how do we explain how the price of gold is tanking so much?
Dude, how young are you??? I know you come across as young a lot, but this statement really pegs you as either completely oblivious, or very young.
In the year 2000, gold was around $360/ounce. It peaked on this run in 2011 at around $1,900/ounce. It is still above $1,000/ounce, while to be fair in a downtrend. But still more than double its previous low. The lowest it has been in almost 100 years of data is around $220 in 1970.
What is interesting is the thesis that the price of gold always climbs before a major conflict. Something for you to think about.
The argument is that it climbs as economic entities (including governments) hoard in preparation for conflict reserves. Then as the war is joined, the price of gold drops as governments in particular start drawing on the accumulated reserve to support war efforts.
On this theme, the last major jump in gold (ironically comparable to current times) was during the peaking years of the cold war when many of us thought that the Soviets were going to say "screw you" and initiate the fight.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)