Can Virtual Money be backed by Gold?

Michael Oliver and Rev. Larry Beane join host Jay Taylor on the last show of Turning Hard Times to Good Times at the Voice America Business Channel. Interviews covering similar themes and guests will be available at JayTaylorMedia.com and at YouTube.com/jaytaylormedia channel every Wednesdays at 3:00 PM ET, starting January 25. The United States expended enormous amounts of blood and treasury to defeat two hellish dictatorships in the 20th century, those being Hitler’s Nazi Germany in World War II and the Marxist dictatorship of the Soviet Union in the Cold War. We thought we defeated the enemy but, lo and behold, “we have met the enemy and he is us.” As Marcus Tullius Cicero said in 58 BC, “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.” Gradually the Father of Lies, who is not a human but a spiritual being has snuffed out the light of truth and a desire to know the truth. This traitor from within has weaseled his ways into the hearts and minds of Americans telling us to trust deceptive world leaders who wish to declare themselves in charge of the Universe rather than the God who triggered all of Creation some 14+ billion years ago. Michael Oliver will provide his usual market wisdom to us but he will also share some insights from his book, “The New Libertarianism: Anarcho-Capitalism” to explain how intervention into free markets is leading America toward the same kind of dictatorship that has been far more common than not throughout history. Cicero understood that a “baseness lies deep in the hearts of all men” triggered by the “traitor.” Rev. Beane will help us learn how we can “avoid the traitor” and in so doing enable each of us to live free and joyful lives no matter what darkness may lie ahead in a world seemingly going mad. Michael will talk about his usual findings about what the market is doing and direction he thinks the market is taking.

Kevin Duffy and Patrick Highsmith return as guests. It seems likely that gold and silver miners should have a great year in 2022 given that both metals appear to be in the early days of a new major new bull market as the equity markets continue to descend from extreme overvaluations thanks to insane central bank zero-interest rate policies. As rates rise, true value rises to the top which is why gold and silver are on the rise. So we expect major gold and silver producers to do well along with the likes of Timberline Resources, which is on to a Carlin-style gold discovery in Nevada. Patrick Highsmith will join us to provide an update on that company’s exploration plans in 2023. But while the equity market in general is expected to suffer further declines at least in the first half of 2023, your host is on the lookout for good values in the shares of major companies at bargain basement prices. That’s why Kevin Duffy has been invited to share his thoughts about some bargains in companies that provide essential goods and services that the world always needs. Kevin will share some of the gems he has recently discovered. Also your host plans to share some gold and silver exploration stories that he covers in J Taylor’s Gold Energy & Tech Stocks newsletter and that he has invested his own money in.

Alasdair Macleod, Michael Oliver & Chen Lin return. Last week Austrian economist Daniel Lacalle assured listeners that the dollar will remain as the world’s reserve currency for at least the next 5 to 10 years. Alasdair may disagree. In his December 22nd article, he states, “2023 will see the consequences of Saudi Arabia ending the petrodollar. Energy exporters are feeling their way towards new commercial arrangements in a bid to replace yesterday’s dollar. There’s talk of a new Asian trade settlement currency. But we can expect oil exports to be offset by inward investment, particularly between Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and China. The most obvious surplus emerging in 2023 is of internationally held dollars, whose use-value is set to drop away leaving it as an empty shell. It amounts to a perfect storm for the dollar, and all those who sail with it. Those of us who live long enough to look back on these years are likely to find them to have been pivotal for both currencies and global alliances. They will likely mark the end of western supremacy and the emergence of a new, Asian economic domination.” If Alasdair is right that doesn’t sound like the dollar will retain its hegemony for the next 5 to 10 years. We look forward to how he responds to Dr. Lacalle’s viewpoint. As always we look forward to hear what markets Chen believes will be ripe for the picking in 2023 and how Michael views the dollar, gold, silver and US Treasuries.

