Jerk
6/2/2009, 07:40 PM
http://www.businessinsider.com/cocaine-dealers-demand-to-be-paid-in-gold-2009-6
Drugs and the greenback. They just go together--whether it's a drug dealer sitting in front of a cartoonishly large pile of money, or a user finding an unconventional use of a $100 bill. (Or a $1 bill, as pictured.) But it appears that some drug dealers may be losing confidence in the dollar.
Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/citydiary/5423734/Dealing-gold-in-the-Dominican-Republic.html): Paul Mylchreest, of the Thunder Road Report, notes that a "very suspicious" 174 tonnes of gold compounds were exported to the Dominican Republican – "that well known hub of the world gold trade".
Maybe these gold compounds really are used in gold paint and that artist who normally puts colourful tarpaulins around islands and buildings has painted the whole of the Dominican Republic gold," Mylchreest ponders. "I'll go and check Google Earth."
But, he reckons the transformation of the Dominican Republic into a key staging post in the cocaine trade between South America and the US, is a far more likely.
"Wouldn't it be interesting if drug smugglers have seen the writing on the wall for the paper dollar and will now only accept payment in gold bullion?"
If true, they're obviously not the first to have that idea. Gold also has the advantage of being meltable and turned into something else without any pesky serial numbers, or anything that a bank could identify and delete with the stroke of a key.
Next they'll be demanding payment in oil, copper and rare earth metals, alas none of those things are easily rolled into a drug usage device, so currency will alwayss retain some value.
We need to send Timmaaaay to reassure them that everything is a ok and their investments are safe.
Drugs and the greenback. They just go together--whether it's a drug dealer sitting in front of a cartoonishly large pile of money, or a user finding an unconventional use of a $100 bill. (Or a $1 bill, as pictured.) But it appears that some drug dealers may be losing confidence in the dollar.
Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/citydiary/5423734/Dealing-gold-in-the-Dominican-Republic.html): Paul Mylchreest, of the Thunder Road Report, notes that a "very suspicious" 174 tonnes of gold compounds were exported to the Dominican Republican – "that well known hub of the world gold trade".
Maybe these gold compounds really are used in gold paint and that artist who normally puts colourful tarpaulins around islands and buildings has painted the whole of the Dominican Republic gold," Mylchreest ponders. "I'll go and check Google Earth."
But, he reckons the transformation of the Dominican Republic into a key staging post in the cocaine trade between South America and the US, is a far more likely.
"Wouldn't it be interesting if drug smugglers have seen the writing on the wall for the paper dollar and will now only accept payment in gold bullion?"
If true, they're obviously not the first to have that idea. Gold also has the advantage of being meltable and turned into something else without any pesky serial numbers, or anything that a bank could identify and delete with the stroke of a key.
Next they'll be demanding payment in oil, copper and rare earth metals, alas none of those things are easily rolled into a drug usage device, so currency will alwayss retain some value.
We need to send Timmaaaay to reassure them that everything is a ok and their investments are safe.