http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/IL01Dj01.html

 "...But everybody wants to know, "What about gold? What will happen to gold in all of this economic mess caused by idiotic governments? Mogambo said we'd all be rich from owning gold!" Well, you apparently know what I would say, but you don't know what a liar I am, so let's turn, instead, to Junior Mogambo Ranger (JMR) Juan O, who lives in Venezuela, and who is very familiar with the macroeconomic idiocy of governments, and writes, "This has to be some type of record I think. Hugo Chavez had his inauguration as president on February 2, 1999. The price of gold in Venezuelan currency that day was Bs144,275. Today, Halloween 2007, it costs Bs5,244,322."

Normally, I would have discarded the email because it appears that further calculations are in order, and I was frantically hitting the "Delete" button to escape this math quiz. With a sigh of relief, I notice that he has already performed them! In fact, he calculates that gold has become, "more than 36 times more expensive" in eight lousy years!

And as an aside, he notes that the government of Venezuela is playing fast and loose with inflation statistics, just like everybody else, as "Things down here are pretty crazy when it comes to money matters, but I suppose it's a global trend to the power of n. For example I haven't found any milk for a few months, but according to government figures, it hasn't gone up in price for the last two years"! Hahaha! Government at its finest these days!

And that is why you should be buying gold right now, instead of reading my stupid Mogambo crap (SMC). And I should be, instead of writing it!"

Richard Daughty is general partner and COO for Smith Consultant Group, serving the financial and medical communities, and the editor of The Mogambo Guru economic newsletter - an avocational exercise to heap disrespect on those who desperately deserve it.