We can say this in the knowledge that over long periods the purchasing power of gold is remarkably stable, while those of fiat currencies are not. This is why everyone should examine their exposure to credit, which is always fiat usually with systemic risk thrown in (unless you hold cash notes). But we are all human, and from time to time worry that the headline values of our gold or silver might fall and we have missed a selling opportunity.

Having broken into new high ground, there is no doubt that there’s much speculation embedded in gold and silver prices. While we should not tie events together to tightly, this build up has been ahead of the BRICS summit in Kazan next week, with speculation that a new trade settlement currency backed by gold might be announced. Well, President Putin said on Friday that “talk of creating a single currency for the BRICS grouping was premature”. It is not ruled out, only it is not for this agenda

That would suggest that this coming week will see profit-taking in gold and silver and perhaps a shake-out of speculative longs as their stops are triggered on Comex. But Putin made his statement deferring the introduction of a new currency on Friday, after which gold and silver soared higher. It was probably wrong therefore to associate rising prices for gold and silver with speculation about a new BRICS currency.

The other material statement was that Putin was open to admitting new members. A few weeks ago, I suggested that this could be accelerated by creating a class of associate members as a stepping stone to full membership and I would take this to now be the case. Could that have been behind the surge in gold and silver?

We cannot know. But looking at last night’s Commitment of Traders figures for last Tuesday and adjusting for Open Interest since then it is clear that gold is now in overbought territory, but could go further.

A consolidation here would be the healthy outcome, at least from a technical point of view. We can bet that central banks and other statist interests would welcome the opportunity to pick up some cheap bullion, underwriting the market. And recently, Russia announced that it was in the market for silver bullion. That’s our last chart.

I wouldn’t rule out a back-test, maybe to $30.50 or so. But the bullish message of the chart is clear. And even that might not happen.

Reprinted with permission from MacleodFinance Substack.

In 2023 alone, the silver market experienced a 15% supply deficit. Furthermore, the market is expected to reach a cumulative deficit of 1,093.4 million ounces from 2020 to 2024.

In this graphic by Outcrop Silver, Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti discusses how new mines are necessary to meet the high demand for the metal.

Silver is Essential for New Technologies

According to Sprott, Silver is second only to oil as one of the most widely used commodities, with more than 10,000 applications worldwide.

The metal is a key component in photovoltaic cells used in solar power. The average solar panel requires 20 grams of silver.

Electric vehicles also use between 25 and 50 grams of silver.

In addition, the metal is essential for semiconductors, controls, sensors, and LIDAR technology in AI-enabled transport. Silver is also critical in healthcare AI, through conductive silver nanoparticles in wearable electronic skin patches.

The average cell phone contains 0.34 grams of silver.

The Risk of a Supply Gap

Despite silver’s importance, declining ore grades and depleting reserves at existing mines are reducing the metal output.

The industry also suffers from a lack of investment in primary silver mines. Today, over 70% of silver is mined as a byproduct of gold, copper, and other metals.

Production is also concentrated in three countries—Mexico, Peru, and China—which together account for half of global silver production.

The Future of Silver

If current circumstances continue, new mines will be necessary to meet the growing demand.

Outcrop Silver is quickly advancing the Santa Ana high-grade silver deposit in the Mariquita District, known as the highest-grade primary silver district in Colombia, with historic silver grades among the highest in Latin America.

The Indicated Grade for the Santa Ana project is ranked the second highest in the world.

This means the demand for silver is likely to increase soon.

“The key drivers that will ramp up demand for EVs are range, charge time, battery life and safety. Samsung’s new solid-state battery technology, incorporating a silver-carbon (Ag-C) composite layer for the anode, exemplifies this advancement,” said retired investment professional Kevin Bambrough. (Related: Solid state battery breakthrough could be a total game-changer for electric vehicles.)

Silver has exceptional electrical conductivity and stability

Silver’s exceptional electrical conductivity and stability are leveraged to enhance battery performance and durability, achieving amazing benchmarks like a 600-mile range and a 20-year lifespan and nine-minute charge.

Bambrough mentioned that while official figures are presently unavailable, the estimates show that there could be as much as five grams of silver per cell in Samsung’s solid-state batteries which means “a typical EV battery pack containing around 200 cells for a 100kWh capacity could require about one kilogram of silver per vehicle.”

“With global car production standing at about 80 million vehicles per year, if 20 percent of these vehicles (16 million EVs) were to adopt Samsung’s solid-state batteries, the annual demand for silver would be around 16,000 metric tons,” Bambrough noted.