Dr. Daniel Lacalle will visit for the first time and Edward Griffin, the author of the prophetic book, “The Creature from Jekyll Island,” will reappear from the replay of the March 24, 2009 episode which was the very first episode of Turning Hard Times into Good Times. Not only did Ed Griffin outline the reasons why he anticipated a decline in the standard of living for Americans but also his ultimate concern that unless we return to an honest monetary system, we Americans are destined to lose our personal freedoms and property rights under an emerging dictatorship. Enabling government to remove freedom and wealth from Americans is the Creature of Jekyll Island aka the Federal Reserve Bank. The American public was sold a bill of goods in 1913 when the Fed was created. We were told that the Fed would eliminate the business cycle which it did. But in its place, it created a credit cycle that has been far worse for average Americans than an old-fashioned business cycle because it has been used to siphon off wealth of the middle classes into the wallets of elite members of American society who enjoy close relations with the federal government. From his 2009 remarks, Ed has provided answers as to why the Fed was created, by whom and why it has been an unmitigated disaster to common Americans but a total success for America’s upper classes. With inflation on the rise and Americas national debt growing exponentially, some analysts fear higher interest rates could trigger a debt-related death spiral for the dollar. But Daniel believes that the Fed and other Central Banks will choose recession over inflation in order to preserve capital and presumably prolong the life of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. We will ask him to explain why he thinks central banks will now choose the more difficult path of recession rather than to “kick the can down the road” as central banks have always done since gold was removed from the monetary system in in 1971. Given Daniel’s work as a fund manager, we may also ask him for some ideas about how we might protect ourselves from potential harm of a possible 2023 global recession.

Lyn Alden and Michael Oliver are this week’s guests. On December 11 Lyn published an extensive report to her paid subscribers titled “Defensive Assets Deep Dive Analysis.” In that report she provided her macroeconomic views as well and how the markets are likely to respond to them. She also addressed the impact of massive Zero Covid lockdown policies on Chinese and global markets and what an apparent reversal of those policies might mean on global commodity prices if, as expected, global economies stagnate in 2023. What are some of the investment sectors that Lyn thinks will help shelter wealth if we are heading into either the unlikely soft landing in 2023 or a sharp and fearful decline like that of 2008? Will owning gold help? What about cryptocurrencies? In light of the fraudulent FTX disaster and Lyn’s recent address at Princeton University’s DeCenter Inaugural Summit, we will ask her if some cryptocurrencies might be of help in protection in a financial storm. Michael will add his usual insights into key markets like the dollar, bonds, stocks, commodities, and precious metals. Your host may opine on his market views as well as a few of his favorite evolving world class gold and silver exploration stock picks as we look forward to 2023.

Keith Weiner, Quinton Hennigh and Chen Lin return. Keith Weiner’s Monetary Metals encourages investors to lease or lend their gold or silver to Monetary Metals’ clients in exchange for interest payable in kind. At the same time, Keith makes a very strong case that the dollar will continue to get stronger relative to the Euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, British pound and Swedish krona. Generally, a strong dollar is viewed as bearish for gold. So why is Keith touting gold ownership at the same time that he takes an exceptionally bullish view on the dollar? We will ask him to explain that as well as why the economics of leasing or lending precious metals work to the advantage of gold borrowers and lessees and what the risk/reward tradeoffs for owners of gold and silver are when they lend or lease their gold through Monetary Metals. You can find out more at https://monetary-metals.com/jay-taylor-media/. Chen will provide his latest views on the markets based in part on his connections with Chinese investors and Quinton will update us on the emerging high margin gold mining assets of Irving Resources and two of its major shareholders, Newmont Corporation and Sumitomo.

Jeff Deist and Michael Oliver return this week. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Those were the words of the Declaration of Independence as penned by America’s Founding Fathers on July 4, 1776. Holding a common belief that each individual is a unique person created by God and having that in common was a unifying idea that drove the colonists to overthrow the tyrannical King of England. Having witnessed firsthand the tyranny of King George, the Founders understood that governments themselves can become the biggest threat to taking away our God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And so, our Founders set in place not a democracy, which if unchecked becomes a “mobocracy” but a democratic republic comprised of three branches of government to guard each other branch from becoming so powerful that it denied citizens their God given rights most basic of which is the right to free speech, religion and self-defense. Other safe guards against a tyranny of the majority that were given to us in our Constitution were: 1) An Electoral College vote for President and Vice President, and 2) Two senators from each state, no matter the population size of each state. The Founders also understood that sound money and free markets are essential to domestic peace and economic prosperity. Now, 247 years later, a growing majority of Americans think a dictator President is preferable because dictators can “get things done efficiently.” A growing number of Americans appear not to understand or appreciate the link between the freedom willed to us by our Founders and economic prosperity that inevitably follows. Jeff will discuss where he thinks America is headed in the future given the growing desire to destroy free speech and the judiciary branch of government designed to keep either the executive or legislative branch from excessive power designed to crush minority interest. Michael will share his latest views on the precious metals markets and other key markets.

