When you were in school, you probably learned that the Pilgrims had a Thanksgiving feast with Indians and wore funny hats. In this episode of the Money Metals' Midweek Memo, host Mike Maharrey teaches some Pilgrim history you almost certainly didn't learn in school, explaining how socialism nearly wiped them out in the early years at Plymouth. In this episode, Mike also explains how you can hedge Bitcoin gains with precious metals and the origin of the term "Black Friday."
Mike opens the show by sharing one thing he is thankful for.
"That I live in a country that retains some semblance of a free market. I mean, government people are doing their darndest to destroy it with endless economic intervention. But it’s better than in a lot of places."
He acknowledges "capitalism" has its problems, but he insists it's much better than socialism where the central planners control everything.
"I’ll be honest; I hate to even use the word capitalist because it is so maligned. Most people conflate capitalism with corporatism or crony capitalism. Capitalism just means the means of production are privately held. Crony capitalism is the ridiculous system we have today. It’s kind of capitalist, but there are all kinds of government control and intervention. Political interests tip the playing field in favor of their cronies. So, it might be capitalist-ish, but it’s not really free market. I’m a free-market guy all the way.
He reiterates that he's thankful that he doesn't live under a truly socialist system.
"You know why? Because it’s always a disaster. It always has been. Did you know the pilgrims learned this lesson the hard way? I’m going to share a little Thanksgiving history you probably weren’t aware of. Because the Pilgrims started their new life in America experimenting with socialism, there almost wasn’t a Thanksgiving."
Before delving into the Pilgrim's history, Mike gives a quick overview of the recent volatility in the gold and silver markets, emphasizing that it's important to shut out the noise and just think about the fundamentals.
"Yes. We’re going to have a new presidential administration. Some of Trump’s policies will undoubtedly impact the economy. But there are some fundamental things that aren’t going to change. Namely, inflation isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the Federal Reserve is already back to creating inflation. I talked about this at length last week, so I won’t beat a dead horse. But that’s something you should always keep front of mind. And as I said last week, I don’t see this administration substantively tackling the debt problem. Sure, I love the rhetoric coming of DOGE. But as I mentioned last week, discretionary spending that they can cut makes up less than a third of the budget. This doesn’t seem like a time to be unloading gold and silver."
He also touches on the recent gains in Bitcoin and suggests a strategy for investors desiring to protect their profits during the next downturn. It involves selling Bitcoin at the peak, holding the gains in precious metals, and then moving back into Bitcoin as it moves up again.
He emphasizes that while some people call Bitcoin "digital gold," they are very different assets, noting that the correlation between gold and Bitcoin is close to zero over the long term.
Mike then pivots back to Thanksgiving.
"I can almost guarantee you didn’t learn the story I’m about to tell you in school. Instead, they taught you that pilgrims wore funny hats and ate turkey with Indians. This story is a little more meaty. And it’s absolutely true. It’s primarily gleaned from William Bradford’s journals. It’s a story about human nature and economics – two things that are intimately intertwined. In fact, economics is really just an analysis of human action. But if you don’t take into account the realities of human nature, you’re going to get economics wrong because you’re going to assume people will take actions that don’t actually take in real life."
Mike outlines how the Pilgrims began life in Plymouth by holding all of their food and provisions in a "common store," adhering to the philosophy, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”
As Mike explains in detail, during the first two years in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims starved. It wasn't until they abandoned communal ownership and allowed people to work private plots of land and keep all the fruits of their labor that their situation stabilized.
"Scarcity. Human behavior. Incentives. The experience of the Pilgrims vividly demonstrates basic economic principles. Their good intentions could not overpower the cold hard realities of economic principles. They never have. They never will. So, a little food for thought for the Thanksgiving holiday as you put a bunch of food in your belly."
To wrap up the show, Mike shares the origins of the term "Black Friday." He also rails against the crowds and traffic inherent in the Good Friday shopping rush and offers an alternative.
"The good news is you don’t have to go out and shop. This year, give your loved ones money. But not worthless paper. Give the gift of gold and silver. Call 800-800-1865."
About the Author
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for MoneyMetals.com with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