“This would represent a significant portion of the current global silver production, which is approximately 25,000 metric tons annually, highlighting the substantial impact on the silver market.”

This presents a bullish trajectory for silver. Bambrough noted that silver is already in a deficit with industrial demand from the solar industry driving total yearly consumption ahead of supply.

“For me, it’s just another reason to expect silver markets to tighten up [further] and the price of silver to take a run at its all-time inflation-adjusted high [of] $200/oz will likely be seen in the [coming] 10-15 years,” Bambrough said.

“All we need to do is look back at the silver chart of the 1970s to see how explosive the precious metal can move skyward when a true shortage develops and speculators decide to hoard,” he said. “My bet is … we will hoard.”

Ride Apart’s Enrico Punsalang reported that Samsung is already working with large automakers to include its SS battery technology in EVs.

The company has signed an agreement with Toyota to start mass production of SS batteries in 2027, with Lexus vehicles expected to be among the first to incorporate the latest technology.

Punsalang said the real challenge would be how quickly ultrafast charging infrastructure can be made available to the public. He also noted the cost issue, saying “the cost to manufacture solid-state EV batteries is around three or four times higher than lithium-ion and LFP [lithium iron phosphate] batteries found in current EVs.”

Follow FutureScienceNews.com for more stories about the latest developments in science and technology. Watch the video below to know more about solid-state battery.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

• EVs are killing the automobile industry: Mercedes, Porsche, Tesla and Ford all seeing profits “free fall.”
• Researchers create world’s first anode-free sodium solid-state battery that can replace lithium batteries in EVs.
• NO EV FOR ME: Nearly half of American and British EV owners plan to shift back to gasoline-powered vehicles for their next purchase.

Sources include:

• Kitco.com
• X.com
• Brighteon.com

“Market turbulence always prompts people to seek the financial safe haven of physical precious metals, but this latest round of recession fears has been more pronounced than I’ve seen in years,” said Jonathan Rose, CEO of Genesis Gold Group. “They’re feeling the economic tremors and they’re wondering if the ‘big one’ is about to hit.”

Americans at or near retirement-age are watching their IRAs, 401(k) plans, and other retirement accounts getting decimated. What makes it doubly concerning is that rampant inflation is hitting them hard at the same time.

Genesis, a faith-driven Gold IRA company, helps Americans navigate the waters to rollover or transfer their current or past retirement accounts into one that is backed by physical precious metals. They make it possible for people to defer taxes and seamlessly move their life’s savings into the financial “higher ground” of gold and silver.

“Gold prices have gone up over 50% in the last two years alone and many are predicting it will spike in the coming years,” Rose continued. “But it’s silver that really has our interests piqued with some experts projecting even faster gains than gold.”

On top of recession and inflation, there are many who are concerned about the coming presidential election. It’s not just about whose policies will be guiding the economy in the years to come. It’s about the expected turmoil that could come regardless of who wins.

Genesis Gold Group offers a free, definitive gold guide that informs Americans about their retirement options. It highlights the benefits but also warns of the challenges of making this important financial move.

“I always say that an educated investor is the best investor,” Rose continued. “The more informed someone is about a Gold IRA, the more likely it is that they will work with us instead of someone else.”

Reach out to Genesis Gold Group today to learn how they can help protect your retirement accounts with physical precious metals.

We spoke to the CEO of one of our partners, Jonathan Rose at Genesis Gold Group, to learn why this is happening and whether it’s a temporary spike or a sustainable trend. He gave us the main reason it’s happening, then explained why he believes precious metals prices will continue to be sound investments for retirement savings or storing in one’s safe even after the election.

Market Instability

“Major geopolitical events always cause market fluctuations and the attack on President Trump definitely qualifies. Gold, silver, and to some extent cryptocurrencies will see spikes as a result but there are other factors that will likely keep the gains for the long term.

“More indications of rate cuts by the Fed have those holding gold very excited. Those who want gold for their retirements or to store at home are also clearly excited because we’ve had a spike in inquiries just over the past couple of days.”

Cultural Instability

“It’s easy to see the political implications of the attack as President Trump is on track to win by a wide margin. But there are cultural implications that have people on both sides of the political aisle concerned about the future.

“Most notably, Americans are concerned about chaos that could ensue regardless of what happens on election day. These concerns were justified before the assassination attempt and they’re even more justified now. Having ‘safe haven’ investments like physical precious metals is starting to make sense to a whole lot of people.”

