(The Economic Collapse Blog)—How can we possibly undo the severe long-term damage that has been done to an entire generation of young people over the course of several decades? One of the most powerful pieces of evidence that our society is a failure is the fact that we have produced a “lost generation” of young adults that doesn’t have any hope. We shipped most of them off to public schools where they were trained to believe that they came from monkeys, there is no purpose to their lives, and when they die nothing waits for them on the other side. This sick philosophy is endlessly pounded into the heads of our young people, and many of those that have adopted it have come to the conclusion that they might as well live as hedonistically as they can while they are here. Of course that doesn’t give them any meaning or purpose either, and so a lot of them end up sort of drifting through life seeking anything that can fill the painful emptiness that they feel inside.
It isn’t really a mystery why so many of our young people have gone completely insane. Our modern liberal society urges them to constantly chase after things that will never satisfy them. As a result, we have a national epidemic of loneliness, a national epidemic of depression, a national epidemic of drug abuse, and a national epidemic of suicide.
Our young people are offered one hamster wheel after another. Each time, they are told that if they will just run hard enough they will finally be happy.
Of course that never actually happens.
It all starts in the public schools. Parents send their children to these schools believing that they will receive a quality education, but the truth is that the quality of education in our public schools just keeps getting worse…
The reading and math scores of 12th graders have plunged to their lowest level in over 20 years.
The scores, part of a test from the National Assessment of Education Progress, showed the average reading score for 12th graders dropped to the lowest level since the NAEP first administered the reading assessment in 1992. The average score for 12th graders in math in 2024 was the lowest since 2005, when the math assessment framework changed significantly.
I went to public schools all the way through high school, and then I attended two public universities for a total of eight years.
The quality of the education that I received was a joke.
The entire system is a fraud! It is about time that we all finally admit that the emperor doesn’t have any clothes on.
But what our public schools are good at is indoctrinating young minds. For example, just consider what has been happening in the state of Maryland…
Schools are subverting students’ mental health by endlessly hectoring them to doubt or despise their own bodies. These school antics reached epidemic level even before the start of the Covid pandemic. In 2019, the state of Maryland issued regulations to promote “viewing each student’s” “gender identity and expression” as “valuable.” Government officials and political appointees arrogated to themselves the prerogative to redefine gender in the state of Maryland. Montgomery County, the largest school system in the state, announced that it would choose books for the curriculum “through an ‘LGBTQ+ Lens’ and ask whether books ‘reinforced or disrupted’ ‘stereotypes,’ ‘cisnormativity,’ and ‘power hierarchies,’” according to a brief filed at the Supreme Court by parents who successfully challenged the school system. That brief also noted that “teachers are told to frame disagreement with [pro-LGBTQ] ideas as ‘hurtful,’ and to counter with examples of ‘men who paint their nails’ or ‘wear dresses.’” The goal is to instill in children “a new perspective not easily contravened by their parents,” as the county school board admitted.
The indoctrination produced a 582% increase in the number of kids self-identifying as “non-binary” in Montgomery County schools. “Disrupting children’s thinking” has been so successful that almost half of the students identified themselves as non-binary.
Sadly, most parents have no idea what is really going on in these schools. They just assume that their kids are being prepared for life in the real world.
But instead they are having leftist “values” systematically shoved down their throats.
Needless to say, it gets even worse at the next level. Our colleges and universities are completely and utterly dominated by radical leftists.
This is why so many of our young people abandon the values that they were raised with once they enroll in these “institutions of higher learning”. This is a point that was made exceptionally well in a recent article by Victor Davis Hanson…
Hundreds of thousands of students emerge from campuses not just indoctrinated with contempt for the Western tradition and American exceptionalism, and not just often thousands of dollars in debt from inflated tuition, but also poorly educated by the standards that once defined education.
The working classes and high school graduates, supposedly the losers of our society, are not those who are dividing the country. They are not often advocating violence or trying to use any means necessary to overturn the established order. But so often the products of the modern university are doing just that.
Sadly, in all these recent horrors, the ideology behind them—the premise that either birthed or appeased them—was birthed in modern higher education.
He is right. Once upon a time, colleges and universities were primarily concerned with equipping students with the skills that they would need for their future careers.
Today, colleges and universities are primarily concerned with brainwashing impressionable young kids. So how is that working out for our society?
Well, we now have a raging epidemic of loneliness among our young people…
Half of U.S. youth say that loneliness has a daily disruptive impact on their mental health, according to Hopelab and Data For Progress survey results shared exclusively with Axios.
In addition, the percentage of the population that is suffering with or receiving treatment for depression has nearly doubled over the past decade…
Depression remains an ongoing problem in the U.S. as historically high rates persist, polling company Gallup reveals.
The reported percentage of U.S. adults suffering or receiving treatment for depression has been higher than 18 percent for the past two years. A decade ago, in 2015, the number was just over 10 percent.
“The increase is alarming, and it is important that we keep an open mind and explore all possible causes for the rapid, and apparently sustained, rise in depression rates over the past decade,” Dr. Gerard Sanacora, a professor of psychiatry, director of Yale Depression Research Program and co-director of Yale New Haven Hospital Interventional Psychiatry Service at Yale University, told Newsweek.
On top of everything else, “deaths of despair” caused by alcohol abuse, drug abuse and suicide are absolutely soaring…
Two non-profits, Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust, published a report this month which paints a harrowing picture of reality for millennials with an addiction in the United States. According to the report, which is an analysis of data from the CDC, millennials are the most likely age demographic to die from alcohol, drug abuse, and suicide. Millennials are most often defined as people who were born between the years 1981 and 1996, although some definitions expand the category to cover people who were born up through the year 2000.
