How would a Gold Standard help?

[alongee]

Gold, like anything else in the world only has its value because of some arbitrary value we place on it. Why should it be different to anything else?

[Jovan Galtic]

Not exactly, read this: http://mises.org/daily/1333

[thoughtomator]

Gold provides a real-world, physical limit to the mischief of politicians and banks alike. You can steal the value of my FRN by printing up new FRNs. You got to make it through my shotgun to do the same with gold.

[Acala]

Gold, like anything else in the world only has its value because of some arbitrary value we place on it. Why should it be different to anything else?

First of all, Ron Paul does not advocate a government-imposed gold standard. He advocates allowing people to be free to choose what they want to use as money. Of course, through all of human history in virtually every civilization, people have chosen gold, silver, and other valuable metals. They did so for very good reasons.

But the most important reason for you to understand is that when the money is a commodity like gold, the size of the supply is restrained by immutable laws of nature rather than the will power of politicians. Politicians today, as they always have, use their power over the fiat money supply to benefit their supporters at the expense of everyone else. This is one of the ways in which the rich get richer and everyone else gets screwed.

[Sam I am]

Gold provides a real-world, physical limit to the mischief of politicians and banks alike. You can steal the value of my FRN by printing up new FRNs. You got to make it through my shotgun to do the same with gold.

Are you saying that You'd shoot anyone who managed to actually do alchemy?

[CaptUSA]

when the money is a commodity like gold, the size of the supply is restrained by immutable laws of nature rather than the will power of politicians.

Beautifully put! + rep.

A nice succinct statement that will go in the "files".

[WilliamC]

Real simple.

People get to decide what they want to use for money.

Governments just make sure there is no fraud or coercion and provide a judicial system to mediate disputes so citizens don't resort to violence to resolve commercial disputes.

Just because most people throughout recorded human history have used gold as money doesn't mean gold has to be money.

People should be free to choose whatever they want to use for money, but they shouldn't be free to lie and cheat and such.

[Acala]

Are you saying that You'd shoot anyone who managed to actually do alchemy?

I would give them a choice. Convert my lead to gold - or eat it. jk