 |
|||
|
|
|
 ‘Colbert Report’: Joining the Conservative Gold RushPosted on Dec 16, 2009
Glenn Beck is pushing it, as are Laura Ingraham and Bill O’Reilly. Nothing shores you up better for the coming Obamapocalypse than gold, that familiar, shiny and dependable element that calls to you, as Stephen Colbert points out, from the periodic table. Or if you don’t have gold, try women—or sheep, as an actor some of you may recognize points out in Colbert’s faux-mercial. —KA Colbert Nation:
Advertisement TAGS:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Why Bain Questions Matter
Email
Print
Share
Digg
Facebook
TwitThis
StumbleUpon
Reddit
YahooBuzz
Email
BlinkList
del.icio.us
Fark
Furl
Google
LinkedIn
Mixx
MyShare
NewsVine
Propeller
SphereIt
Technorati
YahooMyWeb
Newsletter 
Become a Fan
Follow Us
Subscribe
Tags|Bazaar|Podcast|About Us|Contact Us|User Agreement|Privacy Policy|FAQ: Comments and Moderation
Copyright © 2012 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
By Gemma Tubbrit, July 11, 2011 at 12:05 am Link to this comment
The price of gold has skyrocketed and is being touted as a must-have component of a well-diversified portfolio. But if we look deeper into it, we find more risk than one might think. Gold, in its raw state, is primarily used for investment, as in gold coins or bullion, and for jewelery or other adornments. There are industrial uses, but those pale in comparison. So the underlying demand for gold is based on its investment and adornment potential. Contrast that to other commodities, it’s clear that pricing gold is more about pricing the whims of investors than its use as a basic material.
Report thisBy Henry09, December 17, 2009 at 3:35 pm Link to this comment
Pundaint,
I understand where you’re coming from. I enjoy good satire just as much as any good humored person. But when I hear or read arguments on important issues that are saturated with contrived irony, sarcasm, or immature insults then I start wondering if satire has become just too fashionable, and a commodity bubble itself.
Report thisBy Belisarius6, December 17, 2009 at 12:28 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
You make some good points Henry09, I especially liked your analysis on the investment quality of gold as opposed to current treasury rates. At the same time let’s not beat on Colbert too bad - after all the point of his ‘tirade’ wasn’t aimed at gold itself but that it is being touted by individuals of questionable ethics.
P.S. The U.S. has the world’s largest gold reserve only because 1) it’s the largest economy, and 2) nobody has the need for tonnes of the stuff (there is simply not enough gold in the world to back the world’s economy). China, with the problem of getting rid of its U.S. dollars, is channeling some of it towards building its gold reserves - but only because they have no where better to put it. India, on the other hand, has always been a huge consumer of gold given its culture of keeping gold jewelry for emergency needs.
Report thisBy pundaint, December 17, 2009 at 7:56 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
You may have noticed that Colbert and Stewart are on the Comedy Channel.
You problem should be with the unacceptably low standard or reportage offered by
the ostensible news outlets. Those guys aren’t doing their job.
John, Stephen and their staff toil in the fields of satire, and consistently deliver a
bountiful crop.
As for investments, I believe the point of the piece was that a commodity
Report thisinvestment where the vendor marks up the goods by 35%, whether it be gold or
peanuts, puts the investor in a disadvantageous profit position.
By Henry09, December 16, 2009 at 7:26 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
This is the problem I have with Colbert and Stewart. They can be funny, but they also have a nasty habit of trivializing serious issues. Guys like Beck are easy targets, so lampooning them isn’t convincing.
The issue of the Federal Reserve’s secrecy, its artificial creation of money, its note always losing value in the long run, a debt enslaved society, and its financing of corporate welfare is not a joke.
Of course gold can go down in value just like any investment, especially when you’re legally forced to buy and sell it using Federal Reserve notes. I’ve never heard a “gold bug” say differently. Really, all of those people buying government bonds and treasuries that pay near 0% are geniuses… but the people who bought gold when the housing market was bubbling and have now watched it surpass $1000 per ounce are all idiots?
Also, if gold is so bad then why does the U.S. still have the world’s largest gold reserves? And why are China and India buying a lot more of it?
Like O’Reilly, Colbert has little respect for his audience.
Report this