James Rickards and Dr. Quinton Hennigh return. James visits to talk about his latest book titled “Sold Out.” It focuses on broken global supply chains, surging inflation and the fastest rise in interest rates in our history. Add to that a western world that is on the verge of bankruptcy, thanks to overconsumption and under savings since 1971, and you have the potential for a global depression akin to or possibly worse than that of the 1930s. Even prior to Covid and the Ukraine war Rickards predicted that when this current bubble implodes national central banks would themselves become bankrupt and thus give way to the IMF that would replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency with the SDR, a unit of currency that would include various currencies and gold. With central banks now losing control of inflation forcing interest rates dramatically higher, Rickards’ prediction that central banks are heading into bankruptcy is indeed coming true. Covid and the war in Ukraine are no doubt accelerating the demise of the existing dollar-based fiat system. How will all these dynamics impact your future investments and what can you best do to protect your financial wellbeing and safety in potentially turbulent times to come? Quinton will also join me to talk about one of the great new silver-tin polymetallic deposits, that being the Iska Iska deposit in Bolivia, where a world class deposit containing well over 100 million ounces of silver plus tin, lead and zinc is currently being outlined by Eloro Resources.

John Rubino, Michael Oliver and Michael Spreadborough return. The man known as “the Big Short,” Michael Burry, who became famous for foreseeing the 2008 mortgage crisis tweeted the following on November 15: “Long Thought that the time for gold would be when crypto scandals merge into contagion.” History shows that elite members of society who are worshiped as gods can be counted on to lead nations down the path of destruction. John Law of Mississippi Bubble fame comes to mind, but the man who has paved the broad road to destruction for the western world at this time in history is John Maynard Keynes who convinced intellectuals that gold is a useless barbaric relic. And so, for the first time in history, gold was abandoned as money in favor of fiat money which can and has been used as a clandestine vehicle for theft, and thus being used to rip people off in countless scams, the latest one being crypto currencies. Now that both the dollar and crypto currencies are on the road to ruin, a very wise independent thinker, Michael Burry, is suggesting it is time to trade crypto currencies and dollars in for gold which has survived as market selected money for thousands of years. Michael Oliver who has remained agnostic with regard to crypto but who understands gold as honest money will share his thoughts on those key markets and more. John Rubino will provide an autopsy for the Crypto environment and his view of markets as we head into the New Year. Michael Spreadborough will update us on the exploration programs being undertaken by Novo Resources.

Alasdair Macleod and Quinton Hennigh return. Human beings have been capable of believing, ever since Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, that they could be like God simply by obeying, without limit, their hedonistic instincts. The big lie most relevant to this week’s show is the one told by Lord John Maynard Keynes in 1935 when he suggested that societies could become rich by consuming more than they produce. To lend credence to that lie, Keynes required honest, market-driven money, gold, to be replaced by fiat money that is manufactured by debt. What Keynes didn’t reveal (and politicians chose not to know) was that at some point in time, as debt outgrows income, those units of currency become worthless through either the fires of hyperinflation or via national insolvency. Most vulnerable of all, during either an inflationary or deflationary outcome, are banks that have loaded up their balance sheets with the very debt from which fiat money was created. Alasdair will point out the market mechanics which have brought the western world to the precipice of self-destruction. To stay in business these banks have no choice but to unwind debt from their balance sheets resulting in a national collapse of business activity. Judging the history of nations, that will likely result in a reset of our monetary system. We can only hope any new monetary system will be based on gold and/or silver than can lead once again to honest and stable growth. Despite the decline in stocks and bonds this year, gold has held up reasonably well. There are many new gold discoveries from which investors may anticipate major gains over the coming months. World-renown exploration geologist Dr. Quinton Hennigh will share some of his favorite gold and silver exploration investment prospects.