what is a gold bug 
the term gold bug is an expression used to refer to investors who are bullish on gold gold bugs promote investment in gold and commonly believe that the purchasing power of fiat currencies will decline due to inflation expansionary monetary policy and the rising national debt understanding gold bugsmost gold bugs believe the price of gold will rise if the value of fiat currencies such as the u s dollar usd falls investors bearish on the long term prospects of the usd may choose gold the term gold bug does not hold a positive or negative connotation it refers to an investor convinced that gold will rise in value gold bug strategygold bugs see a decline in fiscal health as a sign that the u s government will respond to the rising debt burden by effectively devaluing the usd if the government defaults on the national debt by failing to raise the debt ceiling the value of the usd may decline in international currency exchange markets the price of imported goods will rise for u s consumers alternatively expansionary monetary policy may cause inflation to rise this strategy may negatively affect the wealth and purchasing power of investors and citizens whose savings consist of usd denominated assets for gold bugs investing in gold can be an attractive way to hedge against these risks and profit from potential usd devaluation the year that the united states abandoned the gold standard to curb inflation and prevent foreign nations from overburdening the system by redeeming their dollars for gold example of a gold buggold bugs argue that the fiat currency system allows governments to engage in fiscally reckless behaviors such as relying on chronic government borrowing to finance persistent budget deficits in 2022 the united states had a budget deficit of 1 38 trillion the u s has experienced a fiscal year end budget surplus where revenue exceeds spending only five times in the last 50 years 1 the national debt exploded from roughly 40 of gross domestic product gdp in 1966 to over 100 of gdp in 2022 2the price of gold subsequently increased in the latter part of 2022 3 gold pricing changes based on supply demand and investor behavior when investors choose gold and hedge against inflation they drive up the price of gold in addition to the value of the usd and market volatility factors that influence the price of gold include gold production jewelry demand and gold reserves 