Congressmen
Weiner and Waxman Set Gold Hearing Sep 16, 2010
Just as the government is trying to prevent
people from investing in anything other than T-Bills by
raising taxes on taxable interest and dividends to confiscatory
levels, it's also trying to prevent you from parking your
wealth in assets, like gold, that compete with the paper
dollars issued by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury.
A press release from Rep. Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New
York, not yet (as of this instant) posted on Mr. Weiner's
Web site, announces that a September 23 hearing of the Subcommittee
on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection (a subcommittee
of Rep. Henry Waxman's Commerce Committee) will focus on
"legislation that would regulate gold-selling companies,
an industry who's [sic] relentless advertising is now staple
of cable television."
From the press release: "Under Rep.
Weiner's bill, companies like Goldline would be required
to disclose the reasonable resale value of items being sold."
That's great. Are Mr. Weiner and Chairman Bernanke also
going to agree to print on every dollar the reasonable expectation
that its value will be eroded by inflation?
Gold investors (or speculators) are already
punished by the federal government by having their investment,
even in a gold exchange-traded-fund, taxed at the higher
rates that apply to collectibles rather than long term capital
gains.
Not to mention the fact that Mr. Weiner's
regulatory push seems as much aimed at conservative journalists
as at the gold-dealers. The press release says, "Goldline
employs several conservative pundits to act as shills for
its' [sic] precious metal business, including Glenn Beck,
Mike Huckabee, Laura Ingraham, and Fred Thompson. By drumming
up public fears during financially uncertain times, conservative
pundits are able to drive a false narrative. Glenn Beck
for example has dedicated entire segments of his program
to explaining why the U.S. money supply is destined for
hyperinflation with Barack Obama as president."
Imagine the uproar if a Republican-majority
Congress started investigating and having a regulatory crackdown
on big advertisers in liberal outlets such as the New York
Times. The First Amendment freedom-of-the-press crowd would
be marching in the streets.
The whole situation is amazing. If Mr. Weiner
really wants to calm fears about hyperinflation, the last
way to do it is to have a government hearing cracking down
on the people warning of it.
The press release reports that "invitations
to the hearing have been sent to the representatives of
Goldline International, the Federal Trade Commission, the
Consumers Union and other potential witnesses, including
former Goldline employees." Mr. Weiner might also consider
calling John Paulson and George Soros, who have also reportedly
been buying gold lately, though Mr. Soros was also quoted
as calling it a bubble. But Mr. Paulson saw the housing
bubble coming so he might be right about the inflation risks,
and Mr. Soros is a big funder of left-wing causes, so neither
of them would fit with the objective of the hearing.
Anyway, we are looking forward to the hearing,
which should be quite a show.