SILVER 'Ready to Explode', 'Buckle Up' For SHOCKING Price Spike: Andy Schectman

Hello everybody, and welcome into Commodity Culture, where we break down commodity markets, sound money principles, and geopolitics, all with the goal of making you a better investor in the commodities sector. My name is Jesse Day, and today is November 10th, 2025.

And on this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Andy Sheckman to the show, an expert in the gold and silver space and the CEO of Miles Franklin Precious Metals. Silver hit that $50 mark once more after its pullback, and Andy thinks this is just the beginning of an explosive move higher that will lead to a silver price most people can't even fathom. Andy lays out the road that gets us there, along with providing his views on silver inventory stress at the LBMA, silver being declared a critical mineral by the US administration, gold's rise, and where that metal is headed next, and so much more. So strap yourselves in for my conversation with Andy Sheckman. Andy Sheckman, it is great to have you back on Commodity Culture.

I want to kick things off with the silver sector because what a year it's been for the metal reaching new all-time nominal highs. Rick Rule would be correcting me if I didn't say that of around $54 an ounce before correcting and hitting $50 once again as we sit here today. What do you make of silver's run thus far? Do you think that dip was just a pause before we continue higher? What, what are your overall thoughts on silver?

Yeah. Uh, first of all, it's always good to be here with you, Jesse. I appreciate you having me, brother. And I do. I think we're at a tipping point in the silver market. And I mean, it's it's I I think you point to the growing uh shortage of physical supply at the highest levels. The LBMA, the ComX, and now even the Shanghai market are all showing um stress, if you will, in in supply and the amount of or the the number of deliveries is off the chart. And coupled with um, you know, surging demand for things like industrial investment, central banks, sovereign wealth, the same stuff we've been talking about forever, man. Silver is being pulled from every direction. That's just the bottom line. And and not enough talk about it anywhere except on the alternative media channels. So it doesn't gain any traction. But where you will start to see some traction in my mind is the fact that the US government just designated it as a critical mineral. And to me, this changes the narrative. Uh, silver is no longer just a commodity. It's a matter of national security, national strategy. And when you talk about the kind of potential that silver has, remember that in terms of market cap, it's the tiniest little nothing market. And when capital begins to flow in like the United States government and the sovereign wealth funds, it doesn't move gradually. It will erupt at some point. I do believe that. But the bottom line, Jesse, is you got tight supply, you got surging demand at the highest levels coupled with systemic risk and the LBMA and what could happen if we see a delivery failure coupled with official recognition. I would say silver isn't just poised to move, it's ready to explode. And yeah, it has been catching its breath. And anything that moved that fast, 40% in a couple of months is overbought. That's the definition of overbought. And it needed to correct. It did. And here we are back above $50 again. So yeah, I I say buckle up for what's coming next.

Yeah, completely agree with you. And you've outlined how important silver is as a strategic metal many times on this program. And as you mentioned, silver now being declared a critical mineral in the US. This is shortly after China's Ministry of Commerce announced that silver will be added to China's key export supervision catalog starting at the beginning of this much month, which means tighter export controls for the metal. Now, we've heard some some stories, things always go back and forth when it comes to these trade war uh strategies and moves by both the US and China. So, we could see this on again, off again. Perhaps they'll take the export restrictions off. We don't really know what's going on, but what we do know is a wider story of silver's importance as a critical mineral. This is starting to spread. Governments understand this, and we're now seeing these sorts of moves, export restrictions, it being added to critical minerals. What are your thoughts on that overall situation and and how do you think silver being added to the critical mineral list could perhaps affect silver production in the United States and the silver market in general?

I mean, look, I'm not trying to to be anything other than honest. Either many of the things I say, people could say I'm stupid for saying them, or maybe I just have the courage to say what I believe, and I have been saying this on your show for a long time. Um, this is confirmation of what I've been saying. The fact that the US just named silver critical mineral along with China's tightening exports, there's no coincidence there. This is this is governments recognizing, I think, silver's strategic importance. Go back a year or two, Canada. Many of the the miners and and players in the silver market in Canada tried to do the same thing, to have it reclassified a strategic metal, not an industrial metal. But this is this is an understanding, an awakening. It it means a floor has been put under demand. Number one. Um, you have policy-driven buying now that uh will be coming in from the US and from other countries like China, who will see that this is musical chairs, if you will, and at the same time, you have a global supply crunch. You got you got players getting squeezed, and you get China, who is, you know, a big player in the silver market, limiting exports. Yeah, that's a big deal. Now, silver isn't just an industrial metal anymore, Jesse. It's it's obviously it's strategic, and it's it's monetary. It's essential. And I think now that governments are making that official, um, you know, I think from the levels, the highest levels, maybe governments just let lit the fuse. So, yeah, I I think it's a big deal. It's a huge deal, bigger than just about anything I've seen in a long time in the silver market.

You mentioned central banks earlier. You mentioned sovereign wealth. Do you think that's a section of the market that's going to start to become more interested in physical silver? Obviously, compared to gold, it takes up a ton of space. That's one logistical challenge when it comes to storing physical silver. Um, but we have seen some interesting moves. The the Saudi Central Bank buying a large stake in SLV, not large for them, but I think it was it was around a million shares, which seems very interesting because they could certainly uh call for delivery on those obligations. Do you think we'll start to see more of this big money, the smart money pivot towards towards investing in silver? The only other example that comes to mind is Russia. The Central Bank there has also started to accumulate silver along with platinum and palladium. Um, do you think this is a trend we could see accelerate?

