In this autobiographical piece, I show how my inflation work-arounds backfired spectacularly. All my Life Maxims were right ... I just figured them out too late.
My journey to Substack author began with one weekly newspaper in Millbrook, Alabama being shut down. This paper was shut down because it wasn't making enough money. It wasn't making enough money because not enough local businesses were buying ads. The easiest work-around for businesses is to cut out or cut back on advertising - which kills newspapers. If you are a subscriber newspaper, you are in trouble when subscribers decide they can cancel their paid subscriptions. That happened in mass in the newspaper and magazine business as well.
I always thought the "real economy" wasn't as robust as we were told because I knew local advertising was going down (a work-around) and paid subscriptions were going down (another work-around).
It always seemed to me that the truth-seeking watchdog press should have known the real state of the economy before anyone else. Why didn't these journalists report this? Probably because it went against the authorized narrative. According to the authorized narrative until four years ago, inflation was too low! And didn't exist.
Of course, I'm now in a business where I depend on ... paid subscribers. But this is the only place a journalist like me can write stories like this.
I know this: The work-arounds aren't disappearing.
Regarding the “pet rocks” or “barbarous relics” of gold and silver ...
... what our Narrative Controllers did with real money is "change the narrative."
Once upon a time - in our grandparents’ generations - people thought owning gold or silver was probably smart. Now, hardly anybody thinks this. Everyone now thinks it’s smart to put their assets into stuff backed by “Monopoly money.”
After all, that money is backed by the full-faith and credit of the U.S. government! And we can always believe our government won’t tell us any lies.
So now The Accepted Narrative is that people who still believe in gold or silver are crazy kooks. The SMART people believe in the currency printed in infinite quantities by the government and/or the Federal Reserve.
See the importance of changing the narrative? And how easy it is to do this.
That's why the "captured" media you referenced is so dangerous. It's nauseating seeing the outright propaganda from the legacy media outlets go unchallenged. I believe we are circling the drain.
I will say it yet again: The fourth estate has become the fifth column.
There's even a "back story" to my original work-around story (that The American Conservative and other sites chose not to run). This is another example of a "work-around!"
Since I couldn't find any mainstream news organization that would publish this article, I emailed it to a friend I'd corresponded with who publishes a blog ("Of Two Minds.")
This friend really liked the article and thought it was was important. As it turns out, some of his blog posts were picked up by the website Zero Hedge. This man published this article as a "guest post" on his blog ... and then Zero Hedge ran that piece.
So that's how I got my big "break-through" article at a website read by millions of readers. It was a work-around!
(Zero Hedge has now run several of my articles that I didn't have to funnel through another author).
Could also be called facing facts, the truth, or dissolving delusion - which we know our entire culture, now dominated by media instead of religion, is repulsed by.
Thanks for sharing your open honest journey, nothing compares to truth.
Ouch. That story hurts. Like you, Bill, I own silver and gold. Not a ton, but a significant (for me) amount. But I knew precious metals were rigged the day I read that JPMorgan owned 900 million ounces. They can do whatever they want to the market, any time they want.
One thing I've never understood: if a society does fall apart, and if you have a stash of silver or gold under your floor...
1. Maybe precious metals will be worth absolutely nothing as they have no inherent value
2. How would you use them in transactions?
#2 is mostly rhetorical.
On second thought, maybe you're just talking about a screwed up economy rather than the end of civilization-as-we-know-it. I guess in that case you could go sell your gold, but wouldn't inflation still devalue it?
That said, I used to own a custom color photo lab. Rather than letting silver go down the drain*, I participated in a trial program for low-volume labs to use silver recovery systems. Somewhere I have some ingots of silver**, I don't even remember how much. At the time, the mid-'80s, I think silver was at its all-time high. Today my little hoard would be worth maybe 100 bucks?
* Unlike black-and-white photography where the image on the paper is actually created by silver compounds, the silver content of color film and paper (required for the light sensitive reaction) is completely replaced by dye, and all the silver goes down the drain. Bigger labs would of course have silver recovery systems. It wasn't worth it for a little lab like mine.
** The people running the trial program had a funny story about one (big) lab owner and how he stored his accumulated silver. He cast it into gnomes and animal shapes, painted them black, and put them in his yard. Possibly apocryphal, but I just love that image.
One reason I like silver and silver coins is that it has so many denominations and weights, you could use it for every-day purchases. Some states might end up legalizing it as currency or legal tender. This was the case in America for decades.
But you could find some store owner who would accept silver over cash. They'd jump at taking it probably.
But, really, I always viewed silver (or gold) as something that would let you keep your wealth until the inflation or economy improved.
A silver quarter, if you sold it, would buy much more than a gallon of gas today. That same quarter in 1963 would also buy a gallon of gas. You can get MORE gas for the same quarter today.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but silver was accepted as currency at numerous/most businesses for decades in American history. We've all seen movies where the cowboy throws a silver dollar (or a silver "round") on the bar and says "a round for everyone!"
That silver might have been minted by the U.S. government, but it might have been minted by some accepted company that makes silver rounds. Those cowboys might not have even resided in a U.S. state - but silver was accepted as payment.
I don't know why we couldn't go back to that - well, I guess I do know why!
