63
posted ago by ProudOfAmerica ago by ProudOfAmerica +63 / -0

I always wondered how people could claim that some 'cabal' somewhere manipulated the price of gold. After all, it's a hard physical asset and free market conditions would create a fair price, right?

Well, I recently read an article about how the Federal Reserve (and others) manipulate the price of gold (and silver). It was eye-opening. I'll summarize it here, but I'd really recommend the article (it's full of receipts and documentation).

https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2021/02/17/gold-market-manipulation-2021-1-002226

My summary (of the article) follows. This is not informed by my personal knowledge.

Essentially, the core 'trick' is that the Fed (and others) have created 'paper equivalents' of gold. This is when you 'buy gold' but never take delivery of it. It's 'stored in someone else's vault'. You can 'buy' it and 'sell' it -- but you never see it.

In the 'paper gold' world, the Fed (and others) simply lie about how many ounces are in the vault. When they want to hold the price down, they simply sell more 'gold' (without the physical gold to back it up). Seeing as most people simply 'buy' and 'sell' their gold (and never take possession), the underlying gold is never checked on. People are buying and selling paper. There is an actual market, but it is not backed 1-to-1 by gold.

All this 'gold out of thin air' means that supply is (artificially) high, so prices remain low. How high is this false supply? Well, the article says that it might be as high as 100 to 1.

So, for every ounce of physical gold in a vault, there are 100 people that supposedly own that ounce.

It's like fractional banking, but with gold instead of 'fiat' currency (dollars that aren't backed by gold).

Fiat currency only works because people trust the 'full faith and credit' of the US. But what happens when that trust falters? What happens when the faith falters in the (false) 'paper gold'?

What happens when the Ponzi scheme is revealed? It seems to me that people who 'own' this 'paper gold' will try to take posession of their physical gold, or convert it to cash. Sort of like a present day 'Gold Rush'.

The Fed and their partners would not be able to deliver the requested gold (they only have 1% of what they've 'sold'), and they can't give everyone their cash back (because it's a Ponzi scheme). The Fed collapses.

All of this raises some interesting questions...

Because a 'multiply-sold paper ounce' is the same as a normal physical ounce ---

What is the true price of a physical ounce of gold? Or silver (which is similarly manipulated)?

And if (in the 'paper' world) every physical ounce of gold has 100 owners, and each owner has paid $1800 or so to the bankers, then is that physical ounce actually 'worth' $180,000 or so? It seems weird, but that's exactly how much the bankers have sold it for!

Therefore, (when the truth comes out) does everyone who owns physical gold (or silver) actually own something that is worth 100 times what is published?

And what happens to these prices when the Fed collapses? What will the new gold-to-cash exchange rate be? Or silver-to-cash?

Lots to think about...

If you know more about this subject than me (very easy), please chime in. I'd love to learn more.