Fools Gold: Inside the Glenn Beck Goldline Scheme [infographic]
ritholtz.com/blog/2010/07/glenn-beck-goldline/Posted Jul 28, 2010, 4:06 PM UTC
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ritholtz.com
A fool and their money are lucky to get together in the first place.
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Lifelock used to advertise there too. Glen Beck surrounds himself with honourable people.
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Looks like natural companions.
Goldline employs several conservative pundits to act as shills for its’ 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. He will often promote the purchase of gold as the only safe investment alternative for consumers who want to safeguard their livelihoods. When the show cuts to commercial break, viewers are treated to an advertisement from Goldline.
“Goldline rips off consumers, uses misleading and possibly illegal sales tactics, and deliberately manipulates public fears of an impending government takeover – this is a trifecta of terrible business practices,”
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If you want to back the stereotype we have all formed of mainstream conservatives, just look at the advertising present on their media outlets.
It's all targeted to the elderly (medical ads 24/7, but that's all news networks to a certain extent), gullible (this example), religious (Buy the King James Bible on DVD!), and those plain out of touch with reality.
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It's all targeted to the elderly (medical ads 24/7, but that's all news networks to a certain extent), gullible (this example), religious (Buy the King James Bible on DVD!), and those plain out of touch with reality.
Because liberal programs target... who exactly? The super-smart intellectuals? Lol
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They're just as dumb, but I'd argue there's less of them. Even though I'm what you'd consider left-of-Lenin, I can't help but wonder how much I could make by selling Carbon Credits to individual consumers.
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word.
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The painful, sad, stupid truth is that even the smartest, most progressive voices on radio wind up accepting and promoting the same questionable shit. Both Thom Hartmann and Ed Shultz actively promote acquisition of gold coins through a company that's probably no better than that shit Beck is pushing. It pisses me off everyday when I hear somebody as smart and articulate as Hartmann doing the goldbug shill, but he does. <sigh> And, as much as I like listening to his views, Hartmann also shamelessly shills for Angie's List which is little more than parasitic in terms of how if you're on their ridiculous list it's extremely hard to get off and it's pretty low value to begin with.
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If you think that's bad, look at the ads on Alex Jones' InfoWars page. Colloidal silver?! Seed banks? Give me a fucking break!
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This is proof that a basic economics course should be mandatory in high schools
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It is mandatory in indiana.
http://www.doe.in.gov/core40/diploma_requirements.html
They removed their general diploma that was used to pass the dumbest of the dumb. Now everyone has to meet the core40 which is the minimum needed to get into a state college. It should be interesting. These standards will apply to anyone graduating in spring 2011 and later. They probably dumbed down all the core40 classes so the kids that previously did the general crap degree can still pass.
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Must vary by location. I didn't take one in high school. Or it's changed. I graduated in '99.
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It technically wasn't required in indiana before the 07 freshman class, but even then you had to have serious school issues to not get the core40 degree. Like getting kicked out for a semester or a year, failing everything because you don't give a shit, etc. Everyone by default is put on core40, there had to have been a reason for a counselor to set you up on the general minimum standards degree.
Although some people did drop down from core40 to the general degree because they failed a required class and didn't want to take it again or didn't have time to retake it. That is of course no longer an option now.
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TN here. Went to a private school, if that makes a difference.
We had a class on home economics. Perhaps that's what you're referring to. It was a half-year course about balancing your checkbook, what the stock market is, what a mortgage is, etc. I vaguely remember a video describing some basic principles of money: an island with 3 people who start with trading goods, then trading seashells in place of goods, etc. It was more of a personal finances class than anything else.
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As an econ major, I would definitely advocate a basic class about investing, checking accounts, credit cards, mortgages, etc. However, I doubt it would matter. The DOW is down 22% since 2007. Plus home values are off in nearly every metro area. Yet, there are plenty of HS, and even college econ grads in those pools.