But see, I think you answered your own question in the respect that we know that India has been a massive player in the silver market. You can find quotes that it's purchased between six, seven, 800 million ounces in the last five or six years. Copious amounts. We know that Russia said, we're going to add it to our strategic stockpile, being one of the first countries ever to say that. We see massive deliveries. Uh, you know, talk to David Jensen on the COMEX. I mean, the LBMA numbers, huge deliveries coming off the LBMA in a hugely rehypothecated market where way more contracts exist than bars standing behind it. To your point, we saw Saudi Arabia jump in, and I think it bummed a lot of people out that they bought SLV, but the amount that they bought in SLV allows them to actually stand for delivery. Um, I think there are a lot more countries that have been doing this just on the down low than than we are led to believe. You look at China as the second largest producer in the world, flying all around South America, going directly to the miners. Sean Kungun has talked about this, CEO of Dolly Varden, where they go right to the miners, disintermediating the marketplace, buying Doré and concentrate right from the miners, paying double what the West will, and sending it back to China to refine it. They control the majority of all the metal refining and rare earth refining. So they just put it on a on a barge and send it on back to China. But it's coming from the second largest producer in the world. So that should put a little bit of context into it. If they're making that much or producing that much, why fly all the way to South America to pay double what the West will to buy Doré and concentrate and send it back for refining? I think you will see that. I think it's been there under the surface if you really dig. But I think a lot of countries, especially those in the BRICS, have understood that, you know, silver is a and gold, this is a race for the world's commodities, and it's not just the precious metals, it's the base metals, it's the soft commodities. He or she who has the gold makes the rules, is how it used to be. How about he or she who has all the world's commodities makes the rules in the coming future? And and I think that's what you're seeing. So, yes, I do think you'll see more comp countries and sovereign wealth funds. Probably at some point, it'll be more transparent what they're doing. But in a world where information travels so quickly, it doesn't behoove any of these players to let anyone know just how much silver they're they're gathering. And then look at the US. I mean, I don't care what anyone says. It ain't about tariffs. I've been saying that for a year now. It is not about tariffs. It is not about arbitrage. Sure, there's a little bit of that truth, but it's being reshort. And you know, I've been screaming this. Look, all this silver coming into the country can't just be about tariffs. That was the ruse to get it all back here. Some of it's flowed back to ease the burden at the LBMA, but what it really is is the smart money trading ahead of the news. Like, they knew that this was going to happen. They knew that it was going to be reclassified critical mineral. So, what do they do? They reshort it. They say it's tariffs so that London releases it and Switzerland sends it. Oh, by the way, it's reclassified. I mean, everything that at that level that they do, uh, you look at all the massive gold accumulation in 2016, '17, '18, and '19, and then the the Basel 3 reclassification of gold. These things that at the highest level, information is worth more than anything. And the people accumulating it, the central banks, the sovereign wealth funds, they're not just the most wealth. More importantly, Jesse, they're the most well-informed. And I think that's that's really what you you would expect to see the inside money moving first. And I think we're transitioning to that point where it's now out in the open, at least more so than it's ever been. And at that point, it's it's anonymity be damned. It's everyone rush to secure what they can while they can. So, yeah, I think you will see that.

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The LBMA inventory levels were a big point of contention as silver did hit all-time highs. There was a lot of discussion uh online. A lot of analysts I spoke to said that the inventory levels of physical silver, the LBMA, were basically zero. They were in a scramble to get a hold of physical and ship it in. Um, I wonder what your thoughts are as to the validity of those reports and you based on what you're watching, is there still a lot of stress when it comes to inventory levels at the LBMA?

No, it's very true. No matter no matter what, it's very true. David Jensen does a masterful job of of showing that. But in essence, they're trading, you know, seven or 800 million ounces a day in London. Two billion a day if you add the COMEX and the Shanghai market. But in London, 7 or 800 billion ounces a day with a float of 150 million ounces. What could possibly go wrong? And so, yes, they are. And I mean, you can simply say the silver inventories are extremely thin, and the pressure is accelerating. It will it'll be much greater if China and potentially the US curtail exports. You know, part of uh naming silver a strategic element is that the US can now very easily the president can restrict and curtail exports. And this sets the stage for a potentially explosive reaction if demand or the systemic stress accelerates. What is systemic stress? It's if one of these banks I in in London has a failure to deliver. And it's not just the silver market. You know, these banks are connected to everything financial. And so you would expect to see a contagion, a systemic reaction through reverberating through all markets. But yeah, I mean, the truth of the matter is London has been exposed as far as I'm concerned, and uh, they're hanging on by a thread. There's exponentially more demand than there is supply, and there's exponentially more contracts than there are bars. That that is a powder keg waiting to happen.

