[Bobby777]

considering the amount of gold the USA owns versus the amount of money printed, I think the answer is clear ...

[Mulder]

Good article. As I was reading it, I started to remember that Greenspan used to be pro-gold. Then I looked at the date ;)

Since gold is the only Constitutionally-authorized money, it should be returned to ASAP.

[I got the rope]

PING!

[lainie]

Thanks for posting this bump

[Paul C. Jesup]

CAN THE U.S. RETURN TO A GOLD STANDARD

No, I don't think so, but we can go to a land standard with the U.S. dollar back-up by the 900 million acers held by the government.

[Jaysun]

We need to go back to gold, but what do we do about the impact of other fiat currencies? The Euro for example? How do we know that the rest of the world wouldn't continue to honor the Euro while we suffered a "less valuable" gold dollar? Those countries using the Euro do make up a significant part of the economy for the rest of the world. Would we trade our gold dollars for their Euros? If not, our trade situation would create a depression. Even if the Euro only lasted short-term, they could drive us into oblivion by simply speeding up their printing presses and passing us worthless paper for gold certificates.

[n-tres-ted]

Even then he was pretty slippery. He was saying that going back to the gold standard would be inconvenient for politicians, not to mention the big banks that need bailout so often. But in this so-called scholarly discussion by our then-future leader, no thought given to the people being damaged by the erratic fluctuations in the dollar's value.

[Johnny_Cipher]

Bump.

[endthematrix]

Better yet let's propose a run on the banks. Say on July 4th everybody WITHDRAWL your accounts. Then the masses will get the picture. However there will be repercussions...is what I'm advocating legal?

[fourdeuce82d]

I don't know much about the GOLD STANDARD but I would like to learn more about the GOLD STANDARD because it sounds as though the GOLD STANDARD could be a good thing.

Would a GOLD STANDARD be better than not having a GOLD STANDARD? A GOLD STANDARD might be better than a nonGOLD STANDARD. Once we left the GOLD STANDARD things were worse than before, when we had a GOLD STANDARD.

I Dont Imagine Other Things could be worse than a GOLD STANDARD. As Soon aS Humanly pOssible, Lets Examine returning to the GOLD Standard.

[endthematrix]

We've been duped here! We are talking about the history/future of money, while it is best to discuss the historic and future motives of international finance institutions.

[Nick Danger]

It ain't gonna happen, folks. When Greenspan wrote this, the inflation rate was 12%. It had been in double-digts for two years. If that wasn't bad enough, the unemployment rate was 8%, on its way to 10%.

If ever there was a time to sell the people of the United States a reform like returning to the gold standard, that was it. Greenspan even took a stab at "how to get there from here."

If it didn't happen then, it's not gonna happen. I know there are people for whom this is their life's crusade, but broadly speaking, there is no energy on this subject. There wasn't even much energy on it after two years of double-digit inflation.

If Reagan had wanted this, he would have had it. He was elected in a landslide with a very clear mandate to fix the economy, and fix it fast. He did fix it, and he was re-elected in an even bigger landslide. But no gold standard.

I think we can guess why. We do not have a king who is overspending. The best argument for the gold standard is that it keeps kings honest. But we, meaning the "body politic," do not want an honest king, because we are the king.

We vote for this crap. Well, maybe not us Freepers, but a majority of voters in the United States cannot get enough of government spending. The day the people want this to stop, it'll stop. But hey, it's fun spending money. Let's go the Moon! Hell, let's go to Mars! Let's buy all the old people their medicine! Let's have more endowments for the arts! Let's have a million-dollar swimming pool for tadpoles!

No gold standard is going to stop this. Any legislation that puts in a gold standard can take out a gold standard. The truth is, "We, the People" do not want spending restraint. If "we" did, we would have spending restraint and we wouldn't need gold to do it.

[Heartbreak of Psoriasis]

Obviously if you cannot finance federal deficits, you cannot create them.

That sorta says it all, doesn't it?

[Free Vulcan]

Only when the current order crashes into dust, assuming there is anything left.

[M-cubed]

Why bother with a gold standard?...Greshams law and supply and demand are providing a simple "gold standard"....the price of gold and silver is inversly proportional with the race to inflate all the "fiat curriencies" throughout the world...gold and silver are doing what they have always historically done...provide a "store of value" for ones labor

[ChefKeith]

It will never happen because the gold would be to hard for the politicians to steal because they could not carry it around like they can transfer funds from place to place.

[jla]

^

[Jim Noble]

CAN THE U.S. RETURN TO A GOLD STANDARD?

No.

[the invisib1e hand]

yes, lets peg the dollar to gold again. then let a motherlode be discovered in, say, egypt.

yes, that would be wise. imagine the political repercussions of tying one's currency to a commodity that is mined in other nations.

You talk about 'no borders!' You piss and moan about the UN!? Right off the bat you'd be fast tracked to a single world currency just to maintain 'peace.' And I wonder who would be in charge of that project...

like the '55 Chevy, the gold standard has come and gone.

[waterstraat]

There is really no question about it, we NEED to return to a gold standard.

Both internationally, and domestically.

Peg the dollar at $400 an ounce today, and if we dont have the gold, then we cant spend any more money. If we dont have the gold to give Iraq a half trillion, then we have to get out. If we dont have the gold to pay for prescriptions, then we cant have federal paid prescriptions. etc.