Greece and Gold

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/05/greece-and-gold

The crisis in Greece is fueling concern about the value of the dollar. Three pieces out this morning make related points.

Larry Kudlow writes, "The real winner yesterday? Gold. It's up about $25, to $1,200. People want real money. They do not trust the debt-laden currencies of Europe and the United States. Or, for that matter, Japan. Gold is fast becoming, once again, a reserve currency of choice."

A New York Sun editorial (yes, despite ceasing print publication, the paper is still issuing editorials on its Web site and posting other content there), says:

This is a time when we need a national conversation about the dollar. What is it? What did the Founding Fathers think it was? When they used the word "dollars" twice in the Constitution but did not deem it necessary to provide a definition, what did that tell us? In fact, the historical record is clear. The constitutional dollar was — and is — 416 grains of standard silver, or 471 ¼ grains of pure silver, the same amount of silver as is in a coin known then, and now, as the Spanish Milled Dollar. What were the Founders thinking when they decided to use, in granting to Congress the power to "coin money and regulate its value," the same sentence in which they also granted Congress the power to fix the weights and measures?

How are we going to get back to a constitutional framework for our national unit of account? And, most ominously, what will happen if we fail to do so?

An op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by Sean Fieler and Jeffrey Bell explains, "the central reason why political elites dislike the gold standard: It leaves them little room to run the economy and claim credit for its successes." It calls for "an insurance policy against the tendency of political elites to fool around with our money. Legislation restoring dollar-gold convertibility should be accompanied by passage of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the American people a right to conduct their economic affairs in gold, regardless of the future status of gold as the official money of the United States."

by Editor  |  May 7, 2010 at 8:00 am Related Topics:  Capital Markets Regulation, Europe, Federal Reserve receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list