# What's with the conservative media peddling all this gold lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 30, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285 "2010-03-30T01:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/21 "2010-03-30T15:17:40Z")
I was just reading an article in Texas Monthly magazine that was talking about (conspiracy theory) talk radio. It stated, Genesis Communications Network was created in 1998 solely as a way to promote a company called Midas Resources, which sells gold and silver coins to investors. The owner appears on the talk radio shows to remind everyone of the value of gold in uncertain times. Also, another network, Republic Broadcasting Network, runs a precious metal business too. These are the only two it mentioned, but the article wasn’t really about this. On the whole, I agree that gold is advertised when stocks are down. Ads are on TV more, too. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/22 "2010-03-30T22:35:24Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > If it’s the latter, I don’t see how that would do you much good if, say, the U.S. descended into civil war or some other apocalyptic scenario were to happen. Well, they wouldn’t. But there’s a big continuum between stock market boom and apocalypse, and legal ownership (without possession) of certain commodities can be profitable at many points along it, while having lower cost of ownership than actual chunks of metal. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/23 "2010-03-30T22:45:33Z")
I suppose gold is similar enough to lead – soft, malleable, dense, very near on the Periodic Table (atomic numbers 79 and 82 respectively) – that it is good for anything lead is good for, including bullets, and plumbing if you don’t mind being poisoned. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/24 "2010-03-30T23:36:11Z")
You mean those asshole CEOs who get gold plumbing are poisoning themselves? Well, thank you, Jesus! ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/25 "2010-03-31T01:03:36Z")
In my experience, most of the ‘back to the gold standard!’ loons are of the right wing variety. They are also those most likely to think that the country is going to hell in a hand cart, and be getting ready to live out their apocalypse fantasies, especially now that Bush is safely out of office and the left wing loons are less wary that he’s about to declare himself king or something along those lines. 😛 That said, I’ve been seeing a lot of gold ads on the various satellite channels I watch (Discovery, History, TLC, Science, Military, etc), so it’s probably what 'luci said in his first post…it goes both ways (and probably in the middle too). Personally, anyone silly enough to buy gold when the price is high deserves what they get when the price inevitably goes back down…and if I’m going to invest in something to help me through the apocalypse, I’m thinking that food, water and the standard Gurkha knife you see in many Mad Max type films would be a higher priority… (not to mention a cool muscle car that runs on methane and some leather clad…er, never mind) -XT ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/26 "2010-03-31T01:26:46Z")
> [@The\_Truculent\_Gentleman](#): > > You have to understand the business. The sellers are brokers, that is all. They buy the gold from producers, hedge with futures, and try to sell the gold on the open market. They charge a 3-6% fee on the transaction. When you agree to buy, they unhedge at the spot price you agree to and make their vig. > > The prevalence of the gold ads is because **there is** a reason to be concerned about the strength of the US dollar. The federal government is showing no ability to reduce deficit spending and, history has shown, fiat currencies are usually the first victim of an over-indebted sovereign government. > > I think the prevalence of ads on TV are a _result_ of this concern and the increased in demand for gold. Granted, they try to inflame this fear of ‘collapse’ to drive sales, but in the end they are just a broker making a % and catering to genuine demand. 1. Any operation that advertises widely is going to have an enhanced fee - to pay for the advertising. Gold coins can have a markup of upwards of 30%. 2. If Glenn Beck’s viewers possessed a solid understanding of finance and they were concerned about a declining dollar, there would also be advertisements for …foreign currency. If their worry involved inflation, inflation protected bonds might be another hedge. As it is, gold’s financial characteristics are highly problematic for somebody seeking a “safe” investment. 3. See Una’s link for further discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/27 "2010-03-31T01:36:34Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Why gold? Why do the purveyors of gold think that conservative talk radio rubes are such ripe marks? As covered in the [GQ link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=539805&highlight=gold), the [Politico](http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=5D43B4E3-18FE-70B2-A8DE8D26EF48DDFE) article gives the perspective of the Gold vendors themselves. (I paste from my old post): [ul] [li]Peter Epstein, president of Merit Financial Services, which advertises on Beck’s show, says gold retailers expect favorable coverage from commentators on whose shows they pay to advertise. “You pay anybody on any network and they say what you pay them to say,” said Epstein. “They’re bought and sold.” [/li][li]As Smerconish put it to POLITICO, “Those who are most concerned about government growth are increasingly dubious about the value of a dollar and look at gold as something they can see, feel, touch, appreciate.”