There are also gold coins in Donald Duck big vault and in every pirate movie =)
The real thing is that gold is maintanace free and hold its state. If you have paper notes, it will dissolve in water or bad weather, gold will survive. Similar with operation cost, you don't need Internet access or some bank desk to operate it. Just take it and say, if you give my your car I will give you this two 1uz coins. That's all.
Correct. Silver clearly is used as an industrial metal. Gold is to a minor extent and has wonderful qualities for many industrial uses. But it is so sought after that it is too expensive! And then there is jewelry.
You must watch the Ray Kurzweil interview from last week. He stated flat out the new technology will all be rolled out by 2029 … our minds will be uploaded to the cloud … two-way mind reading technology.. explains how 15 minute cities will work etc… we are all connected to the clouds/ down to our bone marrow … everything from your worst nightmares .. and no one is asking permission… it’s a done DEAL
You are right. All of it. Now it's time to focus on something else such as how the elite are about to be foiled. We're actually ahead of the curve. Do some digging.
Thanks, Richard. I know how to foil their plans. Expose one major scandal - definitively, in a way that everyone knows they have been lied to. This would lead to a massive purge of our "leadership" class. That's my thought and hope anyway.
Also, we need more real investigative journalists and platforms where their work can be widely read. I've got an idea on how to help that happen as well. Stay tuned!
I rather suspect that gold, and silver to a lesser degree (it's much more directed to industrial uses, makes it less of a currency hedge) is being pressured in the same way that downtown real estate, commercial especially, is being pressured downward by the intentionally induced crime waves and homeless encampments. Drive it so low that most people can't or don't want to hold on to them as depreciating or under-appreciating assets, makes scooping them up at rock-bottom prices that much easier, so when the pincer move comes they've cornered and monopolized the market. They play the long game, betting they can hold out longer than the rest of us. It's how they own everything and we own nothing, happily?
The addicts, homeless and other criminals (admittedly, not quite all homeless are criminals) are the developers' wrecking ball. Blackrock will own everything, and you will be happy. (So long as you maintain your social credit score.)
In my mind's eye I can see the hyperinflation of the Weimer Republic and various South American countries in more recent memory. Having some silver and gold coins handy to keep food on the table while the paper money economy is collapsing seems like a reasonable work around to me. We'll need a way to make ends meet while we find local farmers to buy meat and milk and butter and eggs from. Gold and silver coins seem like just the thing. I'm stocking my pond with catfish and bass too. You just never know what the future holds. Diversification, self sufficiency and neighbors helping neighbors all seem like prudent strategies to me. If people think paper money inflation is bad wait until we get a load of digital money inflation, especially if the central bankers start printing it like they did starting in March 2020. Don't know if people know this but the money supply was increased by almost half then. Read John Titus Substack. You can find him on Solari Report as well. I'm going to keep my gold and silver handy, just in case.
Digital currencies are just another form of fiat currency, but with a twist. They can force unwanted purchases by use of enforceable regulations. They can also be used for social credit control. Even so, people will seek out real money (precious metals) in an effort to conserve their wealth. That said, it can unfortunately take a long time for that to play out. If China and Russia are in on The Great Reset it will probably take a long time. If they are not, expect it to play out quicker, which means the precious metals will reassert themselves sooner. Full disclosure: I'm not a Bitcoin enthusiast.
Good points. I think "they" have been game-planning for digital currency for many years. Covid and the digital vaccine passports expedited the process/transition. This might have been one of the main reasons we had to have the pandemic.
My guess would be "they" don't like bitcoin either - it's another alternative to the "money" they create and control.
I always liked gold and silver because it was "real." You could store it somewhere. This said, I guess I get the appeal of bitcoin for so many people. They are probably betting that the government money will be rejected by the masses at some point.
Historically there has always been a cycle back and forth between fiat currencies and real money. Governments overspend and create debt, which, if large enough, cannot be repaid other than by paying with inflated fiat currency. This has caused the impoverishment of the non-bourgeois classes and wars. We are facing that same situation now. Timing of the events is only possible for knowledgeable insiders. The rest of us are relegated to guessing. Out of the ashes currencies based on real money may develop and last for a long while. CBDC's may gain traction, and if based somehow on real money, could be trusted by the public in such a situation. Unfortunately that would not lower their inherent social control potential.
Thanks. I don't think CBDC would ever be "backed" in any way by precious metals or "sound money." That would be an admission that gold and silver are important and should be viewed favorably. But, at some point - after all the impending economic meltdowns invariably happen - that's probably going to be the solution. Just go back to backing currency, in some way, with real money - which forces government to spend within its means.
I've posted elsewhere that Mexico - one of the great producers of silver - ought to legalize silver coins as currency right now. This would get one nation ahead of the inflation curve and create great benefits for their economy and citizens. One millionaire in Mexico has been pushing this idea for years ... but he's of course being ignored.
I don't think you're wrong. Almost everything is manipulated to some degree. They can’t have people figuring out how to be successful, right?
Take the progressive income tax. The only reason to have a system like that -- is to keep people from becoming independently wealthy.
Some people look at taxes as a way to force investment. If you put your money in the market you avoid taxes, but if you keep your money, or do what you want to with it, you are penalized. They are trying to force you to give your money to someone else [investment] for YEARS with the "promise" that you'll get some return on it.
For me, it’s just another way to rig the game. I watched my 401k drop $2,000 in one night. Then I made a decision. I pulled the money out, I used it to pay off my house, pay off a 2nd mortgage, get rid of my wife’s school loans, and pay off a car loan.
