Good question. I don't know.

Owning ground outright with no debt a person still retains whatever net value there is.

If a person has debt and payments that he can no longer make because government changes the rules, then he has a big problem. Stating the obvious, obviously.

The key to survival in uncertain times is to have a bigger cushion to account for such uncertainties. The problem with this is it will cost a person opportunities that he could have otherwise have had should he have guessed right (or had inside information like so many of the "insiders" have). For example, say a person knows (or has inside information ahead of time) that there is going to be run away inflation and knows whatever the rules changes will be so knows when it will start. A person that is heavily indebted will have a financial windfall compared to someone who maintained a large cash position. Or if there will be great defaults and deflation a person who is completely out of debt, sold his assets, and is holding cash can clean up buying assets for pennies on the dollar at fire sales.

The point being, a very conservative person will likely hold some place in the middle. Hedge his bets so to speak. But there will be some that will be either lucky or have inside information that come out way ahead of the game by being at the right time and the right place financially. So the government by its either ineptitude or design creates winners and loosers. This causes great anxiety and societal breakdown when people see others winning unfairly. By either the luck of the draw or being one of the elite insiders.

Sound money helps keep this process to a minimum. Of course that is the exact reason the elites hate it. Their inside information does them much less good. Sound money is the ordinary persons best financial friend, yet the ordinary person is the least likely to recognize that. They mostly fall for the elites siren song of easy money (credit). Moooooar money, moar money!

John