[/li] Financial analysts, investment advisors and precious metal experts warn that the collectibles market can be among the riskiest ways to invest in gold, and some blame aggressive advertising and the boosterism on conservative shows for helping push nervous investors into bad deals. [li]Though Epstein’s firm has advertised on CNN, he said gold resonates more with Fox’s viewers “because it’s the angry white man audience - it’s the conservative audience. … They are distrustful of the government, of the regime.”[/li][li]Bill Haynes, president of CMI Gold & Silver, a Phoenix-based precious metal dealer believes prominent endorsers “are absolutely doing a disservice to their viewers, listeners, fans and supporters. There’s a little bit of paranoia in all of us who like gold – a lot of paranoia in some people, a little bit in all of us – and they pander to people who are really afraid.” [/li][li]Mary Sisak of New Castle, Pa., wrote in August that she contacted Goldline because she saw a television ad featuring Beck, and online endorsements from Levin and Thompson. After spending $5,000 on Swiss Francs, Mary said she learned she could have purchased the same number of coins for $1,600 less.[/li] “How could I be mislead by Glenn Beck, Fred Thompson and Marvin [sic] Levin?" she wrote.[/ul] Caveat Emptor. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/28 "2010-03-31T01:49:48Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You mean those asshole CEOs who get gold plumbing are poisoning themselves? Well, thank you, Jesus! Well, I saw a _House_ episode about a guy with heavy-metal poisoning and it turned out his wife was poisoning him with gold, somehow dissolved. OTOH, I never heard of anybody getting heavy-metal poisoning from Goldschlager. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/29 "2010-03-31T01:59:49Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > As covered in the [GQ link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=539805&highlight=gold), the [Politico](http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=5D43B4E3-18FE-70B2-A8DE8D26EF48DDFE) article gives the perspective of the Gold vendors themselves. (I paste from my old post): > > [li]Though Epstein’s [\*]Mary Sisak of New Castle, Pa., wrote in August that she contacted Goldline because she saw a television ad featuring Beck, and online endorsements from Levin and Thompson. After spending $5,000 on Swiss Francs, Mary said she learned she could have purchased the same number of coins for $1,600 less.[/li] > “How could I be mislead by Glenn Beck, Fred Thompson and Marvin [sic] Levin?" she wrote.[/LIST] Caveat Emptor. To quote Otter(Tim Matheson) in _Animal House_–“You fucked up–you trusted us.” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/30 "2010-03-31T02:00:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, I saw a _House_ episode about a guy with heavy-metal poisoning and it turned out his wife was poisoning him with gold, somehow dissolved. > > OTOH, I never heard of anybody getting heavy-metal poisoning from Goldschlager. A [relevant thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=542543). And an amusing but less related [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=469594) I found while searching for the first. And a [third](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396251) about heavy metal poisoning, mentioning House. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/31 "2010-05-21T14:27:52Z")
[http://mediamatters.org/blog/201005180023](http://mediamatters.org/blog/201005180023) > [@](#): > > At this hour, Weiner is holding a news conference not only to call out Goldline as “a company that uses conservative rhetoric, high pressure sales tactics and tall tales about the future of gold to sell over priced coins that can be bought somewhere else for cheaper,” but to ask regulators from the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate its tactics. > > Weiner’s staff investigated Goldline and found that the coins it sells are not the good investment that its salesmen – who are not licensed investment advisers – claim that it is to consumers, because the price of gold would essentially have to double beyond its current high to begin seeing any gains. Specially, the investigators found Goldline coins selling for 90 percent above the melt value of the coin, that is, its value by weight. The largest markup seen on a coin, Weiner said, was 208 percent above the melt value. > > “In the past there is always the “product” that is either the next big thing (the dot com boom) or the investment that will never go down in price (the housing market), and in the past much of the media has failed in its duty to conduct due diligence, but never before have they worked so hand in hand to cheat consumers,” Weiner said in his prepared report. “Commentators like Glenn Beck who are shilling for Goldline are either the worst financial advisers around or knowingly lying to their loyal viewers.” ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/32 "2010-05-21T15:06:49Z")
