Swanson, has had an uncanny track record when it comes to gold stocks. In his newsletter, WallStreetWindow, he first recommended that people buy them in the Spring of 2002 when gold was under $300 an ounce. He then sold them in the following summer and told his subscribers to buy them back in April of 2003. Incredibly, he put out a sell recommendation one day before gold peaked last December. "We had an incredible ride in gold last year and I made a literal fortune when I got out," he said. Swanson thinks that gold investors are going to experience similar rewards this year.

He isn't the only one bullish on precious metals. In June of 2003 billionaire George Soros publicly disclosed that he had built a massive short position against the US dollar. Three months later his former partner, Jim Rogers, recommended that people buy gold to hedge themselves. “Greenspan is doing his best to prolong the bubble – driving interest rates down, printing money as fast as he can and debasing the currency,” he said. Both have subsequently increased their positions.

Then in October of 2003, Warren Buffet, the most famous investor in America, announced that he had bought a basket of foreign currencies to profit from a coming decline in the dollar. Although he didn’t disclose the size of his position he called it “massive” and noted that it was the first time he ever bought a single foreign currency. Over the past 5 years he has bought up more than 25% of the world's silver. Buffett has an uncanny habit of making money in the stock market. In May of 2002 he bought $600 million dollars worth of puts on the S&P 500 that exploded in value when the stock market tanked later that summer.

He is now warning of an impending dollar crisis that could last for years. “Our country’s net worth so to speak, is now being transferred abroad at an alarming rate,” he said. “In effect,” he warned, “our country has been behaving like an extraordinary rich family that possesses an immense farm. In order to consume 4% more than we produce – that’s the trade deficit – we have day by day, been both selling pieces of the farm and increase the mortgage on what we still own.”

According to Mike Swanson, "the accumulation of debt in the United States cannot continue much longer. In the last century the ratio of debt to GDP hovered between 120% and 160%. In 1929 debt rose to 260%. Now the ratio of debt to GDP is at a mad 300% and has been growing over the past year. Something has to give."

Economist Mark Thornton, author of Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation, agrees. He thinks investors need to pay attention to gold. "There is always a bull market somewhere in the economy. It could be junk bonds, real estate, a particular currency, tech stocks, foreign markets, land, blue chips, or small caps, " he says, "Today we are in a bull market in gold and commodities. Oil and gas are at all-time highs while metals such as silver are up more than 25% in 2004."

There are a lot of doubters. Gold, once seen as a safe haven in the inflationary 1970's has fallen out of favor with mainstream investment advisors. CNBC commentator James Cramer likens "gold bugs" to people who believe the world is flat.

Swanson welcomes such skepticism. "Warren Buffet and Soros made billions by buying investments when they are out of favor. You buy low and sell high. When everyone is negative like they are on gold and silver right now then the price is low. I think I'm in good company on this one. I'd rather know that George Soros is in agreement with me than Cramer or Kudlow ," he says.