If we gold and silver “stackers” are correct, very bad times are ahead for the global economy, developments that will almost certainly negatively impact the standard of living of virtually all people who live on our planet.
If our assumption about the future economy is correct, one obvious - and critical - question becomes paramount:
Is there any event - any reversal in government or economic policies - that might actually save the world from this expected period of grave hardship?
The answer, believe it or not, is “yes.” A 180-degree change in leadership (and economic thinking) among those who set economic policies might, in fact, “save the day.”
However, the sea change in thinking - the radical revision of “conventional wisdom” about economic issues that would have to occur among the masses - is, alas, highly unlikely to occur.
But we are a democracy. Like it or not - likely or not - real change will have to come via the ballot box. Such a mass change in thinking, albeit unlikely, is conceivably possible.
This week’s effort (divided into several separate essays) outlines what I have come to believe is the only conceivable route to a possible democratic solution to a crisis likely to be of historic, unimaginable scale.
Cookie Cutter Politicians Not Needed
Like many others I’ve come to believe that America (and the world’s) best hope for change won’t come from politicians of the “cookie cutter” variety. This, to me (and I hope others), is a given.
The “status quo” will remain the “status quo” if we as a society keep electing (and re-electing) the Same-old Same-Old (read: establishment) type of candidates.
“Real” change will have to come from the election of contrarian political thinkers like Ron Paul.
But the Ron Pauls of the world (and there aren’t many) have zero chance of gaining traction or significant political relevance unless the “gate keepers” and opinion makers in the media first “see the light” and begin to not only, not dismiss such potential candidates, but in fact come to champion their cause and begin to enthusiastically and daily endorse their policy prescriptions.
More specifically, those who possess the greatest potential to educate the masses come from the conservative talk radio world (there is no liberal talk radio world).
It’s members of this small group who actually possess a “bully pulpit” significant enough to influence enough voters to “clean house” and elect those with the wisdom and courage to jettison the policies that have caused our current and future economic crisis. And establish new, radically different, policies.
The idea that one presidential candidate (one who can get elected anyway) will ride in on a white horse and wave his magic wand and “fix” the economy would seem to qualify as sophistry. So too is the idea that more than 50 new senators or 218 congressmen will suddenly sweep into office at the same time.
This might happen, however, if one or more talk radio hosts got “mad as hell” and decided they were “... not going to take it anymore.”
And - this is important - these individuals finally started talking about the real keys to a sound economy and what would have to change to achieve such a condition.
That is, I’ve given up on the possibility of dramatic real change being ushered in by the usual suspects who offer their “leadership” in national politics.
Unless those who collectively reach tens of millions of voters and potential voters on a weekly basis (three hours a day, five days a week, 200 or so days a year) demand real change, it won’t happen.
It’s talk radio hosts - not, say, Mitt Romney or Jebb Bush - who have the audience and the time (and, yes, the “fans”) to preach a message that might, in fact, over time, make a difference.
But, as I see it, the message these people are preaching is the wrong one. Or, said differently, their loyal listeners are not being exposed to ideas and policy topics that would, if put in place, actually make a difference and make possible a much better world.
What is this message that is not being heard?
For brevity’s sake, it is the economic message most associated with the campaigns, speeches and books of Ron Paul.
Here, I’ll try to be concise and succinctly make my point:
If talk radio hosts enthusiastically championed or routinely discussed the “pillars” of Paul’s campaigns and called for the election of those who view the world largely as Paul does, such people might, in fact, get elected.
Absent such a sea-change in mainstream political discourse, these changes will NOT occur.
Even as I write this I can picture readers shaking their heads in bemusement.
“That’ll be the day,” you are no doubt saying. Or: “Are you certifiably crazy or just the king of naivete?”
Okay, maybe so. I hear you. But let me ask you a serious question. If such a scenario does not transpire is there any hope that the changes we want to see in our country and world will take place, at least via the democratic process?
I say, “no.” No chance at all.
Two topics not being talked about
Here, I probably need to specify at least a few of the policy changes of which I allude, changes that WOULD avert or, over time, serve as a remedy to the core causes of the economic calamity that is almost upon us. Here are the two most important and needed policy changes:
• Abolish the Fed. Or, absent this, at least audit its activities in a transparent fashion.