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That's more of a product of reckless speculation. I'm just advocating a Not Getting Ripped-Off 101
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Its hard for me to beleive that Glenn Beck is involved in something thats reactioary and dishonest.
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You spelled believe wrong.
You forgot the apostrophe in "that's".
I'm assuming you mean "reactionary".
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He also forgot the apostrophe in "It's".
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Yes, he misspelled his user name too. I assume he meant to use "deckshoes" instead of "dickshoes" (Or perhaps he's just being honest, har, har).
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OK, I'll take the dissenting opinion...
Just WHAT ON EARTH is wrong with exploiting stupid people?!?!?!? Everyone here owes everything they have to the stupidity of others. Your job is better than it should be - because everyone else is a moron. Is it wrong for you to take that job (to the exclusion of stupid people)??? Of course not! So, why is it wrong for someone to sell stupid shit to stupid people? If it was illegal to do that, well let's just say that Crocs wouldn't exist, just to begin with...
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For the dissenting, dissenting opinion...
A ripoff or other lousy transaction is bad for the entire economy, not just for the person getting ripped off. Why? It is establishing the wrong market signals.
These people being employed to sell overpriced gold coins could be doing something more useful to the economy. Right now, they are adding no real value to the entirety of society.
Let's suppose, however, that I instead used the capital and revenue to make more efficient wind turbines. That will have a net effect of making more energy available to everyone, and reduce pollution too.
There are other macroeconomic effects too. The capital and resources used by Goldline reduces the total amount of capital and resources (land, water, etc.) available. So that ends up making capital (loans or investments) and resources more expensive for other business.
Obviously, telemarketers can't easily be retrained to be mechanical and electrical engineers, this is an extreme example. Suppose instead that we put an additional tax on gold coin sales (that matches the profits of Goldline) and instead use it to employ these people picking up trash in our parks and roadsides. That would benefit all of society.
A well run and useful business is a boon to all of society. A badly run or otherwise useless business is a drain on our wealth, resources, and overall well-being for everyone.
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If one person doesn't rip off the stupid people, someone else will.
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Unless no one does. Just something to think about.
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Everyone here owes everything they have to the stupidity of others
If this were true we would still be living in caves and rubbing sticks together to make fire.
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That's true depending on how far you run with the idea. It appears you've taken the idea and not only ran with it, but drove to the airport, flown to Madagascar and then shut the island down.
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This is idiotic.. How is that a scam? Goldline pays him money to advertise their product because goldline knows Glenn Becks viewers are their target audience. Who better to sell gold to then people who think the government is about to collapse? There's no investigative reported needed here, any fool can see how straightforward this is.
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The scam is them trying to convince people that they need to buy collectors coins as apposed to bullion coins. Meaning they pay 90% more for a product that will be worth the same amount in a collapse.
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You better lock up QVC too.
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at least gold coins don't rape people
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It seems as though I should care, but I just can't figure out why.
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Sneak attack by Weiner!
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I'm just happy because now I can say "I told you so" to all the people that thought this was a brilliant idea. I explained that Goldline is still a business, their goal is still to maximize profit.
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Anyone who thought that they were advertising and supporting the talk show out of the goodness of their heart needs to have their heads examined. C'mon - they are in business to make money. It's the American way!
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advertising
-_-
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Yo're just sooooo edumacated. What a smarmy dork.
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Gotta love how liberals always assume the motives of anyone who disagrees with them must be malicious, instead of simply misinformed.
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Your assumption is easily countered: liberals disagree with Glenn Beck's audience, too, but clearly think of them as misinformed, not malicious. Indeed, it's because they are misinformed that they are vulnerable to scams of this sort.
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Yet I see a big "Reddit GOLD" advertisement to the right ------>
Reddit Gold is marked up 42%! I'll sell you a reddit gold account for $204 dollars. That's my whole sale price my friend, I'm not even breaking even on this.