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.
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.
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.
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)
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%.
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.
As covered in the GQ link, the Politico 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.
A relevant thread. And an amusing but less related thread I found while searching for the first. And a third about heavy metal poisoning, mentioning House.
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
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).
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.
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:
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.
