Saturday, May 22, 2010

Congressman Slams Glenn Beck Over Gold Ads

Time NewsFeed:

Forget fast-forwarding through the commercials. New York Congressman Anthony Weiner clearly watches his news broadcasts live, because he’s seen some ads that have really ticked him off.

Weiner is calling for an investigation into precious metals seller Goldline, a company Weiner claims employs conservative broadcast talkers to scare viewers into investing in gold -– at grossly inflated prices.

“On numerous occasions, Glenn Beck has dedicated entire segments of his program to explaining why the U.S. money supply is destined for hyperinflation with Barack Obama as president. He will often promote the purchase of gold as the only safe investment alternative for consumers who want to safeguard their livelihoods. When the show cuts to commercial break, viewers are treated to an advertisement from Goldline,” Weiner says in a report released Wednesday.

Also mentioned by name in the report: Fred Thompson, Dennis Miller, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Lars Larson, Michael Smerconish, Monica Crowley and Mike Huckabee. All paid Goldline spokespeople, all taking to the airwaves to tell people to invest in gold — and fast.

Weiner says Goldline’s most egregious, misleading sales tactic has involved the standard pricing of its gold – which he claims is 90 percent above melt value. That means the value of gold would have to double for the buyer to simply break even on the purchase. Beyond that, Weiner says, Goldline representatives present themselves as financial advisors even though they have no license to do so.

Goldline has already caused something of an ethical stir over at Fox News. Beck was a paid spokesperson for the company, until he was forced to step down in order to conform to network ethics policies. Even after that mini-scandal, however, Goldline remains a major sponsor of Beck’s show. If Weiner has his way, those ads will change quite a bit — and fast

1 comment:

Nacilbupera said...

Weiner left a lot of unanswered questions in his argument to grow Government regulation! Consider:

At what point does markup "egregious"? Who defines this point? How is "melt value" considered a baseline value for a product's worth? Should we consider the firewood burn value as a baseline for furniture and what would justify wood furniture to have markups over 1000% of burn value?

What Constitutional authority does Weiner claim in asserting this egregiousness--the overstreched commerce clause? Why does a liberal Congressman feel the need to regulate conservative talk radio commercials?

How is this going to reduce the $1T overspent budget you voted for this year and a 14T in debt overall? And finally Congressman Weiner: why are you wasting time trying to do a petty priority to regulate Goldline commercials when our country is about to lose is AAA bond rating due to your inability to manage the nation's fiscal health and you should be cutting spending everywhere?

As for me, I believe there is a much better choice for New York's 9th district this November: Joseph Hayon. Consider this [emphasis mine]:

"The size of the government has gotten too big. When elected as your representative, I will make sure no wasteful projects are put on the backs of our communities, and I will make sure any spending at the domestic level is done for the most pressing reasons. The taxpayer has been taken for a ride for far too long, and the people of the 9th congressional district deserve better."