Gold. Solid as a Rock
By Shannon L. Goessling The underlying strengths of our economy, and the creative power of our people, are testament to the adage, “The business of America is business.” American commerce and industry – along with the world-sustaining entrepreneurial class – is now held hostage to a Government-Finance cartel dictating the future of our Republic This week, the world responded with a resounding NO when the $700 billion-plus bailout plan was announced – the dollar sank, commodities flew off the charts, and foreign banks threatened to stop funding the U.S. deficit. Doing “something” is not necessarily better than doing nothing, at least when the public fisc is at stake. The evidence is in: the leveraged fiat money system has run its course, and it cannot be sustained.
A startling and seriously underreported statement came from the world’s largest purchaser of U.S. dollars. "The U.S. dollar is no longer a stable anchor in the global financial system, nor is it likely to become one," said Fan Gang, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Chinese central bank and director of the National Economic Research Institute. "Thus it is time to look for alternatives." Who do we think services our national debt? It’s not American free enterprise.
If the assets of Main Street are on the table, then let’s make “the people’s dollar” – the world’s reserve currency (at least for now!) and the “oil” that runs the global economy – an asset that matters. The “full faith and credit” of the American people means that this nation’s real assets, not just our ability to be taxed indefinitely and exponentially, should back our currency – precious metals, a commodities basket, or other alternative that demonstrates that the true wealth of this nation is not in its ability to print and loan and borrow leveraged money, but rather in our shared value as an industrious, innovative, and productive nation. Think it’s just not done anymore? It’s too old-fashioned? Ask the more than 40 nations who have moved back to the gold standard, including and especially Switzerland, which never left the gold standard. Solid as a rock.
The results would be nearly immediate – a refloated, revalued U.S. dollar backed by tangible assets will stave off inflationary pressures and avoid the boom and bust cycles we’ve experienced, and will once again make our markets attractive to essential foreign investment. The United States simply cannot be the world’s marketplace if the currency representing our productivity is degraded and debased, as we are currently witnessing.
American freedom, independence, and strength are at risk – this is truly a “once in a lifetime” crisis that begs for the right actions, not reactive maneuvers that fail to address the real danger. And certainly not actions that result in outright government ownership of a significant percentage of our economy.
Shannon L. Goessling is executive director and chief legal counsel of the Southeastern Legal Foundation headquartered in Atlanta. |
