the restitution of a gold/silver backed-economy
The claim that the real price of gold has become too volatile to allow that metal to be relied upon as a standard, for example, overlooks the extent to which gold’s price depends on the demand for private gold hoards, which has become both very great and very volatile precisely because of the uncertainty that fiat money regimes have inspired. The claim also overlooks the tendency for a metal’s price to become more stable as it becomes more widely adopted as a monetary standard.Nor is it the case that there is not enough gold in the United States to support a new gold standard. According to Lawrence White, the Treasury’s gold stock, assuming that it is indeed what the Treasury itself claims, would at an official gold price of $1,600 per troy ounce be worth almost 20 percent of 2012 M1, making for “a more than healthy reserve ratio by historical standards.”There are, however, some more compelling reasons for doubting that a return to gold would prove worthwhile. One is the prospect that any restoration of the convertibility of dollars into gold might be so disruptive that the short-run costs of the reform would outweigh any long-run gains it might bring. A second compelling reason has to do with the specific disadvantage of a unilateral return to gold. Here, once again, it must be recalled that the historical gold standard that is remembered as having performed so well was an international gold standard, and that the advantages in question were to a large extent advantages due to belonging to a very large monetary network.Finally and perhaps most importantly, it is more doubtful than ever before that any government-sponsored and -administered gold standard would be sufficiently credible to either be spared from or to withstand redemption runs.
Can't say I'm a fan. Although, under a free-banking regime I suppose consumers could be given the option of holding gold-backed currencies. That being said, George Selgin, a proponent of free banking, is still sceptical of the Gold Standard: It's worth reading the entire thing. On a social note, I agree that life essentially begins at conception.
I skimmed through the link and I noticed one thing: No mention of the 1970 (or 1971) act that fully eliminated the remainder of the gold standard. While it does mention the 1934 act of basically banning gold for civilian ownership, gold was still used as money backing till the 1970s. At that time our national debt numbered like $20B (rough estimate) due to being limited by the reserve of gold. Ever since then the debt has greatly risen to the current $17T because there's no limitation of the amount of money that can be printed. Basically we've been increasing inflation for the past 3+ decades and it'll only get worse, especially due to Iran not selling itself and oil to America. Oil is the only thing giving the dollar any value and we know oil is a non-renewable resource so it greatly explains American hostility and war-like nature in areas rich with oilFun fact with this video: Around 1:50 mark, clip of Nixon is shown and he mentions Secretary Connally (John Connally); that's one of my distant cousins.....think 4th or 5th but nerveless I'm related to himAnyway, the path to a gold standard would take time. It would involve maintaining a level budget yearly, pay off debt/interest and reduce spending to get back to a responsible level where the gold in existence can cover the money bills
You guys just don't quit do you?
By the way, American foreign policy is probably driven more by pro-Israeli sentiments than the petrodollar. That'll be tested fairly soon anyway, since the petrodollar just died.
Constitutionalist/Libertarian
Scientist/engineer (soon to be)
Rose will never be an engineer. With a 50% drop out rate for that major and the fact he revealed to me that he has consistent C and D grades for his other classes, the odds are heavily against him. Not to mention the kid has some serious mental problems that cannot be worked out.
If you had to pick one label for yourself, what would it be?