“New Normal” in Precious Metals Thinking

“Democrats in power have been good for precious metals prices in the past, but there’s a new paradigm forming that actually favors a Trump presidency benefiting gold and silver. This shift stems from the sustained high inflation that we’ve seen for three years.

“Trump’s policies flourish best with a weaker U.S. Dollar. Combine that with the likelihood of rate cuts in the near future and it’s easy to see why a Trump presidency would help gold and silver prices move up sharply even as we’re at record highs now.”

Genesis Gold Group is a faith-driven company that specializes in helping Americans rollover or transfer their retirement accounts into Genesis IRAs backed by physical precious metals. They exclusively distribute the “Prepper Bar” which can also be purchased directly to be shipped directly to their customers.

Increasingly, more middle class Americans are holding gold and silver as well. Inflation was the biggest driving force in 2022 and 2023 for precious metals purchases, but over the last few months it has been their concern over the coming election that is pushing Americans into making purchases.

If Donald Trump wins the presidency, law enforcement has warned that there will be widescale rioting that could dramatically impact the supply chain and infrastructure, potentially hurting the economy. But if Joe Biden (or his Democrat replacement) wins, a continuation of current economic policies would inflict long-term damage.

It’s no wonder why many Americans are seeking the financial “higher ground” of physical precious metals to protect their wealth or retirement as well as to be available in times of trouble. Here are three ways Americans are holding gold and silver…

Jewelry

Despite the economic downturn America and most of the world is suffering, jewelry sales continue to rise. Some Americans see it as not just a stylish accessory but also as a way to turn their cash into something more tangible that they can carry around with them. With de-dollarization in progress and the national debt skyrocketing, concerns over the U.S. Dollar are justified.

Unlike gold or silver that is kept in a safe, jewelry is easily portable and can be carried around in nearly any circumstance. In emergency situations, jewelry can be used to transfer wealth in circumstances that require bartering.

There are two drawbacks to jewelry. The cost of craftsmanship is no small measure. Compared to wholesale metals prices, gold or silver jewelry can be marked up 500% or more. The second drawback is that it’s visible. With crime rising, displaying wealth can mark someone as a target.

Metals in the Safe (and Wallet)

Keeping physical precious metals in one’s safe or vault is a practice that dates back to ancient times. Gold is mentioned in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and can be found in the tombs of kings from long lost civilizations.

Today, keeping bars or coins of gold and silver in the safe is an easy way to have wealth that can be liquidated into currency relatively quickly. Whether we are working with the U.S. Dollar or a “digital dollar” in the future, precious metals can turn into needed cash in a hurry. This is one of the reasons central banks are so bullish about them right now as they prepare to roll out Central Bank Digital Currencies.

One of the drawbacks of keeping precious metals in a safe is that they generally stay at one’s home. Whether travelling or just going out on the town, having gold and silver in a safe won’t help in emergency situations. A new solution to this is the Prepper Bar, 62.2 grams of gold or silver that fits into a wallet. It is perforated so it can be broken apart into smaller pieces which makes it ideal when away from home and in need of bartering wealth.

Physical Precious Metals Backing Retirement Accounts

Most Americans don’t have tens of thousands of dollars that can be spent on the “wealth insurance” of precious metals. Those who want to hold gold and silver but who don’t have enough disposable money in the bank have few options.

The most popular of these options is to rollover or transfer retirement accounts into Genesis Gold IRAs. This allows a tax-deferred option for those who have their current IRA, 401(k), or government retirement accounts locked in volatile markets.

Genesis Gold Group, a faith-driven precious metals company, assists Americans by putting physical precious metals in a depository that backs their retirement. Retired Americans who take distributions from their accounts set up by Genesis can have the metals delivered to their home. Genesis is also the only company in America that can use the aforementioned Prepper Bar in their IRAs.

It behooves Americans to look into all of their options. Reach out to Genesis Gold Group today to receive their free, definitive gold guide, or visit Prepper Bar and purchase gold or silver that can act as wealth in your wallet today.

The newest offering in the industry is the “Prepper Bar.” As the only utility bar of its kind minted in America, the Prepper Bar is 62.2 grams of gold or silver shaped like a credit card. It fits in wallets and can be torn into three different-sized pieces.

“We called it the ‘Prepper Bar’ because it is appealing to those who are preparedness-minded but one does not have to live off-grid to appreciate the value,” said Jonathan Rose, CEO of Prepper Bar. “It’s nice having wealth in your wallet for emergency situations.”