The way I saw it, my money was safer in the house. The housing prices might fluctuate, but, like gold, they are never really going to stay down. Housing prices will always trend up in the long run. After all, property is one of the only things they aren’t making more of.
Sure I took a big tax hit, because I’m under 59.5-years old, but hey, now I have no house payment.
The way I see it, the [rigged] system isn’t going to allow for any kind of retirement anymore. Other than winning the lottery, that’s not going to happen for most people my age, because inflation is going to quickly outrun any possible tax-sheltered investment returns anyway. It's all based on economic activity, and the government is working day and night to decrease economic activity.
So, what do we do? We do the best we can -- that’s what we do! I have no good answers for what’s going on, other than to try and get as many people as possible to see how things are being manipulated. That’s the only way any of this changes from what I can see.
Thanks, Ogre. My "solution" is someone - somehow - has to DEFINITIVELY - prove that one of these narratives that control our lives is a spectacular and brazen lie ... fraud, crime, scam, etc. Intentionally so.
If that every happened - if that light went off in enough people's skulls - the same people might start asking, "Well, what else have we been lied to about?" And the answer is going to be: "Ah, just about everything."
Then we might get some "real change." But that would take a real and massive "purge" of everyone in every leadership position of every important organization in the world.
But, somehow, we've got to prove the first Big Lie/Scandal. Which is almost impossible because ... all the truth-seeking organizations are completely captured!
It's like we're all living in the novel "Catch-22."
Gold and silver spot market prices are set daily by big banks. These banks used to be Rothschild central banker owned. To create the illusion of a free market, the banks that set the prices no longer carry the Rothschild name. Central bankers therefore fully control the metals markets. If you study the Pujo Commission report from 1912 and read Senator Lindbergh’s books from that time, you’ll find that the global markets were fully controlled by central banking families already in the 1890s. Today, this includes crypto, via the various crypto working groups worldwide. The Bank for International Settlements controls all.
Gold and silver are mentioned in UN Agenda 21 vision statements from 20 years ago. They will be used as a form of barter after global, regional and local digital currencies launch, to replace cash. They will likely see continued price depression in order to help ensure those seeking anonymity in financial transactions are punished financially. Bartering useful physical objects will be much more lucrative than metals imo. Invest in metal fabrication equipment instead, for example.
I referenced how the price of silver fell off a cliff in about 36 hours after the lockdowns - plunging from about $25/ounce to under $13/ounce.
One might say this was a perfect buying opportunity for "stackers." The produce we want was having a fire sale!
Alas, that spot price set by the riggers isn't the real price. Nobody in the world could buy a silver dollar for $13 on March 20, 2020. Supply and demand still worked for the actual silver dealers/retailers.
That's another thing I learned in my days as a stacker. The "real price" is much different than the "futures" price.
I will never own a Substack or any channel but you’re welcome. My info is truly free, but equally useless since we’re all caught in the same Luciferian trap. Christ is freedom.
The world markets are controlled via the Financial Stability Forum at the Bank for International Settlements. In the US you will find additional control via the Plunge Protection Team. In addition, various “working groups” worldwide further help to control markets, including crypto.
Bill - am sorry but must end the monthly ko-fi contribution. When I contact support@ko-fi.com, Google replies I have no posting privileges. I do not know how to handle this. Please advise me. Thank you.
Damn. I need all the ko-fi supporters I can get. And thank you for your past support. What's your "handle" on Ko-fi? This is disconcerting as I wonder how many other would-be subscribers or ko-fi donors might be encountering these same issues.
The "work-around" might be to subscribe every now and then for just one month (which is just $6) and then, after you subscribe, cancel your subscription ... but I know that's a hassle.
Thanks for letting me know so I can gauge if this is happening to more people. You've done the only thing I would do - go to ko-fi support, where you didn't get a good answer.
When I get a Ko-Fi donation, I get an email from Ko-Fi. I can go to my dashboard and see who gave me the donation and how much the "tip" was. I can usually click on my Stripe or Ko-Fi data bases and get more info about who gave a payment and how much and what dates, etc. Maybe I could use that info to investigate what's going on.
I just got an email from Ko-Fi saying they have changed the "terms and conditions" of their business. It seems like they now might be monitoring content for disinformation, but I'm not sure. If so ... this would be ... not good for "Covid Contrarian" substack authors.
I use 4Freedom as my substack handle and my payment is via PayPal. Is that enough to track it down? I just spent an hour at ko-fi.com trying to find how to discontinue my monthly donation and I can say it is a merry-go-round … most obtuse site I’ve ever encountered Impossible to send a help request unless you are a member of ko-fi. I hate to take up your time with this but am completely stymied. Thank you.
The PayPal donations go directly to my wife, who set up my KoFi ap. When was the last payment you made to me that you think went through?
I do get notifications from Ko-Fi even when the money went to my wife's PayPal account.
And these are/were recurring "monthly" donations? Those are rare. How much were the donations if you don't mind me asking?
It could be PayPal, Stripe and/or Ko-Fi have all figured out a way to "de-monetize" contrarian content providers? My payments actually come from Stripe and PayPal (but the vast majority through Stripe).
At this stage I think it's impossible to deny the rigging in the precious metals market (certainly the COMEX paper market). With the criminal prosecutions, admissions (was it Gensler who said a few years ago in a TV interview that they [SEC] were tamping down the market, I forget now), and the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. This has been going on for years. I wrote about one from WW1 that greatly benefited the US mining industry.
