Thinking about Gold

Economics is not our strong suit, as this column will no doubt soon confirm. But then again, economics does not appear to be the strong suit of most economists, at least not those among the profession who schlep into town with a) projections of future economic activity, b) ice-smooth explanations of why the previous edition of projections failed to materialize, and c) policy recommendations drawn from the can-and-must school of exhortation. You know, we can-and-must reduce taxes, balance the budget, increase defense spending, and subsidize the domestic mirror industry. Such recommendations invariably include the overture, “If we can send a man to the moon, . . .”

These shuttle economists are not by and large humble folk. All knowledge is their province, as a Harvard professor once explained it to me. (For communicating with the masses, they feel compelled to work in the language of needlepoint.) Offhand we can think of only one subject on which they have been uncharacteristically and curiously dumb, and that subject is gold. Never inclined to observe a respectful silence, we offer these observations.

About the Author

Neal B. Freeman

Neal B. Freeman, businessman and journalist, was a director of National Review Inc. for 38 years.

Economics is not our strong suit, as this column will no doubt soon confirm. But then again, economics does not appear to be the strong suit of most economists, at least not those among the profession who schlep into town with a) projections of future economic activity, b) ice-smooth explanations of why the previous edition of projections failed to materialize, and c) policy recommendations drawn from the can-and-must school of exhortation. You know, we can-and-must reduce taxes, balance the budget, increase defense spending, and subsidize the domestic mirror industry. Such recommendations invariably include the overture, “If we can send a man to the moon, . . .”

These shuttle economists are not by and large humble folk. All knowledge is their province, as a Harvard professor once explained it to me. (For communicating with the masses, they feel compelled to work in the language of needlepoint.) Offhand we can think of only one subject on which they have been uncharacteristically and curiously dumb, and that subject is gold. Never inclined to observe a respectful silence, we offer these observations.