Replies

It’s still amazing to me that men like my father obeyed such a decree. Today my only response would not be printable on a site like this one.

The reality is that very few people did obey the FDR decree. Which is why a confiscation of any physical asset is unlikely. The reality is that high inflation and the resulting effective confiscation of everybody’s savings is the smart way to go for the feds. No need to have armed confrontations with gold bugs. Or raids on farmers. Or nationalization of oil. Just quietly remove the paper wealth until nothing is left. When they are done, the average waitress will be able to pay off the national debt on one day's tips. This is how it has been done in the past and the way it will be done in the future. It won't matter if you are a millionaire or billionaire, your savings will be effectively zeroed out. The entire Weimar meltdown experience happened in 3 months after 10 years of political wrangling. What will you do in the last 3 months to save yourself?

It’s still amazing to me that men like my father obeyed such a decree. Today my only response would not be printable on a site like this one.

Back then people trusted the government and (even the Republicans) felt "If President Roosevelt feels that turning in my gold will help get America going again then by golly I will turn in my gold"

Today, not even the most harden Democrats would feel that way about Obama if he were to ever issue such an order.

Which is why I don't think it would ever happen again, because it would probably costs more trying to enforce such an order than they would get back in confiscated gold.