There’s a new gold rush on but you don’t have to head to the hills of California to be part of it. All you have to do is tune in to talk radio and jot down an “800” number where a few of the big syndicated shows pimp for the gold merchants. The ads for these companies are all over radio and television.
I have no problem with a host or show taking advertising from any product. If Rush wants to run a few Obama ads, no problem. If Dr. Savage can sell ads to the ACLU, I say he should give his sales staff a bonus. I’m a capitalist all for making a nickel who believes in the old saying, caveat emptor – buyer beware. Yet, it’s different when the host reads the commercial live. This signifies a level of approval beyond “we let this guy buy ads on our show.”
Here’s my problem: when you rant about Obama’s negativity bringing the economy down, that’s one thing, but when you turn around and urge your listeners to buy gold because things are going to get worse, that’s hypocrisy.
The idea behind the new gold rush is that the country is going to hell in a hurry with the new socialism and we had all better rush out and buy gold because the way things are going our currency will soon be worthless. If you want food and fuel, you better have gold because we’ll all be bartering for essentials. This is fear mongering from guys who are down on Obama for fear mongering.
The worst offender is one of my favorite radio guys, Glenn Beck. The other day I was listening to his show and heard his long commercial for a gold advertiser. It was beyond an endorsement; it was a monologue about the coming crisis. He basically said that if you don’t get some gold today, you’re setting yourself and your family up to starve to death next year. Glenn could be right; we could be headed to a complete breakdown of the international economic and social structure. I don’t think so, but if we are, a little gold won’t help. It’s not like the Kroger would still be open to take filings off your Krugerrand for groceries. It’s not likely some orderly barter system will replace your ATM card.
If you don’t think society’s breaking down, then buying gold retail is not a great investment. First, gold is at an all-time high and I don’t know anyone who thinks buying at the top of the market is a good move. I know ads say the price could be $1500 by the end of the year, but the price could be at $300 by the end of the year and your investment down 70 percent. If you want security, don’t buy gold, take your money out from under the mattress and buy a CD at your local bank. Second, if you call one of those “800” numbers, you’re not going to get the spot price you see on CNBC. The broker’s percentage on buying and selling precious metals makes the guy in the suit at Merrill Lynch nicking you for 3 or 4 points look like a piker.
If you do believe Armageddon is just around the corner, learn to grow your own food and make sure you can field dress an animal. Teach your kids to hunt and fish. Get guns and lots of ammo. Before you do, let me know, because I want to get a few shares of Smith and Wesson.