Does Your Freedom Depend On Gold?

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Many believe, and rightly so, that gold has intrinsic value. As a result, gold served as the ultimate and most stable form of currency in the 19th century. A gold-backed U.S. dollar permitted unprecedented economic growth in the background of a relatively deflationary economy. However, despite the clear economic advantages to having a gold-backed currency, this is not its most important purpose.

Throughout world history, the greatest threats to the freedom of men and women have most often come from the very individuals that have claimed to be their protectors, namely, their own rulers and governments. And, contrary to popular belief, the situation is no different today.

Campaign For Liberty — Does Your Freedom Depend on Gold?   | by Adam Murdock, MD

 

[KittenKoder]

Problem, gold was valuable because of many factors. One major important one was the lack of use, it was pretty and rare but had no use other than collecting, so it became valuable as a commodity ...

... now however, it has an important use, circuitry. Electronic components have a lot of gold in them, so we have to use it for that and deplete the "collection" ... so now money has to go back to representing goods and services, of which our country is lacking lately.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Problem, gold was valuable because of many factors. One major important one was the lack of use, it was pretty and rare but had no use other than collecting, so it became valuable as a commodity ...

... now however, it has an important use, circuitry. Electronic components have a lot of gold in them, so we have to use it for that and deplete the "collection" ... so now money has to go back to representing goods and services, of which our country is lacking lately.

That's fine, gold can have many uses. It doesn't matter how much gold is being used to back the currency so long as you tie the currency to gold at the correct parity.

 

[KittenKoder]

Problem, gold was valuable because of many factors. One major important one was the lack of use, it was pretty and rare but had no use other than collecting, so it became valuable as a commodity ...

... now however, it has an important use, circuitry. Electronic components have a lot of gold in them, so we have to use it for that and deplete the "collection" ... so now money has to go back to representing goods and services, of which our country is lacking lately.

That's fine, gold can have many uses. It doesn't matter how much gold is being used to back the currency so long as you tie the currency to gold at the correct parity.

Point was, we can't use it as a standard. We now have a use for every metal, so using that as a standard is pointless.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Problem, gold was valuable because of many factors. One major important one was the lack of use, it was pretty and rare but had no use other than collecting, so it became valuable as a commodity ...

... now however, it has an important use, circuitry. Electronic components have a lot of gold in them, so we have to use it for that and deplete the "collection" ... so now money has to go back to representing goods and services, of which our country is lacking lately.

That's fine, gold can have many uses. It doesn't matter how much gold is being used to back the currency so long as you tie the currency to gold at the correct parity.

Point was, we can't use it as a standard. We now have a use for every metal, so using that as a standard is pointless.

No, it's not. Gold still maintains a high value and I see no reason why it wouldn't serve us as well now as it has in the past. However, I'd also advocate using silver along with gold.

 

[KittenKoder]

That's fine, gold can have many uses. It doesn't matter how much gold is being used to back the currency so long as you tie the currency to gold at the correct parity.

Point was, we can't use it as a standard. We now have a use for every metal, so using that as a standard is pointless.

No, it's not. Gold still maintains a high value and I see no reason why it wouldn't serve us as well now as it has in the past. However, I'd also advocate using silver along with gold.

Um ... yeah it has a high value still ... because it's useful, everything useful has high value.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Point was, we can't use it as a standard. We now have a use for every metal, so using that as a standard is pointless.

No, it's not. Gold still maintains a high value and I see no reason why it wouldn't serve us as well now as it has in the past. However, I'd also advocate using silver along with gold.

Um ... yeah it has a high value still ... because it's useful, everything useful has high value.

Well the fact that it maintains a high value means that it could be used as a commodity, and there's no reason why it couldn't be used for other purposes as well.

 

[KittenKoder]

No, it's not. Gold still maintains a high value and I see no reason why it wouldn't serve us as well now as it has in the past. However, I'd also advocate using silver along with gold.

Um ... yeah it has a high value still ... because it's useful, everything useful has high value.

Well the fact that it maintains a high value means that it could be used as a commodity, and there's no reason why it couldn't be used for other purposes as well.

It cannot be used as a standard for the dollar or it will be hoarded and it's use unfulfilled.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Um ... yeah it has a high value still ... because it's useful, everything useful has high value.

Well the fact that it maintains a high value means that it could be used as a commodity, and there's no reason why it couldn't be used for other purposes as well.

It cannot be used as a standard for the dollar or it will be hoarded and it's use unfulfilled.

Some of it would not be put to that use, and some of it would. That's the way a market works, taking scarce resources and putting them to their most efficient use.

 

[editec]

The gold stardard practically wrecked the economy in the late 19th century, Kevin.

All the gold ended in the hands of a few and we had a depression because of it.

Our source that served the economy of those holding gold rather well, but the rest of the nation suffered as a result of it.

God makes a crappy specie if the economy is growing

There just isn't enough of it to serve vibrant societies.

It might have worked well enough in a feudal society where the economy was not growing, but in a society with a growing economy it causes DEflation.

And DEflation is the death of economic growth, sport.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

The gold stardard practically wrecked the economy in the late 19th century, Kevin.

All the gold ended in the hands of a few and we had a depression because of it.

Our source that served the economy of those holding gold rather well, but the rest of the nation suffered as a result of it.

God makes a crappy specie if the economy is growing

There just isn't enough of it to serve vibrant societies.

It might have worked well enough in a feudal society where the economy was not growing, but in a society with a growing economy it causes DEflation.

And DEflation is the death of economic growth, sport.

You and I have differing views on deflation.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

gold is just one really cool thing that can be used as money. With a little bit of other kinds of metal, you can do all kinds of inflation.

Money is what the government will accept in payment of taxes. Right now, most of the world's government pays and receives in moonbeams and fantasy. Inflation is just one more tax on thrift among many. Gold will neither prevent inflation or hold any value unless government gives it a value beyond which is useful in other ways to the population at large.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

gold is just one really cool thing that can be used as money. With a little bit of other kinds of metal, you can do all kinds of inflation.

Money is what the government will accept in payment of taxes. Right now, most of the world's government pays and receives in moonbeams and fantasy. Inflation is just one more tax on thrift among many. Gold will neither prevent inflation or hold any value unless government gives it a value beyond which is useful in other ways to the population at large.

If the government adheres to the gold standard then it will prevent inflation.

 

[Toro]

Gold has no intrinsic value, or at least no measurable intrinsic value because we can't measure it. The intrinsic value of any assets is the future cash flow of an asset discounted back to the present. Gold does not generate cash. Thus, we have no idea if gold is overvalued or undervalued.

The supply of gold in circulation is dependent upon a variety of factors such as gold mining technology, the profitability of gold miners, people's willingness to hold it, etc. If there is any change in any of those, the supply of money can change, which could indeed precipitate inflation. For example, one of the largest markets for gold is India, where gold is presented as a gift in weddings. If that tradition ever changed, then the supply of gold in circulation would increase, creating inflation.

But that is besides the point. There is only 150,000 tons of gold on earth. That is not enough to use as the basis of a global monetary system. The economy would most likely collapse if we switched to a gold standard.