 This is Michael Medved, and you may know that the value of gold rises as the value of the dollar falls. As the dollar becomes more worthless, gold becomes more valuable. Since 1971, when the dollar was completely divorced from the gold standard, gold has risen from $35 an ounce to over $2,000, a 5,710% increase. Now, Washington is unlikely to cut spending, cut the debt, or stop printing money. All bad for the dollar.