The Prepper Bar is the only precious metals bar on the market divisible into 3 different sized pieces for maximum utility, all while fitting in a wallet. Crafted from .999 pure silver or .9999 pure gold, Prepper Bars are built to deliver peace of mind.

Launched in early June, the Prepper Bar was an instant hit among precious metals buyers. But it was later in the first month that they really started taking off.

“It was a little surprising when the third and fourth weeks after launch were bigger than the first two weeks,” Rose said. “Just like opening weekend is supposed to be the biggest for movies, so too should retail precious metals products sell best at launch.”

He attributed increased buzz and return customers for the unexpected late spike.

“We saw two very impressive trends,” Rose continued. “First, we noticed the buzz picking up as people started showing friends and family. The bigger surprise was how many people bought one, then came back and bought more after receiving their first.”

Prepper Bars are eligible to be stored in Genesis Gold IRAs, so Americans can buy them directly through the Prepper Bar website or they can include them in retirement accounts exclusively set up by Genesis Gold Group.

As concerns over turmoil and rising risks of emergencies cause anxiety among Americans, having the utility of Prepper Bars sitting in the safe or carried in a wallet can prove to be extremely valuable in a pinch.

LB 1317 is the fourth major sound money bill to become law this year, as state lawmakers across the nation scramble to protect the public from the ravages of inflation and runaway federal debt.

Under the new Nebraska law, any “gains” or “losses” on precious metal sales reported on federal income tax returns are backed out, thereby removing them from the calculation of a Nebraska taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI).

Supported by the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, and in-state advocates, Nebraska’s sound money measure passed out of the unicameral legislature’s Revenue committee unanimously before being amended into a larger bill.

Sponsor Sen. Ben Hansen said upon news of the formal enactment of his legislation:

Gold and silver are the only forms of currency mentioned in our Constitution and with that comes the people’s ability to use it as such without penalty from the government. Saving, and using, gold and silver is our right and one of the only checks and balances to our federal government’s unending devaluation of our paper currency.

Taxpayers often realize ‘gains’ when converting the monetary metals back into Federal Reserve notes even though the ‘gains’ do not reflect an increase in real value but rather reflect the currency’s ongoing devaluation.

Despite the lack of “real” gains, the Internal Revenue Service imposes capital gains taxes on such transactions. Nebraska has now opted out at the state level, declining to carry the IRS’s position into the definition of Nebraska income.

Jp Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League, explained during his testimony before the Revenue Committee that the ferocious wave of inflation facing Nebraskans is largely caused by harmful actions of the Federal Reserve:

The state can take a different course and provide Nebraska citizens cleaner access to gold and silver ownership – and these metals are not only a proven inflation hedge but states all over the country are remonetizing constitutional sound money in the form of gold and silver.

Eleven other states already do not charge an income tax on sales of precious metals, with Arkansas, Arizona, and Utah recently enacting such laws. Meanwhile, Iowa, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, West Virginia, and Kansas have been considering similar legislation in 2024.

“Investments in precious metals coins and bullion in Nebraska are now rightly exempt from both sales tax and income tax,” said Stefan Gleason, CEO of Money Metals and Chairman of the Sound Money Defense League.

Neutralizing Nebraska’s income tax treatment of the monetary metals removes significant disincentives in the Cornhusker State against the ownership and use of the monetary metals.

Meanwhile, LB 1317 revises the state’s formal definition of money by adding language that states: “Money does not include central bank digital currency.”

The new law defines central bank digital currency as “a digital medium of exchange, token, or monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System or any analogous federal agency that is made directly available to the consumer by such federal entities. Central bank digital currency (CBDC) includes a digital medium of exchange, token, or monetary unit of account so issued that is processed or validated directly by such federal entities.”

Sen. Hansen said: “I believe we have to be extra vigilant in our assessment and application of a Central bank digital currency to make sure they do not become a danger to our freedom. That’s why we defined in LB 1317 that CBDC’s are not classified as currency in Nebraska, which should help protect against unwarranted mandates for their use in the future.”

Versions of this “anti-CBDC language” have advanced or signed into law in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida, South Dakota, and Indiana . Congressman Alex Mooney has also introduced a federal measure to block the Federal Reserve’s digital currency scheme.

In his testimony, Cortez discussed the potential risks of adopting a CBDC, including creating a greater ability to track all financial transactions, disallowing certain types of purchases, or even completely “turning off” a targeted individual’s access to money.

