I was listening to the radio today and some commentator mentioned that going back to the gold standard is totally unreasonable because we “don’t have enough gold”. This is really a silly objection. The merits of gold take some explaining while the “don’t have enough gold” line is just a slogan type phrase without any thought put into it. So lets take a look at the “don’t have enough gold” line and root out the falsehoods impregnated in it.
Gold has traditionally been used as money precisely because it is rare. The freemarket picked gold and silver because they are precious metals. What makes them precious? They are uncommon/rare. It’s pretty simple, we don’t want gold to be common place because it would not work well as money. The maket could have chosen steel but, steel production is about 545,500 times that of gold. If I wanted to buy stuff with steel, I would need a huge truck to transport it. The reason that gold has been used as money is because of its high value per unit of weight.
It is true that if the U.S. returned to the gold standard today that their would be far more dollars in circulation than in the past in proportion to U.S. gold reserves. I would say “so what?” The fact that there are more dollars in circulation simply means that gold would have to be re-linked to the dollar at a higher amount. This has been done before in the 1930s when FDR revalued gold because of all the money that was printed under his and the Hoover administration. Today we could re-link to gold in much the same way (but hopefully without confiscation). So instead of 36 dollars for every ounce of gold it would be something like 1500 dollars an ounce or maybe even 40000 dollars an ounce according to some estimates. This would simply mean that I would need to turn in 1500 dollars to the bank to recieve an ounce of gold. With modern banking electronics and bank cards I would not even need to turn in Federal Reserve notes to recieve hard currency. When I swipe my card for $15 it would simply remove gold from my alloted pile in the bank and put it into another alloted pile that is owned by the seller of the good I just bought. Whether the gold is physically moved or just kept track of in a ledger would probably be up to the bank. As you can see, modern technology would make a present day gold standard much more cost effiecent than 100 years ago when you had to physically withdraw gold from the bank.
I would also argue that the “not enough gold” argument misses the whole point entirely, or more precicely three points.
1) The fact that gold is linked to the dollar means that the federal government could not print off money at will. This money printing steals wealth from the population and hurts the poor and the middle class the worst because their wages are largely fixed and do not benefit from inflation like Wall Street and other politically connected groups. Putting a check on government inflation(theft) is the whole point of the gold standard. The dollar could be linked to anything hypothetically; silver, copper, land, or even oil could be used in the same way. The reason gold has been used is because of its high value per weight but, this doesn’t mean that something else could not be used in the future. Hell, the governemnt could use sea shells and it would still limit how much money it could print.
2) Gold has value in itself. I know pundits on TV and on financial shows say that gold does not have any value because it does not do anything but, they are simply wrong. Go into any pawn shop or Jewelry store. Gold is obviously highly valued by large segments of the population. The reason it is money is because it is widely in demand. This does not mean that everyone has to want gold but, instead means that someone, somewhere down the road will want to own gold. This could change to silver or maybe energy units (like oil or killowatts) but gold has traditionally been the most widely valued good and that is why it is used as money.
3) Gold also provides a function as well. Gold provides a unit of account that allows all of society to make long term investment decisions. Other things can be used as a unit of account but, gold arose on the free market because its supply is relatively stable, only growing at a very predictable rate of about 2% a year. Today we use Federal Reserve notes as a unit of account but, we never know how much inflation is going to be year after year. This creates massive distortions in the economic system that makes society poorer because of peoples inability to make long term investment decisions because of the intertemporal nature of investment. All of civilization is based on people being able to judge the value of things in the present and over time. Gold does this pretty well, government bureaucrats are pretty poor substitutes. Once again, many things can be used as a unit of account but in the past, the freemarket has used gold.
In conclusion, the whole “not enough gold argument” is pretty naive. There are some better arguements against gold that are more intellectually sound like the “we need to inflate to save the economy!” argument. You can read more about that here, here, and here.
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed!
I care for
Very useful information particularly the last part
such information a lot. I was looking for this particular information for a very long time.
Thank you and best of luck.
I enjoy your writing style truly loving this web site.
Perfect work you have done, this web site is really cool with good information.
Thanks, I have just been looking for info approximately this topic for a while and yours is the best I’ve discovered so far. But, what concerning the conclusion? Are you certain about the supply?
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for vpn reviews
I got what you mean ,saved to favorites, very decent web site.
You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
I don’t know if it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else experiencing problems with your website.
