All these assets are useless. they don't produce anything or create any jobs. cash under the mattresses or in bank vault making 1% interest is useless. gold is useless too. undevelped land or real estate is usless. max. return on these useless assets is less than 7% cash returns per year over year. imo less than 4% annual return is useless. Only useful assets are companies or industrial machinery that produce goods and services. An usefull asset must generat cash in orther words profit or produce a good or service. money in action is useful such as in financing etc. or venture capital only useful capital. 1000% returns are possible with venture capital or working capital. passive investors are useless, they make money without doing anything or produce anything
Useful is a subjective term. What may be useful to the individual, may be useless to the group. Since I care about returns, non-productive assets (like gold or real estate) can be a great investment. If 'Greater Good' is the only criteria for invest-able assets, then social programs - like education - trump equity or financing. Human capital is the basis for all technology and innovation, which is the ultimate driver of economic growth and wealth creation.
You're looking at the wrong Real Esate if it's producing you nothing. I'm finding 11 -13% cap rate properties everywhere I look. Where Gold is a total POS that has an actual cost assoicated with it.
How much of the junk those companies you love so much sell is even more useless than rotting cash in a mattress. Lots.
I'm finding plenty of 10%/year opportunities on cash. The deals are usually secured with real estate plus personal guarantees (so no property management required). 5-7 year commitment is the only downside. Cash is crappy of you this inflation looms, I agree. but if you have a nervous spouse, cash can buy peace of mind (and peace in the household, lol). Gold has been bid up so high that it's returns are questionable. on the other hand, gold may return significantly if the dollar supply keeps growing unfetteredly. Hard to get the timing right on this, and given the fear premium on gold right now it may take significant dollar value erosion for gold to start returning.
If they were useless then their price would be $0 or close to it. Since that is not the case, then by definition they are useful to some people.
Is that cap rate gross, or net of all expenses? Bear in mind there's a real risk of falling rents and rising property taxes in the next year or two. As for gold, it's up from $250 to $900 in the last 8 years, that's not a POS by any stretch of the imagination.
........................................................................ As if farmers, RE sales/workers. gold miners........... do not count????? Surely you jest. Less than 7% is debatable ................................