I watched it every day for a decade. It's brazen. There's a reason they are doing this or have to do this. But "gold and silver rigging" aren't on the radar of scandals for hardly any American. The "gold bugs" know about it. Of course, this has allowed them to get more ounces at depressed prices!
Ask yourself this: Would the narrative about the economy - or the dollar - change if silver suddenly went to $100? Or gold to $10,000? I think it would.
Would "they" prevent this if they could? I think they would.
I think that's a primary reason for rigging; to keep the illusion of the 'stability' of fiat in place. If they let the price go people like me and probably you might get more of a hearing. They can let the price go. The banks admit to being 'market makers' - I think Chris Marcus covered this. MM by banks in a commodity futures market should be a crime, like naked shorts should be a crime.
If you believe in dialectics as I do it is easier to be patient for change, knowing that it is going below the surface and will eventually be revealed as “sudden.”
It one is a stacker, price is irrelevant. It’s ounces that matter. Metals should not be bought because one believes they are going to rich. They are an insurance policy against a total currency collapse. Gold tracks inflation over time. Silver not so much, although it’s day is coming.
For example, it takes about the same number of ounces of gold to buy the median priced house in the US today as it did in 1975. That’s gold keeping pace with inflation.
Another example, longer term. During the Roman Empire it took an ounce of gold for a member of the empires upper crust to buy a custom made Toga out of fine (but not the finest) cloth. Today, an ounce of gold will buy you a custom suit out of fine (but not the finest) cloth.
Are the prices manipulated? In the short term, yes. Over the long term its not that clear. Now that so much of the trading has been pulled out of COMEX and into foreign exchanges we are seeing wider divergence in price. That bodes well for higher future prices.
Metals and miners will have their day. They always do, when most have capitulated.
Copy. I found the best way to do it is just allocate the same amount of fiat every month on an auto purchase plan with a reputable dealer. Lower premiums and you don’t even think about it. Even 50 a month grabs 25oz of silver a year at current price.
BTW. I owe you a paid sub, which I will take care of tomorrow.
I started my stacking journey after literally losing it all in the dot com bust. So I know the feeling, sadly.
Thanks for the sub, Moody. I don't have the disposable income to "stack" any more. I still have some silver. I still think this effort to suppress the price is going to fail at some point. People who are stacking are going to be glad they did. It's still not too late. I just saw a silver dollar is about $28 to $30 on APMEX. I used to get them for $20 to $25. They are going to be $100 at some point. You won't be able to get them at any price at some point.
Copy. Yeah eventually you will be glad you held on to what you could. Just to show you how much is concealed. The US govt does not even list silver on their critical minerals list, despite the fact that the use millions and millions of pounds…every weapons system, every smart bomb, every satellite, every solar panel. And they source 79% of what they use from foreign sources in order to surpress the price and hide what they are really using.
More and more US miners are holding back their raw product. Not enough yet to make a difference. But the movement is growing and eventually will impact supply.
Now, if you want to talk about my mining portfolio, which is down 50% since April 2022…nah…let’s just ignore that disaster. Lol.
We can exchange war stories on the mining stocks one day. I ended up using physyical silver as collateral to buy the dang mining stocks ... and basically, sold off all my stocks to pay the bills and then lost my collateral on the loan.
If there was justice, I'd have a hell of a lawsuit for price rigging in these markets. But there's no justice.
Ouch. Nothing else to say on that. Since hitting a 10 year high in April 2022 (when I should have at least taken profits) I’m down 60%. Whatever. I don’t count my PM portfolio in our total NAV which makes it easier to ignore. I also have some PM Jrs in an IRA that I inherited from my dad. I don’t count those either. He wanted me to continue to hold them and so I have.
I’ll be rooting for you. I’m ‘supposed’ to start writing someday about the crazy life my wife and I have lived since 2010…living on our 35ft sailboat. I’ve got a million stories, maybe I’ll eventually get around to telling a few of them. In the meantime, wishing you the best.
OFF TOPIC: A subscriber from the Caribbean just emailed me more conclusive evidence that chickens DO cross the road. For photographic evidence, go to the end of this recent story.
(I always appreciate chicken photos from my subscribers.)
My journey to Substack author began with one weekly newspaper in Millbrook, Alabama being shut down. This paper was shut down because it wasn't making enough money. It wasn't making enough money because not enough local businesses were buying ads. The easiest work-around for businesses is to cut out or cut back on advertising - which kills newspapers. If you are a subscriber newspaper, you are in trouble when subscribers decide they can cancel their paid subscriptions. That happened in mass in the newspaper and magazine business as well.
I always thought the "real economy" wasn't as robust as we were told because I knew local advertising was going down (a work-around) and paid subscriptions were going down (another work-around).
It always seemed to me that the truth-seeking watchdog press should have known the real state of the economy before anyone else. Why didn't these journalists report this? Probably because it went against the authorized narrative. According to the authorized narrative until four years ago, inflation was too low! And didn't exist.
Of course, I'm now in a business where I depend on ... paid subscribers. But this is the only place a journalist like me can write stories like this.
I know this: The work-arounds aren't disappearing.
Regarding the “pet rocks” or “barbarous relics” of gold and silver ...
... what our Narrative Controllers did with real money is "change the narrative."
