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what are the benefits of opening an ira in an unstable/uncertain economy?
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even gold lost 1/2 of it's value between 1980 and 2000.   you would not have fared well if you retired during that period heavily invested in gold. http://www.usagold.com/reference/prices/history.html you said yourself that one can not foresee what the future will bring. at least ira's force you to into dollar cost averaging, whereas if your money was outside of a retirement account, you might be tempted to speculate. -ralph winters
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