The Internet is full of apocalyptic stories about the US economy. If you believed everything you read you would think that the US dollar is about to be dethroned, our debt situation will get out of control, and hyperinflation will ensue. But as Adam Smith once said, "there is a great deal of ruin in a nation." What Smith meant is that economies can absorb quite a bit of punishment and keep on ticking. Here I'll explain how despite America's very real and serious problems, investors should be skeptical of get-rich-quick schemes suggesting that gold is a good hedge for the turmoil ahead.