Nebraska joins Utah, Wisconsin, and Kentucky as states to have enacted pro-sound money legislation into law so far in 2024. Currently ranked 22nd in the 2024 Sound Money Index, Nebraska’s ranking is expected to rise.

About Sound Money Defense League

The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan, national public policy group working to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index.

J. P. Morgan was the founder of JPMorgan Chase & Co., an American multinational financial services company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest bank in the United States and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization as of 2023.

In 1973, Henry Kissinger is purported to have said (though it is disputed): “Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls the money can control the world.”

Whether he said it or not, it is true. However, he would have to have been talking about credit.

Since the United States closed the gold window in 1971, the dollar has had less and less gold backing it as the US Federal Reserve banksters have created more and more fiat currency.

According to the US Treasury-Owned Gold dataset, as of November 30, 2023, 261,498,926.24 troy ounces of gold is held in bullion and coins at various vaults including Fort Knox, West Point, Denver, and the New York Fed.  The price of gold was last officially set at $42.2222/troy oz. in 1973. It has not changed, not even by a small amount. I calculated this number from the listed total US dollar value in all vaults divided by the total listed weight. The result actually has seven significant figures of precision (i.e., $42.2222000/troy oz.).

Could this number be because of the occultic Kabbalah practices of the central banking cabal? Symbolically reading the gold price $42.2222 as four twos followed by four more twos, it becomes $2222.2222. The occult loves these repeating numbers, especially factors of eleven. Of course, this is my speculation.

Anyway, from the published data, we can add up all the holdings in the various vaults to get the total value of US Treasury holdings as $11,041,059,957.90. That is billions not trillions.

When was the last time the gold was audited? Who really knows how much gold is still in Fort Knox and the other vaults? Based on official figures, it amounts to little more than 2 percent of the amount needed to back the $20 trillion dollars in the current M2 money supply at the current price of gold:

M2 is the U.S. Federal Reserve’s estimate of the total money supply including all of the cash people have on hand plus all of the money deposited in checking accounts, savings accounts, and other short-term saving vehicles such as certificates of deposit (CDs). Retirement account balances and time deposits above $100,000 are omitted from M2.

See Figure 1 for the accumulation of M2 money supply according to the US Fed’s own data. I plotted this from FRED data. On November 1, 2023, the money supply reached $20.767 trillion. Therefore, if you revalue all the US Treasury gold to this amount, you would get a gold price of $79,415.24/troy oz. That is a factor of thirty-nine times the current price of $2,030/troy oz.

Figure 1: Plot of the M2 money supply since 1959

Credit unbacked by gold is plain theft! There is no other word for it. Flashing electronic numbers on your computer screen are not money. Paper (or plastic) bank notes are not money! Bitcoin is not money! Those are all dollar derivatives. IOUs! They do have a little gold backing; otherwise, you could not buy any gold or silver with them. However, all dollar derivatives are fiat currencies, and they will eventually go to their intrinsic value, which is zero. When that happens, not if but when, they will not buy anything. Since 1959, the US dollar has already lost 98 percent of its value.

It is worth noting that Henry Kissinger was a founding member of the Club of Rome, which had as one of its goals to control the world population and its resources. He was also the guy who got the Arab Emirates and Saudis to only sell oil in US dollars; hence, he oversaw the creation of the petrodollar. The latter has aided in this control.

It follows that, in the current world system, petroleum is also money. However, cracks are starting to form in that system as the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and now Saudi Arabia, among other countries) have created an alternative trading bloc, and the Saudis are taking other currencies for their oil. However, unless the BRICS nations use real money—gold—to exchange goods and services in their trade, they will just be trading another fiat currency for the US dollar. All fiat currencies will go to zero eventually because they always have. When they do, the theft is exposed to all those holding the useless currency.

By that time though, the banksters have gotten what they wanted. They have sucked the wealth (gold, oil, land, and other real commodities) out of the nations using their banking cartels and the military of the US and other Western countries.

In line with Kissinger’s 1973 statement, the same banksters are now coming for your food supply and your energy supply. Man-made global warming is being used as the excuse to shut down agriculture and so-called fossil-fuel electric power generation, which is the backbone of our modern industrial world. The megabillionaire corporate and bank owners already control much of these, but they want it all. As a result, “climate change” is being used now to take everything else they haven’t taken though the debasement of the currency.

Think about that! For six thousand years, gold and silver was money! Since 1971, the globalist bankers have moved the population off honest moneys onto fiat bank notes, then electronic digits, and now they are going “full monty” with central bank digital currencies backed by nothing of any substance.

