Charlie Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has chimed in on gold.  He said, “Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you’re a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939, but I think civilized people don’t buy gold.  They invest in productive businesses.”

This seems to echo his partner/ boss, Warren Buffett, who is not a big fan of gold either.  While these two men are businessmen, they are also partially thugs, dressed in ties.  They have no problem pushing for bigger government and they have no problem in using the power of government to benefit their own businesses.

Munger is 88 years old and Buffett is 81 years old, but I have little tolerance for them.  I can be somewhat sympathetic to the man on the street who is naive about economics, politics, and monetary matters.  The average man on the street simply doesn’t know better.  However, with these two, it is hard for them to use that excuse.

Ironically, Warren Buffett, who is a statist and an Obama supporter, really has no excuse.  His father, Howard Buffett, was one of the great congressmen of the 20th century.  He probably ranks second behind Ron Paul as the most libertarian politician in Washington DC.  He was a strong advocate for peace and free markets.  This included his support for a sound monetary system.

Munger says that civilized people don’t buy gold, but he is the one who is not civilized.  He wants to use the monopoly power of government to threaten violence on others who don’t share his world vision.  He uses the power of the government to stifle competition and give Berkshire an edge using statist means.

If it weren’t for statists like Munger and Buffett out there, then people might be more likely to invest in productive businesses.  But when the government makes it extremely difficult to start businesses and then makes it even more difficult to succeed and compete with behemoths like Berkshire, it is hard for the little guy.  Since he can’t make it big like these two, the little guy might try to protect what little wealth he has by buying gold.  Who can blame him with people like Buffett who supports more taxation and more big government policies under Obama?  This all leads to more money creation by the Fed and a depreciating dollar.  Yet Munger has the gall to say that civilized people don’t buy gold.

I have no use for these two men.  They are not at all the embodiment of American capitalism.  They are what is wrong with the system today.  They are protectionists who hurt the little guy by advocating big government.  And now they are telling the little guy that he is not civilized if he tries to protect what little wealth he has.