Arizona Governor vetoes gold and silver legal tender bill

MineWeb ^ | May 3, 2013 | Dorothy Kosich

[bkopto]

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Thursday vetoed Senate Bill 1439 which would have made Arizona the second U.S. state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender.

In a letter to Arizona State Senate President Andy Biggs, Brewer said, “While I believe the concern over a devalued dollar as a result of an unsustainable federal deficit is justified, I am unable to support this legislation.”

“I believe the provisions in this legislation need to be more carefully examined and there should be prior coordination with those government agencies tasked with the oversight of these transactions,” she stressed.

See also: Navigating gold, silver legal tender isn’t for the faint of heart

“For example, it is unclear whether this legislation would require Arizona to exempt income tax related to a transaction involving collectable coins or bills that were originally authorized by Congress and may be used as legal tender,” Brewer said. “This would result in lost revenues to the state, while giving businesses that buy and sell collectible coins or currency originally authorized by Congress an unfair tax advantage.”

State Senator Chester Crandell, the bill’s sponsor, said the ability to use gold and silver is still a work in progress and that more legislation would be needed before it could be viable.

The Arizona Legislature could chose to over-ride the governor’s veto of SB 1439. However, a 2/3 vote is required by each chamber—House and Senate—to over-ride her veto. However, the Republican controlled Senate only approved the measure by an 18-10 vote.

The governor’s veto means that Utah remains the only U.S. state which has approved gold and silver as legal tender. However, similar bills are advancing in several states.

[0.E.O]

For example, a pair of Nike Air Jordan shoes costs 1/10 ounce of gold. Customers can either give you a 1/10 ounce gold coin, or use an exchange machine at the counter to figure our how high a stack of paper is required that day.

But again, if the value of that 1/10th ounce gold coin could be $160 when I pick out my Air Jordans and drops to $155 by the time I get to the sales counter only to rocket up to $165 by the time I get to my car then have I gotten a good deal or have I been screwed in my purchase?

[0.E.O]

Read your constitution for gods sake.

I have. What part are you referring to?

[Mr. Jeeves]

Gold didn’t change - the value of the Federal Reserve paper did. The guy who pays with dollars may or may not have gotten screwed today by his own government’s floppy fiat currency - the guy who pays with gold is going to get pretty much the same value for his gold regardless of what day or time he makes his purchase.

[crz]

Read it again. Enumerated powers.

[crz]

Here, I will help you out. It is under article 1 section 8-the enumerated powers.

[crz]

Then read section 10.

[0.E.O]

Here, I will help you out. It is under article 1 section 8-the enumerated powers.

Then it gets back to how do you 'regulate the value thereof' when the substance your coin is made of varies in value from moment to moment? What's your answer for that?

[culpeper]

As a merchant I’ll take your gold but I’m going to convert the USD price of the item to gold 10% below the spot price to cover the volatility of the metal and so that I don’t have to deal with converting back to USD continuously.

[crz]

Congress sets the value. But, who the hell wants these past congresses doing anything?

I mean is that so hard to understand? Congress is to set the value. Not the federal reserve.

[crz]

Here since I do not believe you read it.

Section 8

1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

[crz]

Then comes section 10.
Section 10

1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

[bkopto]

So what does this bill do? Nothing. Except exempt gold and silver coin dealers from state sales tax. Which is a weird thing to do.

In the informed opinion of many, and as treated in the Constituion, gold is money, a sure store of wealth; gold is not a commodity.

Removing the tax from gold formally re-elevates gold to money status, its role throughout recorded history (that is, until the emergence of the western social welfare states in the early 20th century).

Gold is not a "barbarous relic", as Keynes said, nor is it a commodity, as Bernanke says.

[SeminoleCounty]

I was quite ticked off when she vetoed the “proof of eligibility” law AZ passed. The law never specified Obama directly... but she vetoed it anyway.

To slap down such a law is just being an Obama Supporter...and not taking the Eligibility issue seriously cost way more GOP votes than not getting Hispanic votes because of not supporting Illegal Alien Amnesty

[MeganC]

Anyone with a lick of sense knows that gold and silver are currency regardless of the law.

[TBP]

Bad move, Brewer.

[0.E.O]

I mean is that so hard to understand? Congress is to set the value. Not the federal reserve.

How does Congress set the value of gold?

[0.E.O]

You aren’t making a whole lot of sense. So are you saying this is an idiotic bill because Arizona cannot coin money? Or a brilliant bill since Arizona is supposed to be accepting only gold or silver?

[crz]

They did not write it properly as I understand.

It would take a whole year to explain and a whole lot of reading of the founders intent. The basic is that since the states formed the federal government, nothing but gold and silver is legal tender-or currency backed by it. No state means no state, and, since the states are a union, the federal government being made up of the union, the federal government has to make regular the value so we dont have 50 different values of currency. Which actually happened in the past.

[crz]

I cant do much more for you than this. You have to do your own research. Sorry.

State Currency and the First Paper Money

*

From the passage of the Mint Act in 1792 through the start of the Civil War in 1861, federal currency was issued only in the form of coins, which were redeemable for silver. During this time, there was little to no regulation of state-produced currency. As a result, over 1,600 banks in various states were printing their own forms of currency. By 1861, over 7,000 different types of currency were being used in the U.S. This not only led to confusion but also caused devaluation and inflation-like effects. In July 1861, Congress passed an act authorizing the U.S. mint to print paper currency, called “greenbacks.” By 1863, the National Bank Act was passed and changed the name of the U.S. paper currency to “legal tender.” At the same time, this act put regulations in place that limited the ability of the states to print money with abandon. Upon the passage of this act, states could still print money, but they were standardized as “national bank notes” and could only be printed on paper provided by the federal government.

The Gold Standard and the Great Depression

*

On March 4, 1900, Congress passed the Gold Standard Act, which tied the value of U.S. currency to gold. By the end of World War I, the U.S. was the only country that had successfully maintained the gold standard for its currency. While this was considered a success at the time, the years of the Great Depression had a severe impact on the gold standard in the U.S. To keep gold ratios to the dollar at appropriate levels, Congress continually raised interest rates throughout the 1930s. This, coupled with citizens’ tendencies to hoard gold during this period, forced the U.S. off the gold standard for the first time in three decades. By the end of the Great Depression and the start of WWII, the U.S. was back on the gold standard. During this time, most major world currencies were tied to the U.S. dollar, making the gold standard the effective system for most of the world.

[RHS Jr]

I bet it has more to do with her lacking Jackson’s balls when reminded of Kennedy’s $5 red ink Treasury Bills and murder than it does about how it might affect her state.