Yes. And perhaps the the run to $54 is part of that powder keg. Interesting to note it would what a few months ago people would be mocking anybody who talked about $50 silver in my comment section. Silver will never get up that high. The banksters control it on and on. And yet here we are. So, I think that's very important to note, and I think we can go much higher from here because inflation-adjusted, if we're going back to 1980, that's close to $200 by my calculations, and that's using government inflation statistics. So, possibly much higher than that. I want to pivot to the gold space now. Obviously, also experiencing a tremendous run to all-time highs of around $4,300. Now, sitting around $4,90 as of the time of this recording. Gold showing a little more resilience than silver in terms of it falling not quite as far and recovering faster, which makes sense given how volatile silver can be. Where do we stand right now, uh, when it comes to the trajectory of the gold market in your view?

Before I answer that, let's just let's just state something that I've never seen before in my career, and I've talked a little bit about this, but it's worth mentioning to your listeners. Look, in my career, 30, almost 36 years, I've never seen Wall Street or Main Street acquiesce to anything other than 5% of gold of an asset, a portfolio rather, being in gold. And, um, you know, and it was acquiescing at best. Fine, put 5% of your money in gold. Now, recently, we've seen the Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Stanley say, "No, sell half your bonds and buy gold." Their new their new platform, according to him, is 60 stock, 20 bond, 20 gold. You got Michael Hartnett, the Chief Analyst for Bank of America, with this very, very, very expensive newsletter that goes directly to the institutional traders. It's like many thousands of dollars a year. He's saying, "No, it's 25, 25 gold, excuse me, stock, bond, short-term treasuries, gold." You got Jeffrey Gundlach, the bond king, saying, "No, six, you know, uh, 66." What did he say? Jeffrey Gundlach said, excuse me, 2500, um, 25% in gold. Sorry, Monday morning. 25% in gold is not um overweight. And then the 6600 part, that's Jeff. They used to be a primary distributor for all the world's mints, and they said 6,600 is their next target, at least intermediary target for where they expect gold to go before it gets a uh takes a little bit of a breather. You have massive institutional money, traders, and analysts and Chief Investment Officers speaking to the most sophisticated traders in North America saying 25% of your portfolio in gold is is not too much. I mean, that's just insanity if you ask me. Bank, uh, Goldman Sachs said, you know, if if um, 5% of the money comes out of the bond market because they fear that there is no um, what's the word, independence on the Fed anymore, that gold would go to $5,000 like that. Well, when you have Steven Mnuchin sitting in the Fed, who it was Trump's advisor and the architect of the Mar-a-Lago accord, fills the vacated spot. What independence? The Fed has no independence. So gold is moving in that direction. You got Bank of America just sank $67 for silver is their target for next year. So when we talk about record highs around $4,400 gold, and then it falling off and everyone saying it's over, um, I find it disingenuous at best when you have these analysts saying this, and here we are back up above $4,100, and that shows the strength and the underlying support. So gold's held up because of central bank accumulation, and and to me, that's what we've been saying forever. Um, we've seen physical demand rising and global monetary stress increasing, all of the stuff that we talk about. But what I believe we are seeing, kind of what we were just talking about, is a slow-motion global run on physical gold. And the pullback from those highs wasn't a breakdown. It was a consolidation, catching its breath. Not throwing in the towel. Pick your euphemism. But the bottom line is gold isn't just strong, it's structurally more attractive than many people realize. And I think that the recent pause is the calm before the next leg higher. That I do believe. And, uh, maybe this is it here today, as we're up over $100 bucks as we're talking.

A lot of people hoped the Trump administration would embrace gold. There was talk of auditing Fort Knox, talk of remonetizing gold on the Fed's balance sheet, the potential for gold-backed bonds. Now, perhaps some of those things are still on the table. I think Fort Knox is now a distant memory to to this administration. Um, but it seems that they are embracing crypto much more than gold at this point. Um, you know, there's the whole Genius Act. Now, Trump has come out and say said crypto is going to be a major part of the US economy, and he's a very pro-crypto president. He seems to be enacting legislation to that end. Um, pardoning CZ, who was literally reported, the the the creator of Binance, who was literally reported by authorities in the US as posing a serious threat to to US national security interests, accused of fraud and a whole bunch of other things. And then in an interview said, "I don't know who this guy is." I mean, that that's a whole other issue. But it it it all goes back to this embracing of crypto because I believe a Saudi firm is using millions or some huge amount of money in one of the Trump family's stable coins. They now have their own stable coins. What one of the companies that they manage, and they're using that stable coin to invest in Binance. So there's this path, um, that makes it kind of clear why Trump pardoned CZ. But my overall point is just how much the Trump presidency is embracing the crypto movement as opposed to gold. Do you think they're going down an erroneous path here? Um, or or or do you think in the end that they will be they will have a positive effect on on the gold market and and sound money principles as well?

