Commodities have until now primarily featured as a diversifier in investors' portfolios due to a tendency to rise in times of poor equity and bond market returns.
In times of economic woe, when normal patterns of consumption and investment are frozen, prodigal government spending can sometimes be the only way to break the vicious circle of declining demand and shrinking employment.
In times of emotional turmoil, remember that emotions arise because your sensors are wired to the primitive part of your mind which is self-regulated, autonomous, and spontaneous.
As a result, they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback - a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick.
Both Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have spent time and loads of money in California over these last few months.
If you're in danger, you know how to do this because it's a natural, something that's stored in the brain from evolution, which you can switch in in time of real need.
Seeing as bank runs typically happen in times of crisis, selling off long-term investment assets will fetch an even lower price than usual, plunging the financial institutions even further into the hole.