We are facing the shift of America as the leading and most influential nation of the world to some form of banana republic. . . . If it wasn’t for food stamps, we would be facing long lines of people waiting for free food.”   For gold, everything hinges on the U.S. dollar, and Sinclair says, “I think the dollar gets hammered.  I believe we are headed for hyperinflation.”  One of the many black swans, according to Sinclair, is the possible abandonment of the U.S. dollar by Saudi Arabia.  If Saudi Arabia stopped selling oil only in U.S. dollars, what would that do to the buying power of the buck?  Sinclair says gasoline would be “$10 a gallon very soon, without a doubt.”