Editor's Note: Today, I am writing in first person singular, because I believe that when I criticize somebody, I should do it personally. -- Fearless Rick
If you're one of the many people out there who own gold and/or silver, congratulations. You've also probably heard of a fellow by the name of Vince Lanci. He runs a Substack called GoldFix and also does videos hosted by Arcadia Economics, which is Chris Marcus' baby. I have a great deal of respect for Chris Marcus, but wonder about his judgement in putting Lanci on board, because, simply put, Vince Lanci is a tool.
Some of what Lanci writes or opines about in videos makes plenty of sense, which is where one should stop. As Mark Twain so eloquently opined, "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Lanci, who apparently thinks he has to impress his readers or viewers with how smart, and deep, and possessive of intimate knowledge of the inner workings of economics, usually keeps on going, making a complete ass of himself along the way.
I tempt the ghost of Mark Twain by continuing on here, because another Mark Twain pearl of wisdom states, "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." Point taken, but I'll shoulder the risk.
What really got me going on Vinci Lanci was his post on ZeroHedge this morning, ""Why You Don't Sell Your Physical Gold & Silver." I thought he might point out that you don't sell your precious metals because they're HONEST MONEY in the truest sense of that word, without counterparty risk, or that you can use gold and silver coins and bullion as collateral, but no, Vince, always the sage, wants everybody to hold their gold and silver because it strengthens nations, and the nation in which you live counts your personal wealth as part of theirs.
Complete bunk.
Vince says, "In quiet conversations between nations, they don’t just look at official reserves. They look at total national wealth, which includes what citizens hold," and, "If the government ever faces a real emergency, private balance sheets become part of the national picture instantly."
I wanted to stop reading right there, but my inner journalist has some kind of perverse desire to see people make complete fools of themselves, and Vince was headed in the right direction.
Vince, who usually pens his garf using the regal "we" when it comes to identifying the author, and also spends time with loudmouth nonsense-spouting babblers like Tom Luongo, began inserting random quotes without attribution, as if they were godly proclamations that were undeniable truths. Like,
“The result is a two-layer reserve structure in which central bank holdings and household metal form a single strategic perimeter.”
or,
“States are responding by building deeper metallic buffers inside their borders.”
and,
“Although ownership remains private, the metal becomes visible, recognizable, and potentially mobilizable.”
...whatever that means.
Now, see here, when I use anonymous quotes in the "Toast of the Town" on the Daily Idler and in the usual summaries every month, I do so because the quotes are vitriolic, or funny, or thought-provoking and the original speaker is somebody on an internet chat room, on X, or it was spoken by some passer-by on the street. This is a tradition I started back in 1982, with my first publication of Downtown, the Unbound Magazine. If the speaker, or “quotee” desires attribution, I am only so happy to provide it. In 43 years of doing this, nobody has ever asked. If it's an historical quote by somebody famous, infamous, or otherwise noteworthy, I give proper attribution.
What Lanci has done is essentially hyperventilation of his own theses, which are deeply flawed, and, to be honest, downright stupid.
A couple of commenters agree:
Premium subscriber and obviously a genius, FKALLIBS got eight likes for this critique: "This is probably the dumbest article I've ever read on ZH."
SmallerGovNow2 said, "While I hold and believe in gold/silver, this post is a whole lot of horse shit..." (13 likes)
Lanci has to sound smart because he's on substack, and some people actually pay for his deepest, innermost thoughts on gold and silver. Most of us in the gold and silver accumulation business don't need a daily reminder of why gold and silver this or that. We know it has value and we know that fiat currencies are failing. Trying to sound all in the know about macroeconomic trends and international finnance, like Lanci does all too often (like twie a day) adds nothing to the conversation.
The other reason I think Vince is a tool is because I once offered (try reaching him; it's nearly impossible) to trade advertising on my sites in exchange for his premium substack subscription. After waiting three weeks for a reply, I messaged again, complaining that he could at least acknowledge the message and that his work was crackpot rehashing of other people's ideas. Lo and behold, Lanci then responded with a firm, impolite, "f--- you," informing me that I had no idea how busy he was. Well, darn. it takes less than a minute to respond to a DM, which he proved by responding to my insult. Tool. Utter, cast iron, dead weight TOOL. I'm glad we never made a deal with Lanci. I don't fancy associations with arrogant, self-absorbed bumpkins. WOuld make me look bad. Besides, I would hardly read his stuff, so much of it being reconstituted, partially-plagiarized vomit.
OK, now I know that I write quite a bit, so I probably shouldn’t be criticizing a fellow voice on alternate media, but, when you're wrong, you're wrong, and Lanci is the type who will never admit it. Yes, I make mistakes. Most recently, I stumbled on some math, mistaking $1.972 billion for $1.972 trillion. Sorry, lack of sleep, maybe. I'm usually dead-on, math-wise.
So, if Vince reads this, he'll likely consider me to be beneath him somehow and my criticisms may engender a nasty comment or email. Always good to hear from my betters, I guess. Who cares? I stand uncorrected.
Entering the final session of the week, stocks have risen to new all-time highs on the Dow and S&P. The NASDAQ lags, weighed down by AI skepticism, about 265 points short of its all-time high. On the week, through Thursday's close, the Dow is at a new high, up 749 points; the NASDAQ has gained a mere 15 points, and the S&P, also closing at a record high Thursday, is up 30 points.
With the opening ball 30 minutes ahead, stock futures are split, with the Dow up 92, the NASDAQ down 133 and the S&P off 6 points.
Gold and silver are raging higher. Spot silver reached $64.62 overnight and is holding at $64.16. Gold is rocking, at $$4,339.60, heading towards its all-time high of $4,355.18. Bitcoin ($92,325.51) can't shake the losses.
I'm waiting for somebody like Mike Maloney or maybe even Chris Marcus to do a spoof ad, "Got Metal?" Maybe I'll meme it.
See you on Sunday for the WEEKEND WRAP.
At the Close, Thursday, December 11, 2025:
DOW: 48,704.01, +646.26 (+1.34%)
NASDAQ: 23,593.86, -60.30 (-0.25%)
S&P 500: 6,901.00, +14.32 (+0.21%)
NYSE Composite: 22,114.42, +181.11 (+0.83%)
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