There is nothing new under the sun. All fiat currencies of whatever kind will collapse! The cycle of life tells us that the wicked will be destroyed eventually as the edifice of their fiat money system collapses and we have a global reset. It might be their planned Great Reset, but even that will only be for a short time because even central bank digital currencies are just another fiat currency.

About the Author

John Gideon Hartnett is an Australian physicist, cosmologist, and Christian with a biblical creationist worldview. He has a PhD with distinction in physics from the University of Western Australia (UWA). During his research career he worked at UWA and the University of Adelaide and published more than two hundred papers in scientific leading journals, in book chapters, and in conference proceedings. He was a foundering director of an Australian startup now commercializing his research on ultrastable cryogenic “clocks.” He has lectured around the world in churches and at conferences and written extensively on biblical creation, mostly in terms of astrophysics and cosmology. He blogs at johnhartnett.org.

In Missouri, Rep Doug Richey filed HB1867 on Dec. 11. Rep. Bill Hardwick filed HB1955 on Dec. 15. The bills are companions to SB735 filed in the Senate by Sen. William Eigel earlier this month.

In Oklahoma, Sen. Shane Jett filed SB1507 and Sen. Nathan Dahm is running SB1508.

The enactment of any of these bills would eliminate state capital gains taxes on the sale and exchange of gold and silver bullion.

Both of these states are already among the 42 that do not levy sales taxes on gold and silver bullion.

Exempting the sale of gold and silver bullion from taxes lowers the investment cost of precious metals. It also takes a step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of commodities. Taxes on precious metal bullion erect barriers to using gold and silver as money by raising transaction costs.

Imagine if you asked a grocery clerk to break a $5 bill and he charged you a 35-cent tax. Silly, right? After all, you were only exchanging one form of money for another. But that’s essentially what a sales tax on gold and silver bullion does. By eliminating this tax on the exchange of gold and silver, Missouri and Oklahoma would treat specie as money instead of a commodity. This represents a small step toward reestablishing gold and silver as legal tender and breaking down the Fed’s monopoly on money.

“We ought not to tax money – and that’s a good idea. It makes no sense to tax money,” former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul said during testimony in support of an Arizona bill that repealed capital gains taxes on gold and silver in that state. “Paper is not money, it’s fraud,” he continued.

The impact of enacting this legislation will go beyond mere tax policy. During an event after his Senate committee testimony, Paul pointed out that it’s really about the size and scope of government.

“If you’re for less government, you want sound money. The people who want big government, they don’t want sound money. They want to deceive you and commit fraud. They want to print the money. They want a monopoly. They want to get you conditioned, as our schools have conditioned us, to the point where deficits don’t matter.”

GOLD AND SILVER AS LEGAL TENDER

Under provisions in the Missouri bill, gold and silver in physical or electronic form would be accepted as legal tender and would be receivable in payment of all debts contracted for in the state of Missouri. The state would be required to accept gold and silver for the payment of public debts. Private debts could be settled in gold and silver at the parties’ discretion.

Practically speaking, this would allow Missourians to use gold or silver coins as money rather than just as mere investment vehicles. In effect, it would put gold and silver on the same footing as Federal Reserve notes.

Oklahoma took a similar step in 2014. Utah and Arkansas also consider gold and silver legal tender.

The proposed Missouri law also includes provisions authorizing the state to invest in gold or silver “greater than or equal to one percent of all state funds” and to expressly bar any state agency, department, or political subdivision from seizing gold or silver bullion.

BACKGROUND

The United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Currently, all debts and taxes in the US are either paid with Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) which were authorized as legal tender by Congress, or with coins issued by the US Treasury — very few of which have gold or silver in them.

The Federal Reserve destroys this constitutional monetary system by creating a monopoly based on its fiat currency. Without the backing of gold or silver, the central bank can easily create money out of thin air. This not only devalues your purchasing power over time; it also allows the federal government to borrow and spend far beyond what would be possible in a sound money system. Without the Fed, the US government wouldn’t be able to maintain all of its unconstitutional wars and programs. The Federal Reserve is the engine that drives the most powerful government in the history of the world.

Tax repeals knock down one of the tax barriers that hinder the use of gold and silver as money, and could also begin the process of abolishing the Federal Reserve’s fiat money system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the state and local levels, and setting the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.

In a paper presented at the Mises Institute, Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.

“Over time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.”

Once things get to that point, Federal Reserve notes would become largely unwanted and irrelevant for ordinary people.

These bills make up part of a broader movement at the state level to support sound money.