The Sound Money Movement Comes to the Senate
July 7th, 2011
Good, honest money
With the continued devaluation of the dollar, and the continued problem of the nation’s debts and deficits, the push for sound money backed by precious metals is slowly gaining steam and recognition in Washington. What began as a philosophical rather than practical debate is now turning into a serious discussion about the fate of the US dollar and has put the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies under intense scrutiny, more than deserved given its insistence on being secretive about its power over our currencies and reports of bank bailouts without Congressional approval.
This past week, Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Sound Money Promotion Act, which would make “gold and silver coins declared legal tender by the federal government or any state government…not…subject to taxation.” This bill comes after Utah’s legalization of gold as legal tender two months ago, which many in the sound money movement consider a huge victory in the fight to put America’s currency on a more stable, less inflationary path.
This bill has earned praise for trying to simplify the exchanging of gold for good and services without the burden of factoring in capital gains taxes on the metal, yet criticized for being only limited to gold rather than other precious metals like silver and platinum, which could be given value and used for acquiring goods and services. The bill will, unfortunately, not make it far in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but will be an important tool in the fight to stabilize the dollar even if it doesn’t pass.
After all, it’s an ounce of gold we’re talking about, and like an ounce of silver, “that’s good honest money.”
