clarification on Ron Paul and the gold standard

[emazur]

I sometimes get annoyed when people here say "Ron Paul doesn't want to return to the gold standard, he wants to legalize competing currencies". He does want to return to the gold standard - he stated that's a longer term goal but competing currencies would be the first priority. It makes no sense to say Ron Paul wouldn't want to go back to the gold standard b/c 1) fiat money is not Constitutional and Ron Paul is the champion of the Constitution 2) the Federal government could still print away and fuel the military industrial complex and other hideous things even if there were competing currencies. The printed money would have "value" b/c the government would/could still demand you pay your income taxes with it.

Watch this recent video if you don't think Ron Paul doesn't want to return to the gold standard
http://portsmouth-nh.patch.com/articles/ron-paul-wants-dollar-back-on-gold-standard#video-7497889

the only clarification should be what is "the" gold standard? 1861-1913? Bretton Woods (no)? 100% gold backed paper? Circulating gold coins? Where does silver come into play? Would Paul be satisfied with what Schiff would be satisfied with: Fed created currency backed 40% gold, 100% commercial paper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMjNMVAwVLg)?

[danda]

in my view, "The gold standard" is too vague to discuss intelligently. Except what is written in the constitution, and I hope we can all agree that doesn't work very well over the long run because it artifically tries to peg silver and gold without taking into account market conditions. If Ron Paul or someone else wishes to define a concrete gold standard for the long run then fine, we can discuss that.

In any event, I truly do view any sort of national standard as secondary and likely moot because if we get competition in currencies FIRST, then the free market can develop various honest money standards and the most efficient and trustworthy will be the most used. Most likely the gov would just use that, possibly cobranded... similar to the way the U.S. gov accepted foreign currencies when things were getting started.

Anyone interested can read more about competition in currency at downsizedc.org:
http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/honest-money/

Another problem with discussing or advocating the gold standard is that lots of people associate it with a failed system. Currency competition sounds NEW and BOLD, not old and failed. But it will likely probably get us to the same (or better) destination.

[fisharmor]

I haven't put much thought into this particular line of thought recently, but in addition to stating that a gold standard is a long-term goal, he also says repeatedly that the short-term goal is competing currencies.
The reason why that's the short term goal is because it would strangle leviathan.
If people stopped using dollars, then it would become impossible to fleece them so severely.
He could crack down on every single person in a country that already has the highest per capita prison population, or he could admit defeat and figure out something else.

Once competing currencies are allowed, it wouldn't matter what legal tender is. The governments would have to cut their losses and get what they could. I think RP is confident - as are a lot of us - that gold would play at least some part, probably a large part, in stabilizing things under competing currencies. So it would be used already, and it would be natural to consider it payment for taxes so leviathan can go do the remaining statist nonsense.
Trouble is, it'll be a lot easier to point it out for what it is, at that point.

[noneedtoaggress]

I expect Ron believes there would likely be a de facto gold standard to emerge from a free market of monetary competition.

[Travlyr]

Gold Standard as defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 (http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/coinage1792.txt):

247.5 grains of pure gold is $10.00
270 grains of standard gold is $10.00
Or, 24.75 grains of pure gold is $1.00
Or, 27 grains of standard gold is $1.00.



EAGLES--each to be of he value of ten dollars or units, and to contain two hundred and forty-seven grains and four eighths of a grain of pure, or two hundred and seventy grains of standard gold.

[gerryb]

I don't think Ron would implement a "gold standard" for currency. I think he would continue down the path his Competing currency bill pursues, which is just to make it legal to use different mediums of exchange for the sale/purchase of goods.

[ctiger2]

Ron is for a free market Gold coin standard. He wants the money in the peoples hands and the people/market to determine the value of the money. Ron understands that it's not what is used as money that's as important as who controls the money. You make the money commodity backed and turn it's power over to the people.