Over the course of one decade, from 2007 to 2017, the rate of alcohol-related deaths among millennials rose by 69%, the rate of deaths caused by drugs rose by 108%, and the suicide rate rose by 35%. The report also indicates that the opioid epidemic has devastated millennials. From 1999 to 2017, the rate of fatal opioid overdoses among millennials rose by 500% and the rate of fatal overdoses involving synthetic opioids (especially fentanyl) skyrocketed by 6,000%.
Please go back and look at those numbers one more time.
What we are doing is clearly not working.
We have a system that does not give our young people any hope, and the consequences have been absolutely devastating.
Those of us that refuse to go along with the system are increasingly being marginalized and pushed to the fringes of our society, but we will not yield because we have found hope in Jesus Christ. If you would like to study the evidence that proves that the Christian faith is true, I would strongly encourage you to read my book entitled “Why”, because it contains a lot of information that has been kept from the general population.
Our schools aren’t going to tell you the truth.
Neither will the other major institutions in our society.
If you are tired of being lied to, it is time to wake up and start thinking for yourself.
We live at a time when deception is literally all around us, but the truth is still out there, and you can find it if you are willing to search for it.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Why Bullion Beats Numismatics and Collectible for Your Safe or IRA
Precious metals continue to attract Americans seeking reliable ways to protect their wealth amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and stock market swings. Whether stored in a home safe or held inside a self-directed IRA, physical gold and silver deliver tangible value that paper or digital assets often lack. Yet investors must choose carefully between bullion—pure bars and coins valued mainly for their metal content—and numismatics or collectibles, where rarity, history, and collector demand heavily influence pricing.
Advisor Bullion serves as a dependable source for straightforward, high-quality bullion. The company specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, emphasizing transparent pricing and products that deliver maximum metal content for every dollar spent. This approach makes it ideal for both personal holdings and retirement accounts.
Bullion consists of refined precious metals in standard forms like one-ounce coins (American Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) or bars. Their value tracks closely to the current spot price of the metal. A typical gold bullion coin trades near the live gold spot price plus a small premium. This structure keeps costs clear and predictable.
Numismatic coins and collectibles add substantial value from factors such as age, rarity, minting errors, or historical significance. A pre-1933 U.S. gold coin or graded proof piece can carry premiums of 30%, 50%, or even 200% above melt value. While this appeals to hobbyists, it creates complexity. Pricing depends on subjective grading, collector trends, and auction results instead of daily spot prices.
For investors focused on wealth preservation and retirement security rather than building a collection, bullion often delivers better results.
Lower Costs and Better Liquidity for Home Storage
When keeping metals in a home safe or private vault, liquidity and efficiency count. Bullion offers clear benefits:
- You acquire more actual gold or silver per dollar invested. Numismatics divert a large share of your money into rarity premiums and massive sales commission, reducing your metal exposure.
- Selling bullion involves tight bid-ask spreads, so you recover nearly full spot value with minimal fees. Collectibles require finding the right buyer and may sell at a discount if demand for that specific item weakens.
- Bullion prices remain transparent and update with global spot markets. You can track gold near current levels or silver accordingly and know exactly where your holdings stand. Numismatic values are priced by the Gold IRA companies with hefty margins applied.
- Standardized coins and bars store efficiently and divide easily for partial sales. Rare coins often need protective slabs and controlled conditions, adding hassle and expense.
- Bullion enjoys worldwide acceptance. A 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf or Silver Eagle sells quickly to dealers anywhere. Niche numismatic pieces may appeal only to limited buyers, slowing liquidation when speed matters.
In times when quick access to value becomes important, bullion’s simplicity stands out.
Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs continue gaining traction as investors diversify retirement portfolios beyond stocks and bonds. IRS rules permit certain bullion products in self-directed IRAs if they meet purity standards (.995 fine for gold, .999 for silver) and are held by an approved custodian. Eligible items include American Gold and Silver Eagles plus many generic bars and rounds from recognized mints.
Numismatic and most collectible coins generally face heavy scrutiny from custodians due to valuation disputes and elevated markups. These higher premiums mean less actual metal ends up working inside the account.
Bullion avoids these issues. Its value links directly to verifiable spot prices, which simplifies reporting and lowers the risk of regulatory challenges. More of your IRA contribution purchases real metal instead of dealer profits or speculative upside. Over time, owning additional ounces that appreciate with the metal itself can create meaningful outperformance compared with high-premium alternatives that deliver fewer ounces.
Regulatory guidance from the CFTC and state securities offices repeatedly cautions against aggressive sales of expensive numismatics or “semi-numismatic” coins for IRAs. For retirement planning, transparent bullion from established providers reduces risk and aligns better with long-term goals.
How to Get Started with Bullion
Begin by clarifying your goals. Are you protecting savings in a safe, or moving part of a retirement account into a precious metals IRA? Focus on the number of ounces you can acquire at current prices rather than chasing marked-up collectibles.
Diversify sensibly: use gold for core preservation and silver for its blend of industrial and monetary qualities. Mix coins for easier divisibility with bars for lower per-ounce costs on larger buys. Arrange secure storage—whether at home with proper insurance or through professional facilities.
As economic uncertainties linger and faith in conventional assets erodes, bullion continues proving its worth as a dependable store of value. Its direct approach avoids the hype that sometimes surrounds collectible markets and keeps the focus on the metal itself.
For investors prepared to strengthen their portfolios, Advisor Bullion supplies the expertise and selection needed to acquire high-quality bullion efficiently. Whether building personal holdings or integrating metals into an IRA, their emphasis on transparent, investment-grade products helps secure more ounces today that support greater financial security tomorrow. In a complicated financial landscape, bullion’s clarity and reliability make it the smarter foundation for protecting what matters most.