My real problem with gold is the way it is taxed in the US. Gold is ALWAYS taxed as a collectable, so it is taxed at 28% if you are a middle income person. There is no 15% long term capital gains rate for gold! Most people don't seem to realize this. A lot of states have their own tax too. For example, where I live in Massachusetts, you pay short term capital gains ALWAYS on gold, which is 12%. That is horrible! So you pay 12% state plus 28% fed for any appreciation on the gold you own when you sell it, no matter how long you've owned it.
That would be bad enough if the tax was just on increases in actual value, but don't forget that the tax is assessed on the nominal price difference in USD, so when they devalue the dollar you pay taxes on the relative "appreciation" of the gold even if its purchasing power hasn't changed.