Once upon a time - in our grandparents’ generations - people thought owning gold or silver was probably smart. Now, hardly anybody thinks this. Everyone now thinks it’s smart to put their assets into stuff backed by “Monopoly money.”
After all, that money is backed by the full-faith and credit of the U.S. government! And we can always believe our government won’t tell us any lies.
So now The Accepted Narrative is that people who still believe in gold or silver are crazy kooks. The SMART people believe in the currency printed in infinite quantities by the government and/or the Federal Reserve.
See the importance of changing the narrative? And how easy it is to do this.
Another one of my Life Maxims: "Control the Narrative and you control the world."
That's why the "captured" media you referenced is so dangerous. It's nauseating seeing the outright propaganda from the legacy media outlets go unchallenged. I believe we are circling the drain.
I will say it yet again: The fourth estate has become the fifth column.
Take care.
"The NIght The Bear Ate Goombaw" was the actual book compiled from his articles.
Sequences not only don't dissappear, they never even lessen.
There's even a "back story" to my original work-around story (that The American Conservative and other sites chose not to run). This is another example of a "work-around!"
Since I couldn't find any mainstream news organization that would publish this article, I emailed it to a friend I'd corresponded with who publishes a blog ("Of Two Minds.")
This friend really liked the article and thought it was was important. As it turns out, some of his blog posts were picked up by the website Zero Hedge. This man published this article as a "guest post" on his blog ... and then Zero Hedge ran that piece.
So that's how I got my big "break-through" article at a website read by millions of readers. It was a work-around!
(Zero Hedge has now run several of my articles that I didn't have to funnel through another author).
Could also be called facing facts, the truth, or dissolving delusion - which we know our entire culture, now dominated by media instead of religion, is repulsed by.
Thanks for sharing your open honest journey, nothing compares to truth.
Ouch. That story hurts. Like you, Bill, I own silver and gold. Not a ton, but a significant (for me) amount. But I knew precious metals were rigged the day I read that JPMorgan owned 900 million ounces. They can do whatever they want to the market, any time they want.
Hold onto it. Yes, JP Morgan is the big/main crook in the rigging operation, according to most people who follow this closely and my own Spider Sense.
This was the same bank Epstein laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through
I have just stayed in all cash....and I think like Bill, I should have just held on to the stocks I had.
and if the FRN goes to nothing or nearly nothing, what then?
One thing I've never understood: if a society does fall apart, and if you have a stash of silver or gold under your floor...
1. Maybe precious metals will be worth absolutely nothing as they have no inherent value
2. How would you use them in transactions?
#2 is mostly rhetorical.
On second thought, maybe you're just talking about a screwed up economy rather than the end of civilization-as-we-know-it. I guess in that case you could go sell your gold, but wouldn't inflation still devalue it?
That said, I used to own a custom color photo lab. Rather than letting silver go down the drain*, I participated in a trial program for low-volume labs to use silver recovery systems. Somewhere I have some ingots of silver**, I don't even remember how much. At the time, the mid-'80s, I think silver was at its all-time high. Today my little hoard would be worth maybe 100 bucks?
* Unlike black-and-white photography where the image on the paper is actually created by silver compounds, the silver content of color film and paper (required for the light sensitive reaction) is completely replaced by dye, and all the silver goes down the drain. Bigger labs would of course have silver recovery systems. It wasn't worth it for a little lab like mine.
** The people running the trial program had a funny story about one (big) lab owner and how he stored his accumulated silver. He cast it into gnomes and animal shapes, painted them black, and put them in his yard. Possibly apocryphal, but I just love that image.
One reason I like silver and silver coins is that it has so many denominations and weights, you could use it for every-day purchases. Some states might end up legalizing it as currency or legal tender. This was the case in America for decades.
But you could find some store owner who would accept silver over cash. They'd jump at taking it probably.
But, really, I always viewed silver (or gold) as something that would let you keep your wealth until the inflation or economy improved.
A silver quarter, if you sold it, would buy much more than a gallon of gas today. That same quarter in 1963 would also buy a gallon of gas. You can get MORE gas for the same quarter today.
But only if it's silver.
the answer to statement one is gold and silver do have inherent (intrinsic) value. I know many people don't believe that.
and two how would you use gold and silver. Just like you use fiat now. When things stabilize money will return. Markets take time to develop.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but silver was accepted as currency at numerous/most businesses for decades in American history. We've all seen movies where the cowboy throws a silver dollar (or a silver "round") on the bar and says "a round for everyone!"
That silver might have been minted by the U.S. government, but it might have been minted by some accepted company that makes silver rounds. Those cowboys might not have even resided in a U.S. state - but silver was accepted as payment.
I don't know why we couldn't go back to that - well, I guess I do know why!
There are also gold coins in Donald Duck big vault and in every pirate movie =)
The real thing is that gold is maintanace free and hold its state. If you have paper notes, it will dissolve in water or bad weather, gold will survive. Similar with operation cost, you don't need Internet access or some bank desk to operate it. Just take it and say, if you give my your car I will give you this two 1uz coins. That's all.
Correct. Silver clearly is used as an industrial metal. Gold is to a minor extent and has wonderful qualities for many industrial uses. But it is so sought after that it is too expensive! And then there is jewelry.
I understand your point.
My point: you can't eat it. It would be worthless if things fall apart completely.