• Return to a gold standard and/or help cultivate a national “revival” wherein the value of “real money” (gold and silver) is collectively understood.
When it comes to any hopes of correcting major macro economic woes, these are the areas that must be addressed if real change is to occur.
Now ask yourself how much time America’s leading talk show hosts spend talking about these topics. As far as I can tell these topics have never been included in the “bag of stuff”America’s leading talk show hosts dip into for show “content.”
In my view until this changes, nothing else will really change. Until this changes, real possible solutions will continue to be discussed only among “fringe” economic thinkers typically found on precious metal Internet sites like this one.
It’s said that the first key to solving any problem is acknowledging that you have a problem. At least among those of us in the “stacker” or “goldbug” community, we have certainly arrived at this point. America, we have a problem, we continue to say.
Most Americans probably sense this as well. The mainstream media, alas, doesn’t want to acknowledge even this.
Where “stackers” differ from traditional political candidates or economic analysts is in the solutions we have identified to solve our economic problems.
These involve the workings of the Fed and an understanding of how the abandonment of gold as backing for our currencies was a critical national mistake. So too was the discontinuation of silver as an accepted medium of exchange.
Alas, these possible solutions to our current and future economic mess are not even part of the dialogue among “credible” politicians and opinion makers.
The easiest way this could change is through the education efforts of radio (and TV) talk show hosts.
Part II of the “problem maxim” is not being afraid to ask for help. Whether we want to admit it or not, we - our side - needs help.
Ron Paul, and others, have tried to sound the alarm on their own. God bless him for “moving the needle” on the topics that matter, but these heroic and important efforts clearly have not been enough.
What’s needed now is someone who could use his considerable communication skills to grow and mobilize a grassroots army that the politicians would not be able to ignore. We need the issues we worry about, that we’ve identified as crucial, to become mainstream issues in any future political campaign.
Enter our friends in talk radio, who of course have not been friends but hopefully one day will become so.
Again, absent this happening, nothing will probably change.
It’s clear that the “gate keepers” in mass media won’t no part of us, nor the message we are sending.
Given this reality, what might do more to change the status-quo political dynamic is if one one (or more) of mass media’s gate keepers stunned the world and became one of us.
Forget the notion of saving the world for a second, this would make dang good radio. It would certainly shake things up. It might also make the defenders of the Status Quo say, “uh oh.”
... Which is what I’m shooting for and talking about here.
Is Limbaugh's 'status quo' making a difference?
What or who would defenders of the Status Quo worry about most? Ron Paul? Or Rush Limbaugh?
Paul, as much as I love and admire him, is a mosquito they can flick away. We know this to be a fact as we’ve seen this movie a couple of times already.
If, however, Rush Limbaugh suddenly started preaching from the Ron Paul Prayer Book, the “Powers that Be” might have a heart attack.
Yes, I know, it will probably never happen (more about this later).
But Rush Limbaugh also needs to understand (or be made to understand) that the stuff he’s been preaching for decades ain’t working, hasn’t made America better, freer, stronger or more financially secure and if the “bag of stuff” he talks about daily on his show remains the same, nothing is going to change.
Andy Defresne from “The Shawshank Redemption” phrased it this way to his buddy, Red:
“You either get busy living or you get busy dying.”
I’d phrase my key question to Limbaugh (or other hosts who have the potential to influence the masses) thusly:
Do you really want to help America and maybe go down in the history books as a genuine patriot who helped save your country?
Or do you just want to keep collecting checks and doing exactly what you’ve been doing for decades - decades where freedom and prosperity have declined precipitously. A decline that is getting ready to accelerate ... unless someone with courage, reach and influence takes a stand.
Ron Paul has taken such a stand. And got less than two percent of the national vote. Someone like Paul - with the backing of someone like Limbaugh - might do a whole lot better.
Good enough perhaps to even get elected and then perhaps use the political process to make the changes that will make a difference. This is the way our system is supposed to work, right?
Long shot? Yes.
Possible? Maybe.
The best and probably only real hope to save America using the ballot box?
I think so.
***
Bill Rice, Jr. is managing editor of The Montgomery (AL) Independent. He can be reached by email at:
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