I am certain I know why probably only a fraction of a percent of the population owns gold and silver. Believe me, gold and silver make a lot of sense, with the nation and even the entire world, in a huge turmoil. There are at least a couple of reasons, and both are logical reasons, even though they make little sense. (1) Habit, and (2) Intelligence.
The first is easy! It is said that a huge percent of Americans live and die, within 50 miles of their birthplace. Why? Because their birthplace is familiar and comfortable. Since they live and die in the same place, obviously their kids will do the same, and the chain continues. If a person lives and dies in a place that has foul air, extreme temperatures, and congestion, they’re used to it, and won’t change. More and more people are moving back into the large cities, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why. With computers, a person can do office work in their own home, and thousands do. Why not do the work in a small town with low crime, clean air, and better temperatures? Why move into, or stay in a big city, if one doesn’t have to? The same ingrown habits apply to foods, religions, car brands, or just about anything the mind can conceive of, during ones lifetime. People of a certain faith, be it Catholic, Protestant, or Jew, will remain that for their entire life, regardless of sense or pressure, which make a change advantageous. People eat the same foods, eat at the same restaurants, and buy the same cars, year after year, decade after decade, even though some foods may be bad for the body, or a brand of car may not be the best buy or most reliable. GM now is recalling 20 million! I wouldn’t buy a GM car, if for no other reason, than the recalls, although I do have a 1996 GM 3/4 ton pickup that is marvelous. I have eaten at McDonalds, but I am of the opinion. that after the publicity of the guy eating at nothing but McDonalds for six months, and being very unhealthy, I deceased patronizing them. I changed my mind. I have changed my mind a hundred times in my life, and maybe more, when I find out that my former habits were either bad for me, or my new ones made more sense, were healthier, or gave me more happiness.
I grew up in Washington D.C., and when I was a kid, I had a lot of fun in D.C. When I was 14, my uncle, aunt, and cousin came east in their 1940 Ford, and took me to the American West, via Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Brice, Zion, and other wonderful places. My mind expanded! Wow! At age 14, I was seeing stuff and places, which most easterners never see, or can even comprehend of in their wildest dreams. We got to Lynwood, California, which now is a hideous place in South Central, and no one would dare go there after dark, and think seriously about it in daylight. Then, it was wonderful! Pacific Electric interurbans went by their door, and Knott’s Berry Farm, had just opened. The weather was superb, and orange, lemon, and lime trees were everywhere, as were the new fast food places, which wouldn’t hit the east for a few more years. My entire life experience was broadened incredibly. I took the Santa Fe back to D.C., and this was my first long train trip, at age 14. At Chicago, I got a ride on a switch engine in the yards, and had my parents known about that, they would have fainted I am sure. That trip got me absolutely in love with the American West, and I came back every year, exploring it, and finding my true love was Colorado. I had abandoned my old habits, and familiar neighborhoods, city, and places I knew. I moved to the land of incredible sunsets, friendly people, and an entirely new lifestyle. I wish everyone could have a grand experience as I had, at age 14.
Today, most people know and use the dollar. Prices are in dollars, and dollars are in our wallets, and bank accounts. Dollars are familiar, and we know and understand how to use them. Everything we buy, are priced in dollars, and any other form of investing or saving, is foreign to us, and so unfamiliar, that most refuse to explore gold and silver, or can’t possibly imagine their being anything but a temporary fad. We all know that prices in dollars constantly go up, and this is a gnawing, worrisome thing, but no one knows what they can do about it, or protect themselves from it. Like a religious belief, most have ’faith’ in the familiar dollar. Few would change. “It’s just one of those things we have to live with,” might be common expression. Really? I don’t think so, but that’s been the theme of my columns and others as well, for many years. How many of the American Public, ever watch Fox News, go on line and see what’s really going on out there? Millions, I am sure, but there over 300 million Americans, and the percentage of the population which is knowledgeable, is microscopic. If you disagree, why was Obama elected twice? That simple statement proves without doubt, about the thinking power or most Americans.
The second, and obviously tied to the first, is intelligence. Watch Bill O’Riley’s guy interviewing ordinary people of all ages on various streets, and asking them extremely simple questions. The answers, from college students and graduates, is alarming. They are know nothings, and that’s why Obama got elected twice. It takes some intelligence to switch long established habits, regardless of what sector of ones life may need to be changed, or would make ones life more comfortable, happy, or secure. To Quote Henry Higgins, in “My Fair Lady,” when he was bemoaning Liza Doolittle’s behavior, but you can apply it to most not only Americans, but the world’s population. “Straightening up their hair is all they ever do, why can’t they straighten up the mess that’s inside.” There is no way anyone can make people think, and make wise decisions. To quote another phrase, “You can’t fix stupid.” Gold and silver have been real money for thousands of years. In the Bible, gold and silver were used for money and to signify riches. The Egyptians coined the first silver. Wealth is, and always has been, gold and silver, and it doesn’t depend on any government to give it value. It is self valued in any and all currencies, but the common folk, who live for today, can’t understand.
I’ve got a lot of books, and read a lot, but one book I bought years ago, made a deep impression on me, and it can be found on Amazon, new or used, and it is paperback and cheap. It is called, “The Unheavenly City,” by Edward Banfield. On page 48, he gets into ’classes’ of people, and his definitions are great. “The upper class, are the most future oriented end of the scale. The upper-class individual, expects a long life, looks forward to the future of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and is concerned also for the future of such abstract entities as the community, nation, or mankind..” There are several paragraphs about the ’upper-class,’ and it is class they have, not money. It makes a huge amount of observable characteristics of my customers! “The “middle” and “working-classes,” all have many, many paragraphs about them, and they are the heart and soul of America. “The lower-class individual, lives from moment to moment. Things happen to him, and he does not make them happen. He works only as he must to stay alive, and drifts from one unskilled job to another, taking no interest in the work. The lower-class household, is usually female based. The woman who heads it, is likely to have a succession of mates. The stress on ’action,’ conquest, and fighting, makes the lower-class life, extraordinarily violent…” The book is marvelous, and a must read for one and all thinking people. I have quoted a line or two from several paragraphs, but I urge you to get this book, which is not political, but a superb analysis of what’s happened to America.
The thinking, upper, middle, and working classes, are the ones who can think clearly, vote correctly, and protect themselves from the obvious and unstoppable politician created inflation. The working class of Americans, which are our backbone, are the tradesmen, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, etc, who work hard, raise their families, go to church, and buy homes. They aren’t wealthy, but are wonderful people. The Democrats cuddle up to the lower classes, and depend on their votes. The Democrats give away our money to the lower classes, and it’s gotten so severe, that all the taxes collected by the IRS, $2 trillion it is said, all go to the handouts given to trash lower classes, who always vote Democratic. We may be able to help sway America in November, and in 2016, if the upper, middle and working classes, can be persuaded to vote correctly. Money printing, in all of history has never been able to be stopped, and the handouts will continue to the lower classes, to buy their votes. Before the printing press, there was coin clipping, and making coins of less purity. Inflation has been in all nations in all of history, and the way to protect ones self from it, is to get out of that debasing currency, no matter what it is, and into a valuable, fungible, easily stored, bought and sold, bullion gold and silver of good hallmark, from a reliable supplier…such as Colorado Gold.