I understand the reporter’s skepticism and recognize that it is prevalent among those who have not taken the time to study the circumstances in silver. It’s not unusual for people to hold strong opinions about issues they are not well-versed on. I discovered long ago that silver is such an issue.  Everyone knows that silver is a precious metal and they have some amount of familiarity with it. It is a human trait to then think they know all that needs to be known about it. Many are skeptical with the idea that silver could possibly be manipulated, even before they are presented with the facts. Their minds are already made up before the facts have even been presented. Furthermore, the fact that the allegations of manipulation are coming from someone “outside the establishment” convinces them that the idea of a manipulation is preposterous.

Today, I will attempt to convert the skepticism about silver, as widespread as it is, into something positive. Long-time readers know I was once a silver skeptic myself, and it was only a challenge by my friend and mentor, Israel Friedman, to investigate silver’s continuing consumption deficit that led to my study of silver. That’s what led me to discover that silver was manipulated in price.

The first issue among the skeptics is the length of the alleged silver manipulation, said by me to date back more than 25 years. How could such a manipulation last so long, in full view of the entire investment world and front-line regulators created to prevent such a manipulation? A quick answer is - are you kidding me? We have experienced, in the past few years, the uncovering of massive frauds and financial and regulatory failures in the form of Bernard Madoff, the failures of giant financial organizations like AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and the manipulation and collapse of the housing market via uneconomic financing. None of these financial disasters were terminated by prudent regulatory intercession; all ended when the music stopped.  Next to those events, the silver manipulation is not out of place. The only question is whether the CFTC will do its job and end the silver manipulation or wait until the music stops and the physical silver shortage hits in earnest.

A more detailed answer to the question of the silver manipulation’s longevity lies in the nature of the manipulation, and revolves around excessive and concentrated short-selling on the COMEX. Let’s face it, the vast majority of people can’t even comprehend what a short sale is, no less what concentrated short-selling may be. It took me a full month of studying and contemplation when I first trained to be a commodity broker for Merrill Lynch 40 years ago, before I started to comprehend how you could sell something you didn’t own.  My point is that understanding the downward silver manipulation is not easy, nor does it come quickly. Most skeptics demand to be convinced immediately, yet their own skepticism and the complexity of the manipulation prevent immediate understanding.  It’s easier for them to remain unconvinced. Once again, what they object to is the idea of a silver manipulation, not the facts in question.

Skeptics point to how the establishment and especially the prime regulator, the CFTC, have denied and scoffed at the allegations of manipulation for 20 years. But the skeptics are not putting the CFTC’s long history of dismissals into proper perspective. The issue of potential manipulation in any regulated market is of prime concern to the CFTC. In fact, it is their most important issue. The CFTC, therefore, must respond to all credible claims of manipulation. If the claims weren’t credible, they wouldn’t have to respond at all. The CFTC has responded to my allegations of price manipulation in silver because those allegations are credible.

Not only has the CFTC responded to the allegations I have raised about a silver manipulation because the facts are credible, but they have done so on a recurring basis. The facts about the silver manipulation are so credible that the CFTC has not been able to convince those who have taken the time to study the issue, even though the agency has issued repeated denials. Of course, the CFTC’s repeated denials are enough to satisfy the skeptics.