Yeah, I look at it a different way, Jesse. I mean, I I think what they're trying to do, if I'm if I'm going to guess, is to reshore manufacturing. And the only way you do that is to massively devalue the dollar. Look at look at Triffin's dilemma, which says as the world reserve currency, you will always be uh have a net deficit in in global trade because your major export is going to be dollars. The world needs more dollars than we can provide through trade alone. And so, countries over time have to sell their currency to buy ours, weakening theirs, strengthening ours against those currencies, that is. And so over time, manufacturing flows to where it can be produced the the cheapest. Um, Vice President Vance has come out on White House letterhead saying, "No, we can't do this anymore. Triffin's dilemma. It has been a subsidy for the consumer. It's been a massive hindrance for the producer. It's a broken system. We have to move away from it." Even the knucklehead that was Jared Bernstein, a true knucklehead, if anyone remembers him trying to explain how treasuries were created, um, he was the uh White House uh lead economic advisor under the previous administration. He did write a report called "Dethrone King Dollar," where he says the same thing. Being the reserve currency is now a hindrance rather than a benefit. Now, if you are trying to bring back manufacturing, you have to have a weaker dollar. How do you get a weaker dollar? You let gold go to levels that no one can imagine. And I think you will see that. Now, you could argue Bitcoin, too. But take a look at USA Tether as an example. USA Tether, which is already Genius Act compliant. Their their CEO is a man named Bo Hines. Bo Hines was Trump's crypto czar until August. So the rules that Bo Hines was creating, he is now benefiting from. What is Tether doing? They have $12 billion in gold right now. More than they have in Bitcoin. About $8 billion they have in Bitcoin, according to their last numbers that just came out. They were just at the Beaver Creek Mining Summit as a company. Tether was, which is one of the biggest mining summits in the country. Again, talk about Chinese disintermediating the market. Now, Tether is. So, let's just play this out. The Genius Act says at any any time, and to your point, I think they are using they're using the cryptosphere, if you will, to get to where they they want to go. And um, I know that that sounds kind of crazy. I mean, it's like um, here's how it works. So, anytime money moves, it'll be backed by a stable coin. It will move instantly like Venmo or Zelle across a blockchain network. Instant settlement, if you will, and it will be backed by US treasuries. Now, the interest on those treasuries is not transferable to the holder of the stable coin. In other words, Tether gets to keep that interest. What are they doing with it? Well, they're buying more gold than they are Bitcoin, but they're buying Bitcoin, too. Now, if you realize that Bo Hines is in this and kind of an advisor, what if they've worked out a deal with these some of these stable coin holders, say, "Here's what you're going to do. Anytime a dollar moves across the globe, you're going to back back it with US treasuries to lower the rates synthetically, not organically. You're going to do that. And then you're going to take the proceeds and you're going to buy Bitcoin to someday maybe pay down the debt. And you're going to buy gold, not to let gold go much higher just for the hell of it, but because rising gold devalues the dollar, right? And makes exports more attractive." Now, you mentioned backing US treasuries. I mean, we had uh Michelle McCrory, who who runs part of my YouTube channel, had uh Judy Shelton on again. And I had her on six months ago, but she said the same thing to Michelle that in no uncertain terms, she believes, according to what Trump told her, that we will peg the back end of the bond market to gold July 4th of next year, the 250th anniversary of the country. So, let's put it all together. So if you have synthetic demand created through the stable coin movements by by everything has to be backed by short-term US treasuries, and then that pushes rates down, gives demand to the treasury synthetically to run the government, and the proceeds of those things go to gold, which raises it synthetically, uh, and to Bitcoin. At the same time, you now peg it to the back end of the bond market, the 5, 10, 20, 30, and even 50-year Treasury. What does that do? Number one, it keeps rates low to stimulate the economy synthetically and gives synthetic demand for the US Treasury. It takes all of that extra money and puts it towards gold and Bitcoin, devaluing the dollar, giving us the ability to slowly pay down our debt using Bitcoin. But now, if you take gold and back it to the Treasury market on the back end, you have zero upfront borrowing costs. You bring back your manufacturing at zero upfront borrowing costs. Yes, you have to pay it in gold in 20 or 30 years. Okay, fine. But the upfront borrowing costs are pretty much mitigated to zero. Bringing back your manufacturing, reshoring it, making a all the new facilities that you need to make at zero upfront borrowing, and selling your goods into a massively devalued dollar. In other words, what I believe they are doing, look at all the crumbs. They're giving up on the reserve status in order to support the bond market. And by doing so, they would actually have a fighting chance perhaps to grow our way out of a problem. So I do believe that you will see. Now, you know, people talk about will gold be revalued? Look, that's not conspiracy anymore. It is actually in the Genius Act and says in 2026, they will revalue gold. Now, they could market to market, or maybe they go much higher. James Rickards is saying $24,000. He gets there by dividing the money supply into gold. Not sure exactly how he gets that calculation. It was a while ago when I listened to what he was saying. But the point of it is, you put gold at that level, it benefits every central bank on the planet. But it massively devalues the dollar. That's the point. The dollar in relation to gold would would fall tremendously. And that alone would give us the ability to start selling our product to the rest of the world at a devalued dollar, giving up on the reserve status in order to reshore manufacturing, in order to have the ability to grow our way out. We are at a point in time, Jesse, where 60% of this country has a a literacy rate below a sixth-grade level. 60% can't read past a sixth-grade level and have no college education. AI is already kneecapping entry-level jobs, and they predict in three or four years, half of the those entry-level jobs will be affected by AI. So if you don't make anything and AI is is changing the the dynamics of the world, and your population is less educated than ever, yeah, you got some problems. So I do think if there is any nobility in what he is trying to do, if I'm right, it is to bring back manufacturing. And the only way to do that would be to revalue gold, to devalue the dollar, give up on the reserve status as Triffin's dilemma cites. And besides, all these countries around the world, they want to trade in their own currencies. They want to to determine their own fate. They want their the strength or weakness of their currency to mean something. Settling in balances in gold. And I think we're coming around full circle to gold always being the center of the monetary system. In the BRICS nations, it will be a vehicle to settle trade and and currency imbalances. Here, I think it's going to back the Treasury market to retain demand for the Treasury market. At the same time, they are loosening their desire or relinquishing their desire to maintain world reserve status. So, we'll see. That's my thesis. And I've been saying it for a long time, and I believe it. We'll see how it plays out because if we don't, our next generation and the one after that is in massive trouble because, you know, you don't you don't live in the AI sphere or on Wall Street. Where are you going to make the money? And I and I think that's something people need to think about for a moment. And I do think he's trying to bring back manufacturing. This would be the only way to do it.

