Gold awareness campaignDecember 17, 2008
I do my own non-scientific research to determine the future potential upside for gold. Here’s how it works — I tell everyone who will listen that I’m buying gold and silver, not just mining shares and exchange traded funds, but actual physical metal, then gauge their reaction. The more ridicule I get, the bigger the potential upside remaining in the gold bull market. I’ve been doing this for about 18 months and I still don’t know a single other person who has begun to accumulate metal, but I can definitely see the tide turning. People aren’t laughing as much anymore, they still aren’t buying, but they are listening. When owning gold to preserve capital is as common a practice to these ordinary people as it is to me, that will be the appropriate time to start exiting the market. Last year most people were totally clueless. Today, they find my actions more curious than weird. With interest rates at an all time low, currency valuations in doubt, stocks markets plunging all over the world, real estate markets crashing, and many warning of a pending bubble in government bonds, there is nowhere to hide but precious metals. It’s unlikely more banks will fail, but individual corporations may start to drop like dominoes, possibly even institutions managing the popular exchange traded funds. Gold has zero counter-party risk, it pays no dividend but it can’t go bankrupt. The value may fluctuate but it will never go to nothing. Gold has outlived every stock, every bond, every country, every currency. The more sophisticated banker types aren’t surprised to hear my argument, even though nobody has done anything about it, I get the distinct impression they’ve heard it all before and buying some physical metal has crossed their mind. Regular people understand the rationale but still regard gold for savings as a foreign idea, but a few ask to see some bullion. Overall, I am convinced the gold market has barely been tapped by ordinary folks. We are so far from a top it would be funny if it weren’t so scary. I believe the primary obstacle to a further adoption of gold for savings among the general public is a cultural barrier, people have been trained to believe gold is old fashioned or a scam run by bankers. The real scam is dollars, they’re just worthless paper. At least silver has many industrial uses and gold is pretty! I always tell people to buy a few coins or small gold bars, nothing too elaborate, because I am convinced once they have it in their possession and see it in their hands it will become clear. Humans are attracted to gold like bugs are attracted to neon lights. There is a reason gold has survived as money for thousands of years — it works.
Related Posts: 9 Comments » |
Highest Rated
|
Loading ...
How does one buy gold?
You can buy gold from a local dealer (there are coin and bullion dealers in every major city) or you can buy it online, kitco.com, seekbullion.com, goldsilver.com are a few.
I think you make a good point, but I just think it is ridiculous how people are still dumb enough to value something so strongly that serves no purpose other than looking pretty.
I understand that people are aesthetically attracted to it, and that probably wont ever change, but it is really idiotic to me. At least oil, and other precious metals have a purpose. I can see the logic behind people being so corrupt and ruthless when it comes to acquiring those things, but gold? You can eat gold, you can’t cloth yourself in gold, you can’t heat your house with gold, you can do anything productive with it. It is the epitome of materialistic superiority.
But your right, given what people care about, it will probably always be of some value.
What is your position on flowers? Do you have paint on your car? Do you own a hairbrush? Do you use deodorant? I know, I’m being a bit silly, but not everything people do needs to have a logical function. We are people, not robots. Sometimes people do things because they like it, and that’s the only reason.
But the better answer is that it really doesn’t make sense to use things we need for industry as money because we would be depriving the world of vital resources when we save our earnings. Saving would become a dirty word. Imagine if we used food as money, you would literally be causing starvation in some third world country every time you saved a dollar.
There was a long discussion about that months ago…
http://www.pointbite.com/2008/01/09/food-as-money/
http://www.pointbite.com/2007/12/28/2008-the-year-gold-goes-mainstream/#comment-71
So I came up with a slogan for my gold awareness campaign, “buy gold, save a tree”… Any takers? (Dollars are paper, I know it’s made from cotton but play along… it’s catchy.)
I like your slogan.
I have been buying Krugerrands for awhile. They are getting more and more expensive every month. I bought one coin last month for around 750 and now they are almost 890!
There is definitely a bubble. I just wonder when it will pop. Buying gold is getting harder and harder
It makes sense in a certain context. The flip side is that gold can be taken from you. At some point, you will *feel* that your money is safer as paper-in-the-bank. This tipping point is subjective; varies from person to person.
And if you keep your gold at the bank, that opens up a whole bunch of other issues, doesn’t it?
Sure, security was an important reason banks became so relevant in the first place, it’s a balance. But at a time like this, I definitely don’t accept that keeping dollar deposits is “safer” than gold. If the government can take your gold, they can take your dollars 100 times more easily. Gold is outside the system, nobody knows how much you have. I think people should consider not only keeping gold and silver in a safety deposit box, they should also consider keeping cash there too. It’s safer outside the system, and given the negligible interest rates, can be kept at very little cost.
Do you people really NOT understand the power that will be yours if we can just get the gold and silver in OUR pockets?
The old adage,†He who has the gold, makes the rules.â€â€¦ Is true.!
Today’s politician listens to the banks and corporations that give them the money to be re-elected.
The banks/corporations can create all the money they want out of thin air… and use it to buy the votes of the politicians.
Gold and Silver cannot be created out of thin air, it cannot be created by printing it or pushing the buttons of a computer. Somebody has got to go out and WORK to get it.
And, when YOU, have the gold and silver in your pocket, you vote on every issue that your representative is considering with every purchase you make. He, the politician, will listen to YOU if YOU’VE GOT THE GOLD!
Here’s how it works:
A politician wants a war in Iraq. In order to finance the war he must propose a tax on some discretionary (and THAT is important) item. If you agree that a war is what YOU want, then you buy that item. Ergo, supporting the war.
If you disagree with the war effort you refrain from purchasing that particular item… Ergo, voting against it.
THIS is the true power of Gold and Silver being used as a medium of exchange. It puts Y O U in control of your government and I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t like to be in control of their government.