Yes, that is a common concern. Everything depends on your own preparations for whatever situations you believe are most likely.
You must watch the Ray Kurzweil interview from last week. He stated flat out the new technology will all be rolled out by 2029 … our minds will be uploaded to the cloud … two-way mind reading technology.. explains how 15 minute cities will work etc… we are all connected to the clouds/ down to our bone marrow … everything from your worst nightmares .. and no one is asking permission… it’s a done DEAL
Do you have a link?
I posted it & tagged Bill.
I don’t know how to link. Sorry.
It’s on YouTube
I will repost & tag you 😀
Bill,
You are right. All of it. Now it's time to focus on something else such as how the elite are about to be foiled. We're actually ahead of the curve. Do some digging.
Thanks, Richard. I know how to foil their plans. Expose one major scandal - definitively, in a way that everyone knows they have been lied to. This would lead to a massive purge of our "leadership" class. That's my thought and hope anyway.
Also, we need more real investigative journalists and platforms where their work can be widely read. I've got an idea on how to help that happen as well. Stay tuned!
I rather suspect that gold, and silver to a lesser degree (it's much more directed to industrial uses, makes it less of a currency hedge) is being pressured in the same way that downtown real estate, commercial especially, is being pressured downward by the intentionally induced crime waves and homeless encampments. Drive it so low that most people can't or don't want to hold on to them as depreciating or under-appreciating assets, makes scooping them up at rock-bottom prices that much easier, so when the pincer move comes they've cornered and monopolized the market. They play the long game, betting they can hold out longer than the rest of us. It's how they own everything and we own nothing, happily?
The addicts, homeless and other criminals (admittedly, not quite all homeless are criminals) are the developers' wrecking ball. Blackrock will own everything, and you will be happy. (So long as you maintain your social credit score.)
In my mind's eye I can see the hyperinflation of the Weimer Republic and various South American countries in more recent memory. Having some silver and gold coins handy to keep food on the table while the paper money economy is collapsing seems like a reasonable work around to me. We'll need a way to make ends meet while we find local farmers to buy meat and milk and butter and eggs from. Gold and silver coins seem like just the thing. I'm stocking my pond with catfish and bass too. You just never know what the future holds. Diversification, self sufficiency and neighbors helping neighbors all seem like prudent strategies to me. If people think paper money inflation is bad wait until we get a load of digital money inflation, especially if the central bankers start printing it like they did starting in March 2020. Don't know if people know this but the money supply was increased by almost half then. Read John Titus Substack. You can find him on Solari Report as well. I'm going to keep my gold and silver handy, just in case.
Digital currencies are just another form of fiat currency, but with a twist. They can force unwanted purchases by use of enforceable regulations. They can also be used for social credit control. Even so, people will seek out real money (precious metals) in an effort to conserve their wealth. That said, it can unfortunately take a long time for that to play out. If China and Russia are in on The Great Reset it will probably take a long time. If they are not, expect it to play out quicker, which means the precious metals will reassert themselves sooner. Full disclosure: I'm not a Bitcoin enthusiast.
Good points. I think "they" have been game-planning for digital currency for many years. Covid and the digital vaccine passports expedited the process/transition. This might have been one of the main reasons we had to have the pandemic.
I think that’s what Bitcoin is all about.Create it but not take credit for it. Promote it and see how it is received.
I read somewhere that the plan is to takeover bitcoin.
My guess would be "they" don't like bitcoin either - it's another alternative to the "money" they create and control.
I always liked gold and silver because it was "real." You could store it somewhere. This said, I guess I get the appeal of bitcoin for so many people. They are probably betting that the government money will be rejected by the masses at some point.
Historically there has always been a cycle back and forth between fiat currencies and real money. Governments overspend and create debt, which, if large enough, cannot be repaid other than by paying with inflated fiat currency. This has caused the impoverishment of the non-bourgeois classes and wars. We are facing that same situation now. Timing of the events is only possible for knowledgeable insiders. The rest of us are relegated to guessing. Out of the ashes currencies based on real money may develop and last for a long while. CBDC's may gain traction, and if based somehow on real money, could be trusted by the public in such a situation. Unfortunately that would not lower their inherent social control potential.
Thanks. I don't think CBDC would ever be "backed" in any way by precious metals or "sound money." That would be an admission that gold and silver are important and should be viewed favorably. But, at some point - after all the impending economic meltdowns invariably happen - that's probably going to be the solution. Just go back to backing currency, in some way, with real money - which forces government to spend within its means.
I've posted elsewhere that Mexico - one of the great producers of silver - ought to legalize silver coins as currency right now. This would get one nation ahead of the inflation curve and create great benefits for their economy and citizens. One millionaire in Mexico has been pushing this idea for years ... but he's of course being ignored.
Bill, great post!
I don't think you're wrong. Almost everything is manipulated to some degree. They can’t have people figuring out how to be successful, right?
Take the progressive income tax. The only reason to have a system like that -- is to keep people from becoming independently wealthy.
Some people look at taxes as a way to force investment. If you put your money in the market you avoid taxes, but if you keep your money, or do what you want to with it, you are penalized. They are trying to force you to give your money to someone else [investment] for YEARS with the "promise" that you'll get some return on it.
For me, it’s just another way to rig the game. I watched my 401k drop $2,000 in one night. Then I made a decision. I pulled the money out, I used it to pay off my house, pay off a 2nd mortgage, get rid of my wife’s school loans, and pay off a car loan.