Does anyone else have the irony of having this thread covered in ads for Goldline? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/33 "2010-05-21T19:01:35Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > I never understood the nuts who think that gold will save them if the world crashes back to the dark ages. Well… gold _was_ a valuable medium of exchange **in** the Dark Ages. Silver too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/34 "2010-05-21T21:24:41Z")
Funny, I just talked a relative today off the ledge who was ready to hammer gold ETFs in his 401k, based on those commercials. The funny thing is, a lot of people think that we’re in tulip territory wrt gold, that we’ve seen most of the gain for awhile. The scrap gold market you refer to won’t help price appreciation, either. And gold sucks from a tax perspective. From this December [piece](http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/CutYourTaxes/taxes-can-take-the-shine-off-gold.aspx) > [@](#): > > “Moreover, it doesn’t matter if you bought gold coins or bars as investments or bought into in an exchange-traded fund that invests in gold. It’s all gold to the Internal Revenue Service, and it’s possible you will pay as much as 35% on your gain”. This is because gold is a collectable like art, wine, and other metals. If you hold for a year the long term cap gains rate is 28%. Not one person in 5 who listens to those commercials is aware of this, I bet. If you look at what gold did last year, probably the best year gold’s had in awhile, it really only broke even with the market from an after tax perspective - in fact, you’d have been better betting on ipods. last year, gold gained 32% after tax, the Dow 24%, the S&P 30%, the NASDAQ 48%, and AAPL 101%. Gold only makes sense as a small part of a larger investment strategy, for example as a hedge with bond holdings (gold and bonds tend to move in inverse directions, at a ratio of about 10-1). I hope this wasn’t a threadjack. ---
**Author:** ![Dante\_Fevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Dante\_Fevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante_Fevah)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/35 "2010-05-21T21:29:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Its totally bi-partisan, you get the same ads over on lefty radio. Ed Shultz[sic] does it, Stephanie Miller, they both do voice ads urging their listeners to buy some gold from their very good friends… Ahh, Distinctions With a Difference (DWD) rears it’s ugly head. The issue is one of scope and intent of programing with ads. Miler and Schultz are not hyping up an audience 24/7 with tales of _the coming take over of the economy_ and dire warnings of \*financial Armageddon \* within a few short years. Right wing radio does. ---
**Author:** ![Dante\_Fevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Dante\_Fevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante_Fevah)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/36 "2010-05-21T21:32:31Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Well… gold _was_ a valuable medium of exchange **in** the Dark Ages. > > Silver too. Was it? You mighty want to take a look at Dave Ramsey’s take on gold. “Gold is pretty dirt” [YouTube - Dave Ramsey on Gold](http://youtube.com/watch?v=zwgUBwX2dzQ) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/37 "2010-05-21T21:36:38Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I didn’t know that. I don’t listen to lefty radio. Nobody does. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/38 "2010-05-21T22:12:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > > > I didn’t know that. I don’t listen to lefty radio. > > Nobody does. Probably the reason Air America has gained so little traction is that their market is already covered by NPR, Pacifica (in California), etc. Since those types of stations don’t have commercials, there are obviously no Goldline spots. I don’t think NPR is terribly leftist but I believe a lot of conservatives view it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Dante\_Fevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Dante\_Fevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante_Fevah)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/39 "2010-05-21T22:58:50Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Probably the reason Air America has gained so little traction is that their market is already covered by NPR, Pacifica (in California), etc. Since those types of stations don’t have commercials, there are obviously no Goldline spots. > > I don’t think NPR is terribly leftist but I believe a lot of conservatives view it that way. NPR is more progressive than leftist. It used to be pretty leftist, but that was corrected a few years back. The Conservatives had the Government step in. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285/40 "2010-05-22T01:15:22Z")
It’s all based on the fact that 30% of America believes that Beck’s words are pure gold. Hard to make human progress (Beck would label me PROGRESSIVE!) when half the civilized world can’t make the distinction between a stick up their ass and food in their mouths. There will be a time when a potato in a reusable plastic shopping bag will be worth an ounce of gold to the local gold artisan. Encourage art. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-conservative-media-peddling-all-this-gold-lately/534285.md?page=3)