Glenn Beck, Gold, and Communism

Glenn Beck is a pro-State troll whose primary role is to distract and subvert (L)libertarians and minarchists. For example, Fox News says that the "Tea Party Movement" is about "Taxes are too high!" rather than "All taxation is theft! The income tax is immoral! The Federal Reserve is a scam!"

I'm not interested in defending Glenn Beck, but this joke is pretty funny. Glenn Beck accepted an advertising contract with Goldline International, a gold coin dealer. Glenn Beck is heavily touting gold as a solid investment. The joke is "It's immoral for Glenn Beck to say 'Gold is a good investment!' when he has an advertising contract with a gold dealer!"

I looked at Goldline International's website. They seem to be promoting American Eagles, which trade at a premium compared to gold bullion rounds/bars. I couldn't do a price comparison, because their website said "Quotes are not current." APMEX and Kitco update their webpage whenever prices change, and usually charge spot plus a fixed amount. Goldline seemed slightly inferior to APMEX and Kitco, but not a complete ripoff.

The only valid aspect of the criticism is "Goldline is not the best gold dealer!" Even if you pay a transaction fee of 5%-10% on a gold purchase, you'll still outperform the market if you hold for several years.

Do you see the joke, regarding the criticism of Glenn Beck?

If it's immoral to tout gold due to an advertising contract, then doesn't that make everyone on CNBC a total scumbag? (but I already knew that)

On CBNC, most of the "analysts" are touting stocks that they or their friends own. Isn't that a conflict of interest?

If it's immoral for Glenn Beck to sell gold, then isn't it immoral for a CEO to advertise the stock of his corporation?

If Jim Cramer mentions a small-cap or mid-cap stock on his show, he can push up the price 5%-10% or more. Jim Cramer doesn't trade stocks himself. However, anyone who knew in advance what Jim Cramer is touting could make a huge profit.

If it's immoral for Glenn Beck to get an endorsement deal with a gold vendor, then isn't it immoral for athletes and celebrities to do endorsement deals?

It seems that the problem is not "Glenn Beck is accepting money as part of an endorsement contract." Every celebrity does that. Everyone on the Communism Channel does that, directly or indirectly. The problem is "Glenn Beck accepted endorsement money in exchange for saying something true that contradicts official State propaganda." It isn't immoral to accept advertising money in exchange for saying something that's actually true!

As I've mentioned here many times, gold has trounced the stock market and nearly every other investment over the past 10 years. Given that information, it isn't immoral to promote gold. I don't think Glenn Beck even emphasizes that point on his show.

A lot of people profit from a corrupt financial system. Gold is a way for individuals to protect themselves from theft via inflation. Glenn Beck is partially exposing the scam.

The problem is not "Glenn Beck accepted an endorsement contract with a gold dealer." The real problem is "Glenn Beck is saying that gold is a good investment and that State paper investments are worthless." There's a lot of mainstream media propaganda pushing a corrupt financial system.

A lot of people profit from a corrupt financial system. That's the real reason Glenn Beck is criticized for advertising gold. Glenn Beck is coming too close to the real truth, and for that he must be punished.