If we peg the dollar to $400 an ounce today, and if we keep federal spending below tax receipts, if we produce/export more than we buy/import, we will have nothing but positive benefits, and we will be come a stronger and stronger nation, and deservedly so.
Returing to the gold standard, and becoming fiscally responsible, and becoming a producing nation, is all positive,a nd can only benefit all americans and all of our grandchildren. It made our nation the most prosperous nation in the world. We accomplished a lot as a country from 1789 to 1970, and esp a lot from 1789 to 1933 when even domestic transactions were pegged to gold.
You want to create a fiat price control on a commodity. doomed from the start. then you want to tie the value of a curreny to that commodity's value, by fiat.
The purpose of a gold standard was to establish the value of a currency. There are other, more realistic ways to value the currency of a mature, productive nation. GDP, debt ratios, asset estimations,etc. are all factored into the daily market value of the dollar. What has the price of gold got to do with any of that.
I also disagree with needing to 'produce/export more than we 'buy/import.' Much of what we 'import,' we own. American enterprises own manufacturing facilities abroad. It's similar to a someone in NY buying a car that was made in Michigan.
Returning to the Gold standard is not synonymous with becoming 'fiscally responsible.' Fiat money in the hands of responsible management is at least as responsible, and arguably more so, than an arbitrary peg to jewelry.
Can a free market system not be trusted? Yes or no? If yes, then it can be trusted to accurately value the currency of a nation. The issue isn't the means of valuing the currency, the issue is the management of that value. And gold is not a cure-all for poor management.