that. National debt continues to spiral out of control. Interest rates have bottomed out. Stocks are sitting at a considerable halt, while the market waits for earnings to catch up with share value (or vice versa)...

Add in a variety of rising political turmoil both domestic and abroad, and it’s no surprise that gold has had its best year since 2011. The stark reality as we enter 2017 is that fear is building, and people don’t know where else to put their money.

At the same time, the world is, in many respects, better off than it's ever been. Many people don’t realize this (according to polling by YouGov, only 6% of Americans believe the world is getting better), but it’s objectively true by a number of key metrics.

To name a few...

There are fewer hungry people in the world today than ever before. More people have access to clean water. Life expectancy is the highest it’s e