There’s treasure inside a low-slung building on the outskirts of Casper, Wyo.—roughly $11.6 million in state-owned gold bars.
Wyoming bought the gold in December after passing a law requiring the state’s investment portfolio to add precious metals as a hedge against economic turmoil. Among the worries are rising federal debt, inflation and a weak U.S. dollar—but also more extreme calamities, according to Bob Ide, a Republican state senator and lead sponsor of the “Wyoming Gold Act.” The state legislature passed the bill last year with widespread support.
“I can’t put a timeline on it, but there’s gonna be a sovereign-debt crisis,” Ide said. “There’s no will to rein in spending.”
A sovereign-debt crisis would mean the U.S. can’t pay its debts, or there is such widespread fear of default that interest rates soar and the economy nosedives.