Economics Questions

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Quinn Rogness — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:13:26 GMT

wasn't South Carolina the first state to secede from the Union in the 1800's? It seems like they enjoy being the first to retaliate against the Federal Government.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

cr113 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:56:19 GMT

That won't go anywhere until the dollar collapses. I think hyper-inflation and a return to real money is the best hope for the future. I'd like to see a currency IN gold, not just backing it. What I mean is instead of a "dollar" or "peso" backed by 20 ounces of gold what about just label the bill .1 ounce of gold. Even better go metric. How about a 1 gram paper bill? That way there would be no room for interpretation.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

cr113 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:48:41 GMT

Esuric:

LvMIenthusiast:
Him and Levin piss me off more than any other "Conservative" commentator. And it's not because they are effective. Just try listening to 5 minutes of their show.

I do. They refuse to put me on air. They're horrified of libertarians.

I've noticed that. There are only two types allowed on conservative talk radio. Fawning clones of the host ("You are a Great American, Sean") and brain dead liberals. Both are designed to make the host look good. They hate libertarians because libertarians are not afraid to point out all the crap that republicans are up to.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

DD5 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:49:42 GMT

MMMark:
Here's a link to the bill:
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/bills/4501.htm

Nothing but a statist bill if you ask me.

If they don't nullify the federal legal tender laws, this bill will do nothing but serve the State as a hedge against inflation at the expense of its residents.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

MMMark — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:26:07 GMT

Fri. 10/02/19 11:27 EST
.post #3

Here's a link to the bill:
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/bills/4501.htm

>...SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT SILVER AND GOLD COIN SHALL BE LEGAL TENDER...<

>On and after the effective date of this article, this State shall not recognize, employ, or compel any person or entity to recognize or employ anything other than silver and gold coin as a legal tender in payment of any debt arising out of:

(1) taxation by the State,...<

I have two objections to this bill.

1. It imposes legal tender status...but legal tender laws should be abolished.

2. It requires that taxes be paid in silver and gold coin. Feh! Let them eat paper, I say.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

LvMIenthusiast — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:56:41 GMT

Esuric:

LvMIenthusiast:
Him and Levin piss me off more than any other "Conservative" commentator. And it's not because they are effective. Just try listening to 5 minutes of their show.

I do. They refuse to put me on air. They're horrified of libertarians.

To be honest, I know it's immature. But, I am tempted to beguile the screener into thinking I'm a wild Neoconservative, get on the air, ask the respective commentator a serious question and SPAM "RON PAUL BABY, WOOO!". I know it's very childish, but I want to hear their response.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Caley McKibbin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:49:17 GMT

A province of a state can't have a gold standard.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Conza88 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:23:58 GMT

"As one expert told the Scoop, however, his bill would likely be ruled unconstitutional because it "violates a perfectly legal and Constitutional federal law, enacted pursuant to the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, that federal reserve notes are legal tender for all debts public and private."

LOL, fine - secession then.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Joseph S — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:00:32 GMT

To quote from the linked article:

"In addition, since gold and silver regularly fluctuate in value, they could not easily function as stable currency.

But Pitts maintains that his state is better off with something he can hold in his hand and barter with as opposed to federal currency, which he described to the Scoop as "paper with ink on it." He says he resents what he considers the federal government's intrusions on states' rights."

That was a terrible response to the comment about the fluctuations in the value of gold and silver. If you take the fluctuations of the dollar out of the fluctuation in the price of gold(in dollars) I think we'd find that gold is slightly more stable than the dollar. That and the trend of gold is up whereas the dollar's is down.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

chloe732 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:32:16 GMT

Esuric:
A step towards a real revolution.

No, I don't think so. Our overseers will not allow it. If agitation like this bill continues and grows, Congress will wait for the right moment then pass a law making it illegal to speak out against the Fed, or the soundness of Federal Reserve Notes, etc. (Remember how they used Sept. 11th to whip the nation into a frenzy over Iraq?) They will equate speech that denounces the Fed to "shouting fire in a crowded theater". They will say the public good (the Fed) needs to be protected from those who would seek to undermine confidence in the financial system (those who seek Liberty), and the Supreme Court will uphold this. Laws like that have been enacted in the past but were struck down (I believe this happened during 1820's or 1830's, I wish I could find the source).

Yes, it is amazing to see someone other than Ron Paul making such a proposal, but nothing will come of it.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Esuric — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:57:55 GMT

LvMIenthusiast:
Him and Levin piss me off more than any other "Conservative" commentator. And it's not because they are effective. Just try listening to 5 minutes of their show.

I do. They refuse to put me on air. They're horrified of libertarians.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

LvMIenthusiast — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:44:19 GMT

Esuric:

LvMIenthusiast:
We just have to hope Sarah Palin and the wild band of Neocons don't get a wiff of this anytime soon.

I was just thinking about that. Sean Hannity keeps talking about libertarians "hijacking" the tea-party movement. As if it was some kind of fascist/interventionist movement supporting Bush-like candidates. It's a revolt against socialism/interventionism, and the Neo cons, like political parasites, have attached themselves to it.

Him and Levin piss me off more than any other "Conservative" commentator. And it's not because they are effective. Just try listening to 5 minutes of their show.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Esuric — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:25:39 GMT

scineram:

Politician forcing people to accept stuff in payment of debt that almost nobody owns, let alone uses in exchange. Great development.

There isn't any detail.

Will gold compete against the dollar (freely fluctuating parities like bi-metallism)?
Will there be an arbitrary fixed exchange ratio between gold and dollars (gresham's law)?
Will there be 100% reserves for South Carolinian banks (probably not)?
Where are they going to get the gold?
Will South Carolina have its own central bank?
Will it have a free banking system?

Too many questions unanswered, so I don't want to pass judgment quite yet. But it shows that Ron Paul and other libertarians are influencing public opinion.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

Esuric — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:18:54 GMT

LvMIenthusiast:
We just have to hope Sarah Palin and the wild band of Neocons don't get a wiff of this anytime soon.

I was just thinking about that. Sean Hannity keeps talking about libertarians "hijacking" the tea-party movement. As if it was some kind of fascist/interventionist movement supporting Bush-like candidates. It's a revolt against socialism/interventionism, and the Neo cons, like political parasites, have attached themselves to it.

Re: South Carolina going back on the gold standard

scineram — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:15:02 GMT

Politician forcing people to accept stuff in payment of debt that almost nobody owns, let alone uses in exchange. Great development.