I think that's a very interesting theory. My only issue with it is, do you think this is a partisan effort? Do you think this is a mostly Republican effort? Because the way that the political landscape has gotten in the United States, I feel like whether Democrat or Republican, it's just about whatever the other team is doing is wrong. Whatever our team is doing, it's right. It's gotten so ridiculous that my fear is that should we see, you know, the the midterms, the the the Democrats gain more power in the midterms and or a Democrat president uh in winning the next presidential election that they'll just go, "Yeah, all that stuff. Oh, that's what Trump came up with. Just scrap it all because that's we're we're not doing that." Do you think that's a risk or do you think this is something that is going to continue behind the scenes regardless of which party is in power?

I think you you make a good point. I would like to just simply say that I think, you know, this isn't even a broken system. It's it's I think we're witnessing its end. And because all the government debt is exploding and the deficits are out of control, and to your point, leaders refuse to or just are unable to fix the fundamentals and all the partisan fighting. I hope the Democrats realize that foreign nations no longer trust the United States dollar and fearing inflation, to your point, sanctions or default. I think at the same time, when you talk about here at home, Americans are being crushed by rising prices and falling real wages, and but yet we're told everything is fine as Wall Street soars, but Main Street struggles. It's like a K-shaped economy where, you know, the rich are getting richer because they have assets, and the poor are getting poorer because they don't. And I don't know, I I just think that um, when you realize that with constant de-dollarization and the BRICS plus and the global trade shifting to local currencies, my to your point, look, the world is preparing for a post-dollar era, and and I think this system is on borrowed time, and that while the new one's being built, um, I I hope that this goes beyond partisan because if we don't, and we slide down to that, you know, that socialist type of agenda, um, we're in big trouble. This country's over, uh, at least the way that all of us remember it. So, it is a valid point. Um, and there is no about being American anymore. It's either left or right, red or blue. And, and that divisiveness is is something that has always concerned me. Um, valid point. Don't know the answer. Let's just hope that uh someone at at or or or let's just hope that people realize that this is a very pivotal point, and if we go down that direction at a time when we're not manufacturing anything and our debt is out of control, the last trillion dollars was accumulated in 71 days, and a trillion seconds ago was 31,688 years ago. We're dead in the water if we don't bring back manufacturing. Um, at least over time, our children, our grandchildren are in trouble. So, I I don't I don't know how to answer that question, Jesse, but it is a valid point.

Yes, some great thoughts. And speaking of socialism, I'm going a bit off script here, but I always love getting your thoughts on these things. Mom Donnie winning the uh New York mayorship. Is this a result from my point of view? It's it's the result of years of disillusionment with the system, and particularly by younger people who are now entering the workforce. A lot of them realizing that they're saddled with untenable student debt. Their degrees are not getting them the paycheck that they thought it would. Costs are rising. Rent is going up. Groceries are going up. They have no chance of of purchasing their own home perhaps in their entire lifetimes given their current situation. And so in that environment, the lure of socialism seems a lot more bright and vibrant to them because, hey, we're never going to get ahead in this system. So if we can take stuff from people who have gotten ahead, and the belief is always that the rich have gotten their wealth, it's ill-gotten gains. They know people in government, they've, you know, they've cheated, they've schemed, and in many cases, that is true, but they but they paint it with a broad brush, uh, tax the rich. Um, do you think it's that, you know, rise in inflation, and perhaps this is all connected to fiat currency, and the fact that we have nothing sound backing our money has led us down this path to where people don't see any way out, and your average person on the street doesn't understand that fiat currency is is not tethered to anything of value, and that that's a huge part of the problem. So, of course, the easy way out is to look for handouts. What, what are your thoughts on that situation?

