-headed about the way we think of value, and it will do us in.

It is not practical for us to go back to the gold standard, even though an idea like it may be worth considering. The intrinsic value of the metal itself does not spiral out of control. At one time an ounce of gold cost $250. Now it costs roughly $1000. Is the gold more valuable? THINK. We're making our thinner-than-air (US) currency to be some kind of standard of value. This is not a smart or sustainable concept of value.