These are my thoughts as to why gold should be owned, not bought for investment or speculative purposes

From the point of common sense and speaking as a Gringo, the US dollar is manna from heaven. Unfortunately for the naysayers of gold, there is a concept of "don't rain on my parade." Bull Markets go unnoticed or unliked by most, until the end of one, as Richard Rusell keeps mentioning. Second, Gold is a commodity that people save as insurance not as an investment such as the Dow, which therefore leads to a false comparison, as most people make. Third , Gold has been regaining its luster from India, the Middle East, China, and individual investors, as shown by the the holdings of the GLD etf. Fourth , Gold speaks the universal language that everyone can understand when global currencies have been very volatile of late. Fifth, as GATA.org brought to the public's attention, there is a shortage of government gold as it has been leased for several years. When the need to replenish their government stocks is recognized, it will create a short aqueeze on the metal. Already there has been rumblings of Gordon Brown's selling of half of Britain's gold in the late 90s, as proof. Sixth, a key argument for not owning gold is that it doesn't pay an interest rate, well, bank deposits don't either with Fed lowering rates to the 0 mark. It wasn't that long ago (Oct, Nov) that real fear of bank failures crept into our consciousness, so again, I ask, how much is good insurance worth and not the type you buy at AIG!

In conclusion, gold prices do not need to go up, but the fact remains, in this market environment, if gold goes down significantly then all assets should depreciate likewise. And I don't think anyone wants to see that, except maybe the people that like to hear Obama use the word sacrifice.