Yeah, I mean, 100%. Um, I I think I think it's a very valid point that it's I mean, it's like the Cantillon effect, right? And the Cantillon effect tells us that that the inflation that we've seen uh fosters inequality and instability. It just simply means that those closest to the money benefit the most. They have assets, and and the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. That's that K-shaped economy. And I, you know, I think people need to really understand and think about socialism. My in-laws, uh, you know, came from from Russia, and and they talk about people don't understand what socialism truly is. They don't understand um that that that it it it stifles and it and it kills um the incentive to be creative, to to outwork your competition, to produce better than someone else, to be more competitive, make the product better and cheaper. That's what capitalism is. And but the problem with it is, is you're right, is that we have created a system now where a lot of people, younger people, because of the system that has created far too much in the way of uh, I don't even know how to say it, massive inequality between those who have and those who don't. You have a lot of people who have who have become disenchanted with with their future, or or the prospect of having, like you say, a home. I guess um, it's like being opinionated but not really being informed. And I think be careful what you wish for. But yeah, I think there are a lot of people who feel that way. Look, we let 20 million people into the country. These people aren't going to have jobs. Who's going to pay for them? Um, where does the money come from? Uh, when you look at AI killing entry-level jobs, when you look at the majority of the people in this country not being able to afford a home, and now interest rates on 30-year mortgages at 6 or 7%, not the 3% they were at before. Um, it's a it's again, it's a very valid point, and it's a scary, scary realization that you have more and more people. I mean, this this is in is in essence the cloud pivot theory that I've talked about before, where in essence, you're creating a surfdom of people who will never vote Republican again because they need the constant handouts, they need that socialistic kind of um system. But that's not what made this country great. In fact, that's what will bring this country to its knees faster because we're broke. We're broke, and we're insolvent. We have $38 trillion in debt, but that excludes Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, government, military pensions. We're almost $200 trillion in debt. So, you know, it sounds fancy that government can come in and fix everything, but the truth of it is, not at this stage of the game. Government's broke and can hardly even keep its lights on, let alone the largest line item on the balance sheet is is interest on the debt, more than military. And the Congressional Budget Office, which is bipartisan, said by 2031, 100% of all of the tax revenue would go just to pay the interest on the debt and mandatory entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security. And it's kind of interesting too, Jesse, like we're being told the whole reason the government is h has been shut down is something to do with tax credits on the Obamacare, and they show how all of the the uninsured people has gone way down. Yet you need tax credits to make Obamacare work. How the hell does that work if it's so affordable? An average family of four, the cost is about $30 grand right now for insurance. And and so, you know, you get to a point where they say all the uninsured has gone way down by like 20-some million people, I don't know, even more. But look at the increase in Medicaid. It's it's it's past that number plus another 6 or 7 million. So, the point of it is, is that they've gone from uninsured largely to Medicaid, which is a a government handout subsidy, which is massively indebted. And so you you can't continue to spend money that you don't have. Uh, especially uh, when you're trying to find demand for your US Treasury market, where the rest of the world say, "Well, how you going to pay your debt? Why would we buy your your treasuries? You're massively indebted. You want to go down a road of more indebtedness and less production." Hm. How does that work? So again, it's not following the the logical chain of of events and where it would lead to. It would lead to the end of this country as we know it. Um, and God forbid we go that way. But again, very valid point.

I want to zoom out to the global picture for a moment here because so many of the problems that you've outlined there are happening in many countries around the world. I mean, my home country of Canada, people always say, "Well, Canada's healthcare is so great because it's free and any citizen can get any healthcare they want." Well, first of all, it's not free. You get a deduction taken off your paycheck every month to go into that system, the healthcare system. So, you're actually paying for it. And secondly, now we're reaching a point where in a lot of areas of Canada, you're put on a wait list for six months to a year to get, you know, basic procedures done, certain tests done, and things like this, which is obviously valuable time if you're facing some sort of serious illness. Europe, of course, starting to fall apart. Germany, once the poster child for industrial prowess throughout the region, is now de-industrializing, collapsing in on itself, largely driven by this whole green energy narrative, sanctioning Russian energy, cheap Russian energy, driving up costs across the EU. We're starting to see democracy fall apart. They're openly interfering in elections in Romania, in Georgia, in Moldova, shouting about Russian interference. The amazingly the same things the Democrats were accusing Trump of, the the EU is accusing these these so-called far-right candidates of. We've got democracy falling apart around the world. Australia is now introducing digital ID to access the internet in of course under the guise of protecting the children. Canada looking to pass hate speech laws that will allow them to police the internet. What are your thoughts on all of this and the direction we're going here because it feels like things are falling apart and not a lot of people are really realizing it when it comes to the citizens themselves. And how connected is all of this to the fiat currency system? Because these governments have essentially set themselves up to fail eventually. My thought is they're trying to put everybody under their thumb. That's the turn to authoritarianism. So that when and if things do completely fall apart, the politicians can at least potentially hold on to their power and hold on to their wealth and avoid a French Revolution scenario. What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I should be interviewing you because that's exactly the right answer. It's all connected. The rise of authoritarianism is these policies across the West is a symptom of the failing fiat system. And when governments can't fund themselves through honest production, manufacturing, and taxation, well, that's what Madami wants to do. He wants to put a 2% wealth tax on the rich. Look what's happening in London. They're all leaving. That's what's going to happen in New in New York. All these people in New New York, the wealth where I don't 50 to 75% of the tax is created through, you know, a tiny little segment of the wealth in in Manhattan and Wall Street. Well, they all know they just have to get on to 95 and turn left and head down to Florida. They know that. Um, anyways, these governments when they can't fund themselves through production and taxation, they resort to printing money. That's the Cantillon effect again. And and and This inflation is what fosters inequality and fosters instability. The next step logically then is control over speech, over movement, over money, over dissent. And central bank digital currencies aren't about convenience. They're about surveillance. To your point, but the digital ID, you know, yeah, it's happening there, but Trump wants to to get it in as well under the guise not of surfing the internet and protecting children, but under the guise of election integrity. And you could argue that is the foray into the surveillance state. And Catherine Austin Fitz would tell you that he was selected by people above him to do this, to bring us into this digital matrix. And you know, he's saying, well, I don't want CBDCs, kind of as a smokescreen because you look at everything moving as stable coins. Well, you can control the on-ramp and the off-ramp of the stable coins if you're the government, just the same. And they're programmable. They're trackable. and their design is specifically to lock people into the system. You look at I did watched an interview with the guy that um who's developed the technology behind BRICS Pay, and that's the B2B side that they're rolling out to the Belt and Road right now. 75% of human population, not just the BRICS countries. That's like uh retail, not the BRICS bridge, which is central banks, but this is retail. A credit card, an app on your phone. Any of the BRICS countries or any of the countries that integrate it can instantly spend without going through the rigmarole of converting and doing all this nonsense. But the guy says, you know, all of our software, well, the the lady asked him, she said, 'Well, you know, couldn't when you're rolling it out to that many uh countries, couldn't it foster terrorism and and fund bad people, bad groups?' He says, "We're very aware of that. Uh, we're very sensitive to that because of the number of countries we're trying to get this integrated to, not just the BRICS." This is why the BRICS is bigger than people think because BRICS Pay and BRICS Bridge is now being rolled out to not just the BRICS countries but, you know, the the countries in Southeast Asia, the Asian countries, which we've talked about, which are double the population of the West, 800 million people, and the Belt and Road. He said, um, our our software is compliant with KYC, know your client, AML, anti-money laundering, and something I had never heard before, uh, KYT, know your transaction. And so, stable coins will have that same programmability, that same trackability. You add that to a digital ID. These are designed to lock people in the system. Combined with like in the UK, the stupid speech laws with their digital ID requirements, you've just formed a control grid. And I think governments are tightening, to your point, this noose because they know debts can't be repaid honestly, and instead of fixing the system, they're locking it down. And as you see a continued confidence collapse in fiat, um, I think power clings to control. That's what they're trying to do. This isn't about safety. It's about survival, as you mentioned, of the system and the elite itself.

