Jeff Nielson wrote:
rroush wrote:


Don't forget they also use "product quality" in their calculations. So that box of cereal you bought with new packages.. that is higher quality, so the cost is reduced based on that! So that cereal may have gone up in price, but it's higher quality box means that there is no (or little) inflation on that cereal!

Remember that pound of butter you bought last year? Well this year the price is the same, but now a "pound" is 14 ounces. No inflation there either.

PS. I was actually hoping you'd have fun with my little comedy in my previous post LOL

Rroush you're really "pushing my buttons" today.



The "quality" adjustment you speak of goes by the fancy name of "hedonic adjustments". And yes, it is exactly as absurd/indefensible as you describe.

And don't even get me STARTED on all the "down-sizing" of packages - the DISHONEST way that goods producers pass along HIDDEN price increases during eras of high inflation.

So let's put these two little BEAUTIES together in an example. You go to purchase your favorite box of cereal and you notice 3 things:

1) The quantity of FOOD contained has been reduced by 25%.
2) The PRICE has gone up by 25%.
3) The cereal box has a fancy new HANDLE (to make it easier for consumers to carry - lol).

So in the REAL WORLD, the combination of getting 25% less food AND paying 25% more means that (roughly speaking) the price of that box of cereal has gone up 50%.

Then the U.S.'s inflation-liars go to work. As far as I know they simply IGNORE down-sizing. Then they look at that fancy new label and they claim that this makes the cereal (by remarkable coincidence) EXACTLY 25% more valuable than it was without the handle (LOL!!!).

And so in the magical land of the U.S. "Consumer Price Index" your favorite cereal hasn't increased in price AT ALL...



Seeing as I'm pushing your buttons today

The formula would be (1x/.75)*1.25 = 1.666666... or 66.67% inflation on that item. OUCH!

The other "tricky" thing I've seen them do is supposedly reduce the amount of product, but release the original size product but say "20% more FREE!!!!".

What amazes me about these articles is the Kitco sells gold and silver. This is like attacking their own business.

I used to buy from them, never again.

I am glad i found Silver Gold Bull on this site.

rroush wrote:


The other "tricky" thing I've seen them do is supposedly reduce the amount of product, but release the original size product but say "20% more FREE!!!!".

Where the bastards USED TO catch me all the time by doing is that they will also put food items "on sale" (often at really good prices) at the SAME TIME that they are shrinking the packaging.

So I'll be mesmerized by the "good price" (lol) and then not NOTICE the smaller size...until the item is no longer for sale.

debsyl wrote:
What amazes me about these articles is the Kitco sells gold and silver. This is like attacking their own business.

I used to buy from them, never again.

I am glad i found Silver Gold Bull on this site.

Yes Debsyl, I'm not hard on Kitco in my writing simply because they are a "competitor". There is more than enough "room" in this sector for the straight shooters, who act in good faith.

What galls me is that they have made a HUGE amount of money over the years selling people bullion - and then they go OUT OF THERE WAY to undercut the market. So yes we were very glad to be approached by SilverGoldBull - who ARE straight-shooters, and SUPPORTIVE of their clients.

I think it is not just kitko but most MSM outlets are now using the bait and switch technique with respect to gold, for example take this article from forbes which I found posted on Jsmineset
The title of the article is "The best reason in the world to buy gold"

But when you start reading the article and by the time you reach the end of the article, it becomes clear that the article is actually "warning people about buying gold" for example

The barter trade works, but Iran needs cash too. As it is being cut off from the global financial system, the next best thing is gold.
Here the author makes his intentions quite clear

Gold bugs, however, shouldn’t get too happy about Iran’s plight. There are five principal factors that will depress anticipated demand for gold used to buy Iranian oil. First, other countries will also be bartering agricultural and manufactured goods. Russia and Pakistan, for instance, will undoubtedly continue wheat-for-petroleum arrangements.

Similarly, the Chinese, smelling blood in the water, will surely press the Iranians to accept the non-convertible renminbi.
Here the author is contradicting himself, if the Iranians were interested in accepting paper then there would have been no need for China to buy oil for gold.

The Chinese are also buying more from the Persian Gulf emirates as well as Vietnam, Russia, and Africa. Of course, every drop of other crude decreases China’s demand for Iran’s.
Which means all that gold is gonna loose it's sheen once Iran is substituted.

www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2012/04...e-world-to-buy-gold/

I think that the MSM are doing this because the chumps may be turning towards alternative media sites where gold is presented in the correct perspective, so it seems that the MSM has come up with a plan to come up with gold positive items, but with an ultimate negative spin. I would say another battle won for the precious metal sector.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. — Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788 – 1860)


I do not know in which stage we fit now ?

Samix I'm not entirely sure that "bait and switch" is the appropriate way to describe this, but certainly we're seeing MUCH more of this INDIRECT, disinformation-based bashing.

I prefer the label of disinformation since it identifies the TACTICS being used. These articles don't attempt to ATTACK the gold-bulls (and potential buyers) directly. In part this is because that DIRECT propaganda (like all propaganda) has now been USED UP. Any/every lie used DIRECTLY has only a finite number of uses before it becomes ineffective (a variation of "Boy Who Cries Wolf").

Secondly, with the whole system closer and closer to CRASHING it becomes ever more difficult to make CREDIBLE arguments to attack precious metals directly - and so the propaganda machine turns to DISINFORMATION.

1) PRETEND to be "on the same side" as those who seek to deceive.
2) Sprinkle in some half-truths, and THEN build upon the half-truths with insinuations and outright lies - confident that you have ALREADY gained the confidence of the sheep by that point.

CLASSIC disinformation tactics.