All that glitters
Written By:
- Date published:
12:00 pm, December 18th, 2009 - 15 comments
Categories: Satire -
Tags: colbert report
Brilliant piece from Stephen Colbert on the nutty American Right’s new obsession with gold. Sure, it’s billed as a survivalist thing – preparing for the collapse of society brought on by Obama’s socialist agenda – but the truth is it’s dumb rednecks getting ripped off by immoral capitalists, again.
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Yep, China and other nations that are building up their gold reserves because of the weakening of the US dollar are just being tricked by Glen Beck….
Look at these:India Buys IMF Gold to Boost Reserves as Dollar Drops
Central Bank Said to Buy More Gold
I don’t think this is so much about survivalism. Survivalists are always buying gold and silver. This is about the US dollar.
Actually, it has to do with trying to find a valid store of value.
The trouble with gold as a survivalist thing is that it simply doesn’t work. In a survivalist future, that Hobbesian war of all against all, all a hoard of gold achieves is to paint a target on your house / bunker which attracts people to come and relieve you of the gold, at least after your ammunition runs out. Survival is far more about practical skills for a changed world than hoarding things.
The rationale behind hoarding gold is that whatever happens there will always be someone with what you want/need willing to exchange it for gold, which means he has to believe there is always going to be someone with something he wants/needs willing to exchange if for gold, and so on.
This only works as long as those affected by the disaster – whether it be war, disease or persecution etc – are in a minority so that there is still a social and/or economic order above them they can plug into. In the case of a global disaster where NO-ONE has secure sources of food, fuel, etc. to barter, gold is useless.
Personally I’m hording cans of mushy peas and cases of single malt scotch for the apocalypse.
I trust the scotch is to barter for Whiskey?
I think he means he’s using the scotch and peas to bring about the apocalypse.
Whiskey?…. Whiskey?!….Whiskey?!!
I used to think you might be an okay kind of person too. But alas!
Scotch is my one Protestant leaning. And Felix, I’m a firm believer that the apocalypse has has, is and will always be happening. Mushy peas or no.
Gold. Women. Sheep. Classic.
gli*S*ters.
the nutty American Right’s new obsession with gold. Sure, it’s billed as a survivalist thing – preparing for the collapse of society brought on by Obama’s socialist agenda – but the truth is it’s dumb rednecks getting ripped off by immoral capitalists, again.
This is what passes for analysis on the Standard?
It isn’t an American Right thing. Any number of commentators are pushing gold, for the simple reason that historically, gold prices lead high inflation. Bernanke has just printed a ton of money. You see the connection, boys?
eh?
Glen Beck shilling gold as part of his fair and ballanced look at life is not an American right thing?
Just as there are real black helicopters, there are real reasons for buying gold. This does not make Glenn Beck not a part of the nutty American right.
Also, this inflation. Where is it? The fed has been pumping out money for years now, with real interest rates at close to zero. (Genuine question).
Err, the recommendation to buy gold was most forcefully made in a 2004 book ‘Empire of Debt’ by Bill Bonner.
One argument was that Bush Administration racking up huge deficits & the US economy was going to be in serious trouble, making gold a safe investment.
Turns out Bonner was right.