Well said. I want to end on potentially a positive note, and and that is I am noticing a somewhat of an awakening amongst the general public when it comes to gold and silver. It's tough for us to gauge because we live in a world where we're talking about gold and silver every day. Um, so it it's tough to get a pulse of what's happening out there, but of course, we've seen interesting developments. Big box retail like Costco and Walmart start to sell bullion very successfully, both gold and silver. The mainstream press now actually writing about gold rising being due to dollar debasement. Of course, as you mentioned, Morgan Stanley CIO recommending a 20% portfolio allocation to gold now. And I'm wondering from your perspective as uh president and CEO of Miles Franklin Precious Metals.

What are the conversations you're having with people and just your general view of the world potentially waking up to gold and silver as sound money? Obviously in China that's widely happened for you know throughout its history but especially now the government is incentivizing and directing its citizens to buy gold. Um and they recognize gold and silver as money. India, which you mentioned, also a culture that feels the same way. Vietnam, as well. So a lot of the East, a lot of these BRICS member countries, the citizens kind of already realize that gold and silver are money, but in the West, we we've been kind of woefully inadequate in that area. Do you see that starting to shift?

I would say yes, the awakening has started. You know, my whole career, gold and silver were dismissed as relics. And you know, even when you try to get a bank account in the precious metals industry, at least for many years, you were lumped in with marijuana dispensaries, uh, strip clubs, liquor stores, uh, gambling casinos, kind of thing where, you know, it's very fringe and very speculative and dismissive at best. And I think that's all part of the game. Um, you know, to push everyone into a system that is dominated by Wall Street and paper promises. But now Costco and Walmart, to your point, sell bullion and and and even the media talks about dollar debasement. That's not normal. None of that is. That's all new. Uh, I would argue to your point, we are in the early stages of a monetary reawakening because people feel something is broken. Most people feel it in their rising bills and their rent and their stagnant wages and they may not understand fiat currency or macroeconomics. I try so hard to to make this easy to understand. It's very hard when you use words like Triffin's dilemma or you know, Kanthalon effect or um, rehypothecation. I mean, people don't get it. I try hard, but they do understand that they feel something is broken. And as trust in institutions continue to erode, you will see this shift accelerate because gold and silver aren't promises, they're real value. And I think the world is very slowly waking up to it.