The way I saw it, my money was safer in the house. The housing prices might fluctuate, but, like gold, they are never really going to stay down. Housing prices will always trend up in the long run. After all, property is one of the only things they aren’t making more of.
Sure I took a big tax hit, because I’m under 59.5-years old, but hey, now I have no house payment.
The way I see it, the [rigged] system isn’t going to allow for any kind of retirement anymore. Other than winning the lottery, that’s not going to happen for most people my age, because inflation is going to quickly outrun any possible tax-sheltered investment returns anyway. It's all based on economic activity, and the government is working day and night to decrease economic activity.
So, what do we do? We do the best we can -- that’s what we do! I have no good answers for what’s going on, other than to try and get as many people as possible to see how things are being manipulated. That’s the only way any of this changes from what I can see.
Thanks, Ogre. My "solution" is someone - somehow - has to DEFINITIVELY - prove that one of these narratives that control our lives is a spectacular and brazen lie ... fraud, crime, scam, etc. Intentionally so.
If that every happened - if that light went off in enough people's skulls - the same people might start asking, "Well, what else have we been lied to about?" And the answer is going to be: "Ah, just about everything."
Then we might get some "real change." But that would take a real and massive "purge" of everyone in every leadership position of every important organization in the world.
But, somehow, we've got to prove the first Big Lie/Scandal. Which is almost impossible because ... all the truth-seeking organizations are completely captured!
It's like we're all living in the novel "Catch-22."
Gold and silver spot market prices are set daily by big banks. These banks used to be Rothschild central banker owned. To create the illusion of a free market, the banks that set the prices no longer carry the Rothschild name. Central bankers therefore fully control the metals markets. If you study the Pujo Commission report from 1912 and read Senator Lindbergh’s books from that time, you’ll find that the global markets were fully controlled by central banking families already in the 1890s. Today, this includes crypto, via the various crypto working groups worldwide. The Bank for International Settlements controls all.
Gold and silver are mentioned in UN Agenda 21 vision statements from 20 years ago. They will be used as a form of barter after global, regional and local digital currencies launch, to replace cash. They will likely see continued price depression in order to help ensure those seeking anonymity in financial transactions are punished financially. Bartering useful physical objects will be much more lucrative than metals imo. Invest in metal fabrication equipment instead, for example.
Cigarettes would be valuable to many people.
Homeopathic remedies and naturopathic pharmaceutical grade oils. All are of which can last many decades. People will want medicine that works.
I referenced how the price of silver fell off a cliff in about 36 hours after the lockdowns - plunging from about $25/ounce to under $13/ounce.
One might say this was a perfect buying opportunity for "stackers." The produce we want was having a fire sale!
Alas, that spot price set by the riggers isn't the real price. Nobody in the world could buy a silver dollar for $13 on March 20, 2020. Supply and demand still worked for the actual silver dealers/retailers.
That's another thing I learned in my days as a stacker. The "real price" is much different than the "futures" price.
Real price is always based on spot price. Therefore, real price is still controlled. You will never see a complete separation of the two.
I will never own a Substack or any channel but you’re welcome. My info is truly free, but equally useless since we’re all caught in the same Luciferian trap. Christ is freedom.
The world markets are controlled via the Financial Stability Forum at the Bank for International Settlements. In the US you will find additional control via the Plunge Protection Team. In addition, various “working groups” worldwide further help to control markets, including crypto.
Bill - am sorry but must end the monthly ko-fi contribution. When I contact support@ko-fi.com, Google replies I have no posting privileges. I do not know how to handle this. Please advise me. Thank you.
Damn. I need all the ko-fi supporters I can get. And thank you for your past support. What's your "handle" on Ko-fi? This is disconcerting as I wonder how many other would-be subscribers or ko-fi donors might be encountering these same issues.
The "work-around" might be to subscribe every now and then for just one month (which is just $6) and then, after you subscribe, cancel your subscription ... but I know that's a hassle.
Thanks for letting me know so I can gauge if this is happening to more people. You've done the only thing I would do - go to ko-fi support, where you didn't get a good answer.
Hmm.
Thanks for responding, Bill. If I have a “handle” I don’t know what it is. I’ll keep trying to find the answer.
When I get a Ko-Fi donation, I get an email from Ko-Fi. I can go to my dashboard and see who gave me the donation and how much the "tip" was. I can usually click on my Stripe or Ko-Fi data bases and get more info about who gave a payment and how much and what dates, etc. Maybe I could use that info to investigate what's going on.
I just got an email from Ko-Fi saying they have changed the "terms and conditions" of their business. It seems like they now might be monitoring content for disinformation, but I'm not sure. If so ... this would be ... not good for "Covid Contrarian" substack authors.
I use 4Freedom as my substack handle and my payment is via PayPal. Is that enough to track it down? I just spent an hour at ko-fi.com trying to find how to discontinue my monthly donation and I can say it is a merry-go-round … most obtuse site I’ve ever encountered Impossible to send a help request unless you are a member of ko-fi. I hate to take up your time with this but am completely stymied. Thank you.
The PayPal donations go directly to my wife, who set up my KoFi ap. When was the last payment you made to me that you think went through?
I do get notifications from Ko-Fi even when the money went to my wife's PayPal account.
And these are/were recurring "monthly" donations? Those are rare. How much were the donations if you don't mind me asking?
