Thursday Fun Link—Just Like Friday Fun Link, On Thursday: How Much Goldbuggery Is Going On Out There?

Because I follow monetary policy and live within a five-minute walking distance of seven pawn shops, I believe I hear more arguments for making gold a key part of my investment portfolio than do most people. But if you get enough false positives, doesn't that make it a national trend? When you search for "Godsend 1980" on the YouTubes, you get this February clip of expert Shakaama, a.k.a. Kevin Cardinalli (spelling NA), explaining the collapse of the dollar and the meteoric rise of gold and silver (which have never gone to zero; I repeat: they have never gone to zero). In this clip, the host recommends a short position on gold, and also gets the recession start-date wrong:

Beware: The sound-picture lag is so off that the whole thing looks dubbed; it's eight and a half minutes long, and the hunched-over-talking-head style needs to end…in 2004. Nor is Shakaama a reliable narrator: Dig his full channel, which includes a surreal and jingoistic defense of the tire tariff. Like all the best hard currency believers, Shakaama lives in Las Vegas, the U.S. (formerly world) capital of Monopoly money.

I cite Shakaama only because I've had the same experience many times now. I say to myself: "Self, there's a bunch of normal people. They're going to be talking about Lady Gaga's ass or how cute their kids are. Maybe they'll be exchanging recipes or favorite inspirational quotes." And instead they're all het up about the collapse of the dollar and precious metals.