Today, I continue with my list of possible events that could serve to end the manipulation of precious metals.
2. Regulators and/or prosecutors could file charges to stop the manipulation.
Sadly, the probability of this occurring seems about as likely as the probability the Federal government will balance the budget in our lifetimes.
Actually, the two events go together as it is continuing and massive deficits that make manipulation of precious metals so necessary.
It’s impossible to believe that regulators, prosecutors and others charged with enforcing commodity laws and regulations are unaware of charges of manipulation.
Volumes of articles have been published on the topic. Organizations such as GATA exist solely to document these charges (and forward summaries to said regulators). High-profile market analysts such as Ted Butler have done the same thing for years. And yet no charges have been filed.
One (alleged) “investigation” has been going on for almost five years! Time and time again, the prices of precious metals have plummeted for no credible market reasons under the strangest of circumstances.
Evidence has emerged that plenty of other markets are/have been manipulated. Still, no official agency has taken actions that might confirm such activities are also taking place in the precious metals arena.
No, if any regulatory agency or prosecutor was going to file charges or launch an authentic investigation, they would have done so long ago. Here, past performance probably IS the best indicator of future (non) performance.
Attorney general Eric Holder probably gave us the reason for this non-action a while back when he admitted that some institutions probably are too big to prosecute.
If the manipulation is as blatant as it appears, and has been going on for as long as some of us believe, the only conclusion that can be made is that the enforcement agencies are either in on the act or are willfully turning a blind eye to questionable or criminal activities.
Perhaps they have been told that “manipulation” is, in fact, legal, and is being done for “national security” reasons.
If the government itself took actions to prove and stop manipulation, one arm of government might very well end up discrediting other government agencies and employees. High-ranking employees at that.
Such investigations and charges would also no doubt prove that government watch dog agencies had been either complicit or derelict in their duties for years. That is, they’d be indicting themselves for previous lack of action.
It would take a truly courageous government servant to make these accusations and then prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.
Alas, such an idealistic person - someone with the gumption ("true grit"?) to take on the most powerful of the powerful - probably exists only in film screenplays or novels.
As someone wrote in a recent post I read, these regulators had a chance to make history by bringing charges and ending the manipulation. Instead they opted to take a pass. Bold action will be left to others. So sad.
Plus, it’s not like the financial press or influential members of Congress or indeed the masses in the public are demanding action. That is, there appears to be no down-side risks to preserving the look-the-other-way status quo.
No significant watchdog group exists to pressure the watchdogs. Similarly, as far as we know, no investigator is investigating the investigators.
Which leads me to the third scenario on my list of events that could end manipulation - A mainstream media outlet or credible investigative journalist(s) could expose the manipulation.
This topic, a pet peeve of mine, will be analyzed in depth in my next submission.
Bill Rice, Jr. is managing editor of The Montgomery (AL) Independent. He can be reached by email at:
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