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I agree that we need a backed currency, but there just isn't enough gold to back a currency as large as that needed for the US economy. On the other hand you could back the currency with tangible assets other than gold. Still a backed currency, but not limited to the availability of a single asset.

For example there are millions of acres of timber on land controlled by the US government. The amount can be calculated and audited based on satellite photos, so in a sense it is better than gold that may or may not be in a vault at Fort Knox. And timber is always useful, either as building material, paper or fuel. So the government could only issue as much currency as they are willing to open up resources to back it. And if a timber company shows up and demands the government convert their cash to timber, they cut it, no EPA no arguments.

The same would go for oil, coal, gas, metals and other resources trapped on government land. If the government wants to kowtow to the Greens and lock up the resources, then they can't issue any currency. It is a way to pry the resources the government has confiscated out of the hands of the Greens and the Socialists. We will have either a small government, or at least the resources and accompanying economic growth to pay for a larger government. And the dollar would always be worth something. A gallon of gas, a half ton of coal or a few board feet of lumber. But in any case a heck of a lot more than Obama's promise, that is after all worth precisely nothing.

... but there just isn't enough gold to back a currency as large as that needed for the US economy.

That is simply not true. It all depends on the price at which you peg gold vs. the dollar. We have 8,133.5 tons of gold, and with there being 29,166 2/3 troy ounces per ton, that means that the reserve is 237,227,086 troy ounces. The Fed measured M1 at $1.89 trillion in March. To have 100% backing for that entire amount (assuming that the government actually has the full amount claimed) would require a gold price of $7,967.05 per ounce - call it $8,000. It would be a 1-time shock to the system to have gold skyrocket that high literally overnight (esp. for those short gold with no physical to deliver), but after that we should have a great deal of stability. Yeah, anyone holding gold or gold miners, or long gold in the futures or options markets, would make a killing...but that beats everyone losing the value of their dollars slowly but surely over time, not to mention the lack of investment due to the uncertainty of a continually falling dollar.