We're on a path towards sound money resistance, but that's at a much higher level. Um, this is the level that we've been talking about earlier. The the sovereign wealth funds, the um, the the commercial banks, central banks, they are aware of it. I think the US, the people that make the policies are are keenly aware of it. The public isn't there yet. Yeah, you see some interest in Costco and and Walmart, but if you look at the numbers, last I looked, the US in the US, you have the insiders on Wall Street leaving at a record clip and and and Warren Buffett with a half a trillion in cash and and all the insiders selling Jamie Diamond dumping stocks, uh, Zuckerberg dumping stocks, Bezos selling 7 billion of Amazon, the big insiders and and board members of Nvidia doing the same. Institutional traders, you know, selling two billion a week. At the same time, the public has its largest allocation to the stock market in history, over 54%. The largest amount of uh, margin debt, 1.4 trillion, and it went from 1 trillion to 1.4 like that. And also the largest exposure to options. So, you have mom and pop all in on in stocks, all in on margin, and all in on leverage with options. At the same time, the big money's moving away. At the same time, you're seeing massive deliveries on COMEX. Now, these are people that are incredibly sophisticated and are trading in billions upon billions upon billions upon billions of dollars every week or month into COMEX. I don't care what argument people want to make. The people at that level that are bringing in that kind of metal, they don't do things, pardon my French, for shits and giggles. They have all of the information. They know what's coming. And isn't it interesting that as we become a net exporter of gold, that gold, even with its pullback, is up north of 50% this year? An asset that pays no interest. But who's been accumulating it all? Not only the most well-funded traders in the world, the most well-informed. I've been screaming this. You You can't look at the mainstream media and and base your conclusions upon a faulty narrative where all of the media outlets are controlled by four companies. Instead, look at what the biggest money on the planet is doing. And yet, there has not been one mainstream news article about all the gold and silver coming into COMEX. I have yet to see anyone talk about it or any Jim Cramer or any of these so-called experts. Why isn't anyone saying, "Why has the United States imported billions upon billions upon billions?" Oh, that's right. We we've been doing that with silver, too. And we did just reclassify a critical mineral. Maybe the insiders knew what was coming. My point to you is that the insiders are always positioned well before the herd and you've we've seen it for years now with gold. You're beginning to see it now with silver, with copper, with everything. And so the public is always the last to catch on. This is the the whole theory of of wave theory. Elliot wave, Kondratieff wave, emotions control the market. Right now the market is being controlled by greed where you have 10 stocks worth over 50% of the market. That's ridiculous. And at the same time, um, you know, the big money's quietly been accumulating tangible assets. Wait until the fear kicks in. When it's it's the fear of wow, I missed this and things are not as I thought and the big money's already in it. I don't know. I think we're a long way from the end. But I will tell you, yes, there is an awakening that has started, but at levels above a couple levels above Main Street. There are some people on Main Street who are keenly aware, but those are the people listening to your show and mine and others. It's not the people that work their ass off all day long, come home exhausted, have dinner, have a beer, watch Wheel of Fortune, and go to bed. I'm being, you know, I'm generalizing here, but my point is is that a lot of people don't spend the time or have the trust in in their own intellect or their own curiosity or their own feeling that something's wrong to do the due diligence themselves and research. Could this really could my feelings be substantiated? That's too hard and that's why so few people really succeed in investing. So, there will come a time when the mainstream truly awakens. But as Rick Rule says, and I believe it, one half of 1% allocation, he's always said this exact phrase, one half of 1% allocation across the entire financial matrix of gold and gold related equities also from Joe and Jane Sixpack to the Harvard Endowment Fund. But isn't it interesting that the Harvard Endowment Fund a couple months ago bought a couple hundred million worth of gold? So at that level, yeah, they're getting it. The levels below. Maybe they're starting to sense it at Costco and Walmart, but we're not quite to where I think the public has even got their foot in the water. There might be a little bit of the first toe, but we're nowhere near this being something where the public gets it.

>> Well, tell us about Miles Franklin Precious Metals and your YouTube channel as well.

>> It'll be 36 years we've been in business this February. Um, our YouTube channel, uh, Miles Franklin Media, we're very, very, very happy to have brought on Michelle McCrory. She's amazing. She's brilliant. And um uh that we have a lot a lot coming up. I I'd like to talk about but can't. But a lot of good things coming up, a lot of interesting things. Uh for people who would like to get our price list, which we don't publish, we allow a little bit of purchasing on our website, but not much. Um info info at Miles Franklin, let us know that you saw this podcast just so we can keep it all straight. Um, we'd appreciate that. Put it in the subject line, came from Commodity Culture. We'll send you our price list, which will be as as good or better than just about anyone in the country. We strive to be as good as possible price-wise. And um, we don't change that price list more than twice a week. So if you see better prices, let us know. We'll try our best to match it or beat it. Um, but we've never had a customer complaint ever, material one, in 36 years. And uh, we'll make sure that your listeners aren't the first. Um, and I appreciate being here, Jesse. You're one of the the few people who that I interview with who really understands where things are going, really takes the time to do the research itself. And that's why I had you on my show, my Miles Franklin channel, little by little, um, a few months ago, because you get it more than most people do. And that's why you're a hell of an interviewer, let alone someone who people should listen to as well, even in the way that you ask the questions. Um, you have my respect and I appreciate uh being here and I look forward to seeing you in person at uh the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, one of the two that I would never miss, Jay Martin, and uh look forward to picking up where we left off.

>> Absolutely. Very much appreciate the kind words. It means a lot coming from you. Of course, I'm going to put uh links in the description below to your YouTube channel and Miles Franklin and of course the email address as well, info@ Miles Franklin, where people can reach out to get that price list. Thank you so much, Andy, and definitely looking forward to seeing you at VR.

>> Jesse, thank you, buddy. I'll be looking forward to that, too. This time, first beer's on me. You take care.

>> Thank you for joining us today. Arc, Silver, Gold, Osmium has some great prices on gold and silver bullion. They are on your screen right now. These are all while supplies last. So, make sure to reach out to owner Ian Everard today at 307-264-9441 or by email at Ian@arcSGO.com and make sure to tell him that Commodity Culture sent you. And pick up your Commodity Culture merch. All backed by 100% quality guarantee. Link is in the description below. And I'll see you guys in the next episode. Commodity Culture is a series on commodities and natural resources. If you would like to see more, be sure to subscribe and hit the bell notification so you're always up to date with the latest episodes.