It could be PayPal, Stripe and/or Ko-Fi have all figured out a way to "de-monetize" contrarian content providers? My payments actually come from Stripe and PayPal (but the vast majority through Stripe).
I hope not.
Feb 6 was my last processed payment via PayPal for $3. It was monthly. I had intended to do it occasionally, not monthly.
At this stage I think it's impossible to deny the rigging in the precious metals market (certainly the COMEX paper market). With the criminal prosecutions, admissions (was it Gensler who said a few years ago in a TV interview that they [SEC] were tamping down the market, I forget now), and the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. This has been going on for years. I wrote about one from WW1 that greatly benefited the US mining industry.
1920 - Who Stole The Silver?
https://craighutchinson.substack.com/p/new-zealands-financial-resets-110-4f8
I watched it every day for a decade. It's brazen. There's a reason they are doing this or have to do this. But "gold and silver rigging" aren't on the radar of scandals for hardly any American. The "gold bugs" know about it. Of course, this has allowed them to get more ounces at depressed prices!
Ask yourself this: Would the narrative about the economy - or the dollar - change if silver suddenly went to $100? Or gold to $10,000? I think it would.
Would "they" prevent this if they could? I think they would.
Can they prevent this?
Of course they can!
I think that's a primary reason for rigging; to keep the illusion of the 'stability' of fiat in place. If they let the price go people like me and probably you might get more of a hearing. They can let the price go. The banks admit to being 'market makers' - I think Chris Marcus covered this. MM by banks in a commodity futures market should be a crime, like naked shorts should be a crime.
If you believe in dialectics as I do it is easier to be patient for change, knowing that it is going below the surface and will eventually be revealed as “sudden.”
It one is a stacker, price is irrelevant. It’s ounces that matter. Metals should not be bought because one believes they are going to rich. They are an insurance policy against a total currency collapse. Gold tracks inflation over time. Silver not so much, although it’s day is coming.
For example, it takes about the same number of ounces of gold to buy the median priced house in the US today as it did in 1975. That’s gold keeping pace with inflation.
Another example, longer term. During the Roman Empire it took an ounce of gold for a member of the empires upper crust to buy a custom made Toga out of fine (but not the finest) cloth. Today, an ounce of gold will buy you a custom suit out of fine (but not the finest) cloth.
Are the prices manipulated? In the short term, yes. Over the long term its not that clear. Now that so much of the trading has been pulled out of COMEX and into foreign exchanges we are seeing wider divergence in price. That bodes well for higher future prices.
Metals and miners will have their day. They always do, when most have capitulated.
I agree. For reasons I don't want to discuss, I had to give up most of my ounces. If I'd been able to keep them, I'd feel a lot better right now.
Copy. I found the best way to do it is just allocate the same amount of fiat every month on an auto purchase plan with a reputable dealer. Lower premiums and you don’t even think about it. Even 50 a month grabs 25oz of silver a year at current price.
BTW. I owe you a paid sub, which I will take care of tomorrow.
I started my stacking journey after literally losing it all in the dot com bust. So I know the feeling, sadly.
Thanks for the sub, Moody. I don't have the disposable income to "stack" any more. I still have some silver. I still think this effort to suppress the price is going to fail at some point. People who are stacking are going to be glad they did. It's still not too late. I just saw a silver dollar is about $28 to $30 on APMEX. I used to get them for $20 to $25. They are going to be $100 at some point. You won't be able to get them at any price at some point.
Copy. Yeah eventually you will be glad you held on to what you could. Just to show you how much is concealed. The US govt does not even list silver on their critical minerals list, despite the fact that the use millions and millions of pounds…every weapons system, every smart bomb, every satellite, every solar panel. And they source 79% of what they use from foreign sources in order to surpress the price and hide what they are really using.
More and more US miners are holding back their raw product. Not enough yet to make a difference. But the movement is growing and eventually will impact supply.
Now, if you want to talk about my mining portfolio, which is down 50% since April 2022…nah…let’s just ignore that disaster. Lol.
We can exchange war stories on the mining stocks one day. I ended up using physyical silver as collateral to buy the dang mining stocks ... and basically, sold off all my stocks to pay the bills and then lost my collateral on the loan.
If there was justice, I'd have a hell of a lawsuit for price rigging in these markets. But there's no justice.
Ouch. Nothing else to say on that. Since hitting a 10 year high in April 2022 (when I should have at least taken profits) I’m down 60%. Whatever. I don’t count my PM portfolio in our total NAV which makes it easier to ignore. I also have some PM Jrs in an IRA that I inherited from my dad. I don’t count those either. He wanted me to continue to hold them and so I have.
Took care of the sub. Enjoying your efforts. Eric.
Thanks a lot, Eric. I really appreciate it. My goal is to get to 1,000 paid subscribers. That's the magic number for a Substack author.
I’ll be rooting for you. I’m ‘supposed’ to start writing someday about the crazy life my wife and I have lived since 2010…living on our 35ft sailboat. I’ve got a million stories, maybe I’ll eventually get around to telling a few of them. In the meantime, wishing you the best.
Thanks for those historical examples.
Well said, Moody.
OFF TOPIC: A subscriber from the Caribbean just emailed me more conclusive evidence that chickens DO cross the road. For photographic evidence, go to the end of this recent story.
(I always appreciate chicken photos from my subscribers.)
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2