Enemies

Ever hear the line, "With a friend like you, who needs enemies?" Not bad, and it seems to this scribe that it applies to several items and institutions. There are many enemies out there, so don't get taken in by them, because most of them are in sheep's clothing.

Take Washington D.C. and the "D.C. Gang" as I call them. "We're going to protect you from the terrorists." "We're going to make America safe from terrorism." Of course it'll cost trillions of dollars over the years, and those dollars are all coming off the presses, with each press run making them worth less and buying less. Has anyone thought that if we hadn't gone to Iraq, Afghanistan, and been a protector of Israel for 50 years, there would be no terrorist threat? Has anyone ever considered bringing the troops home from Korea to save $4 billion a year…at least. Has anyone ever thought of getting out of Okinawa? The Japanese would appreciate that, and it would save about $2 billion a year. Economizing is a term that it totally foreign to the D.C. Gang. Our friends in high places, or enemies?

Then there is the Federal Reserve, which is privately owned by member banks and who else is a mystery, but it isn't the US government. The Federal Reserve is one of the most miss-named institutions in the world, because it isn't federal and has no reserves. I have more gold in my safe than the Federal Reserve has, because it has none. The Federal Reserve puts the paper money in circulation and loans the government the money it creates out of nothing. It charges the government interest for the money it lends to it. It sets interest rates, and causes huge inflation, which it lies about. The Federal Reserve is supposed to be our friend when it lowers interest rates, but I think it is our arch enemy. I'll be glad to print up some dollars and lend them to you, and they'd be no more counterfeit than the Federal Reserve Notes you have in your wallet. Correction, we have "Legal Tender" laws, which say that we must use their fiat money, and can't use our own. Friend or enemy? I'd say the Federal Reserve is an enemy of America. But say the title Federal Reserve with a bowed head, because it is responsible for the entire corrupt American economy, and the D.C. Gang won't rein it in.

Mortgage brokers and lenders? Are they your friend when they agree to loan you money created out of nothing? Is a bank your friend when it loans you dollars created out of nothing? Is the credit card company your friend when it loans you money it also created out of nothing and charges you huge sums of interest on your balances?

Is the local used car salesman or new car dealer your friend or enemy? I have a friend who drove into a used car lot with a Dodge pickup all paid for and in good condition. He wanted a new Jeep. The slick salesman gave him a deal he couldn't refuse and he drove the new Jeep away. A couple of days later the salesman called him up and said that he tried as hard as he could, but he simply couldn't get the deal through with out a huge interest increase…like 15% vs. 6%. My friend said, OK, then give me my truck back and we'll forget it. No deal. The truck had been sold and my friend had signed a contract with open interest provisions, and the salesman knew it from the beginning. It will take you four years to break even on a five year no interest finance on a car. All that glitters is not gold. Check the fine print on any contract! Was that guy my friend's enemy? Damned right!

When some guy in a cubicle calls you with a great deal on a condominium or for that matter ANYTHING, is he or she your friend or enemy? If it's such a good deal, why do they have to call you? Is it because they are getting some bigger commission on a sale of that, or is it that the item is a slow mover and the boss wants to clear them out? Do they call you because there is more profit in the item they are hawking? Are they your friend by calling you, or your enemy by calling and trying to foist off on you some gadget or property which has been over-bought, is over-priced, or is out of date? You just have to find out who your enemies are, and realize it.

Now take gold and silver as an example. I usually have a couple of specials on my web site. Take the current one on 100 oz silver bars @ 22 cents over spot. New Johnson-Mathey bars are 50 cents over spot. The 22 cents over spot are old Englehard bars. Well, why are they cheaper? First of all, because manufacturing costs are long ago gone, because they are used. Do silver bars have any moving parts? No. Does it matter how old they are if the hallmark is good? No. The bargain is because of no longer having a manufacturing cost built in, as new ones have, and it's that simple. Am I your enemy by telling you this? No. Or the new Buffalos, which I like, even though they are way over-priced, like the Gold Eagle and Maple Leaf. They are new, and prices are set my their manufacturer, whereas the Krugerrands are so old, that the market sets the price, usually about $15 less than other one ounce coins. Are there moving parts in a gold coin? No. I bought Buffalos because I wanted some, but Krugerrands is what I buy.

Then there are the grading companies. There are many, but two are the main ones. PCGS and NGC are the main grading companies. PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) has by far the best reputation, and when PCGS says it is MS69, you better believe it is just that. NGC is a bit less particular about its grading, so those NGC graded coins command a lower price. One is Mercedes, and the other a Pontiac perhaps. That is why when I had PCGS MS 69 Buffalos, they were $50 over spot, but they are all gone, leaving NGC MS69 Buffalos at $40 over spot. The naked eye can't tell the difference, but the reputation of the grader makes the difference. Are the graders your enemies? No, but you take your choice as to which one you want, and pay for the difference, just like a prime cut of meat or a commercial cut. Both can be eaten, but the prime tastes a lot better and coasts more. Take your choice. Neither is your enemy, because both are graded.

Professional grading actually helps one determine whether the sales person is an enemy or a friend. Buying a home? Be sure to have it appraised by a professional appraiser to determine its true value. The appraiser will determine condition, location, and comparables ("comps"), and comparing past selling prices of comps to determine a fair price for your potential buy. (I think houses will decline by 50% of the last 4-5 year's increases at least, so I wouldn't be buying a home now.) A used car can have its total history revealed for a price, and it's well worth it. Thousands of previously submerged New Orleans cars are on the market and the sellers of them are your enemies.

The guy who makes a pass at your wife or girlfriend is your enemy, the character who attempts to palm shoddy, over-priced, outdated, merchandise on you is your enemy, and I really do believe that the entire Washington D.C. cabal is every American's enemy. Have your Representative send his son to Iraq, and then you'll allow your son to go too. Republicans as well as Democrats in D.C. don't know what economy is, nor fiscal sanity. They never read the legislation the vote on and pass, and are so obsessed with their importance that they don't even realize that their currency is declining in purchasing power and harming their constituency with every bill they pass. Gold and silver are indeed the enemy of the world wide monetary system, because not a single currency is backed by anything, and politicians can vote for anything they want with no consequence other than having the presses run a bit longer and decimating their "money" a bit further. Will the entire world's fiat "money" come to a immense drop off of a cliff? I think it's possible. Protect yourself.

September 14, 2006

Don Stott has been a precious metals dealer since 1977, has written five books, hundreds of columns, and his web site is www.coloradogold.com