It appears as though some of the text in your posts are running off
the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback
and let me know if this is happening to them too? This may be a
issue with my web browser because I’ve had this happen before.
Many thanks
I will immediately clutch your rss as I can not to find your email subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly permit me understand in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.
You are a very clever individual!
They made the Unit Minor a hundred and fifty and Unit Tremendous 250 in this method and by 1938 all of their machines were unit construction. During October 2017, the Australian construction contractor Seymour Whyte was purchased by Vinci.| These latter activities can improve construction costs significantly. Parking will be on or off airport grounds, and a few parking programs are run by non-public vendors below airport regulation. Passenger airways load civilian passengers, their luggage (and typically their pets), snacks and drinks. All of this data, plus a code for the final vacation spot, seems on a boarding go, which is printed out and given to the passenger.
You really make it seem really easy along with your presentation however I find this matter to be really one thing that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely huge for me. I’m having a look forward for your subsequent post, I’ll attempt to get the hold of it!
Appreciate it for this post, I am a big fan of this web site would like to go on updated.
I am glad that I observed this weblog, exactly the right information that I was searching for! .
Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!
Useful information. Lucky me I found your website by chance, and I am surprised why this accident didn’t happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
Usually I do not read article on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to take a lookat and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thank you, very nice article.
I appreciate, cause I found just what I was looking for. You’ve ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
I conceive you have remarked some very interesting points, thankyou for the post.
hi!,I like your writing very a lot! percentage we keep in touch more about your article on AOL? I need a specialist in this space to solve my problem. Maybe that’s you! Taking a look forward to see you.
Iran Charter ( ایران چارتر ) is Iran’s first online charter and flight ticket purchase system Charter,as the first comprehensive online ticket service provider of charter airline tickets,seeks to provide easy and convenient services to customers for easy purchase of airline tickets,so we believe that the first principle of e-commerce is the ease of operation, with a contract As a ticket supplier,We have made it easy for you with charter companies and different airlines.
I enjoy your work, thankyou for all the good content.
What i do not understood is actually how you’re not actually a lot more neatly-favored than you might be now. You’re so intelligent. You realize thus considerably in terms of this matter, produced me in my opinion believe it from a lot of numerous angles. Its like men and women aren’t interested except it is something to do with Lady gaga! Your personal stuffs outstanding. Always maintain it up!
I’m still learning from you, but I’m making my way to the top as well. I definitely love reading all that is written on your site.Keep the tips coming. I liked it!
It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things or tips. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read even more things about it!
Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.
I like what you guys are up also. Such smart work and reporting! Carry on the superb works guys I?¦ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my web site
I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility issues? A couple of my blog visitors have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any recommendations to help fix this problem?
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it develop over time.
I am really loving the theme/design of your web site. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility problems? A handful of my blog visitors have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any recommendations to help fix this problem?
I am really loving the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility issues? A few of my blog visitors have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any tips to help fix this problem?
I also conceive thus, perfectly indited post! .
Thanks for some other great post. The place else may anyone get that type of information in such an ideal way of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I am on the search for such info.
I’m really impressed with your writing talents and also with the layout for your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it your self? Anyway stay up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a great weblog like this one today..
Kantorbola99 menawarkan pengalaman bermain slot online yang menyenangkan. Platform ini menyediakan beragam pilihan game menarik. Pemain dapat menikmati tampilan grafis berkualitas tinggi.
Daftar dan login ke Kantorbola versi terbaru untuk pengalaman bermain bola online terbaik. Ikuti panduan lengkap kami untuk akses mudah, fitur unggulan, dan keamanan terjamin.
Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one? Thanks a lot!
I enjoy your piece of work, thanks for all the good posts.
I adore reading and I think this website got some really useful stuff on it! .
Hi! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!
I have been examinating out many of your stories and i must say pretty good stuff. I will surely bookmark your website.
Valuable information. Lucky me I discovered your site unintentionally, and I am surprised why this accident did not came about earlier! I bookmarked it.
I’m often to running a blog and i really admire your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your site and maintain checking for new information.
You have noted very interesting details! ps nice web site.
Nitric Boost
Hello I am so grateful I found your website, I really found you by error, while I was researching on Google for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a fantastic post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the minute but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the fantastic job.
Great post. I am facing a couple of these problems.
Howdy very nice web site!! Guy .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I will bookmark your web site and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find numerous useful info here in the put up, we’d like develop extra techniques on this regard, thanks for sharing.