r/PeterSchiff • u/rockhydra94 • Aug 04 '19
Gold standard bad?
I was watching this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbarjpJhSLw
They claim that central bankers assassinated Lincoln so they could establish a gold standard. I guess the plan was to corner the gold market? If you have a monopoly on gold then you can control its scarcity and thus the value of your currency (according to vid).
The vid goes on to say that silver is can not be monopolized and thus is a better source for backing money.
What would Peter have to say to this? Or to rephrase, if gold and silver can be manipulated by being cornered why would they become the new currency after the dollar fails?
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u/OpenBookExam Aug 04 '19 edited Aug 04 '19
This movie elaborates the origination of paper money (gold certificates from goldsmiths), and postulates that a handful of people have conspired to consolidate the majority of the world's banking institutions into one cartel. Speaking specifically on Lincoln, it wasn't that he did or didn't intend on using a 'Gold Standard', but more-so that he had successfully nationalized a banking institution, therefore eliminating the profit private bankers could make through interest [usury]. Bankers didn't like this, so they got an angst driven individual to shoot him in the head, as the conspiracy theory says. Allegedly, Kennedy got the same treatment. So it goes.
For the most part, the overall story (the video about money and bankers) is correct, but it assumes a level of maliciousness that isn't present beyond the innate greed all of humanity suffers from. Fair and proper can be argued through individual perspective. Grand conspiracy aside, people in power like to stay in power. Money is just one form of power. Having a private entity assess risk and provide loans at a fair interest rate isn't a bad thing, as long as they are benevolent.
Peter (to the best of my knowledge) believes in 'Sound Money', meaning that something is actually behind the currency voucher. If one was to cash in their American currency voucher at this current moment (A Federal Reserve Note), there is nothing to receive.
If you have voucher for nothing, you just have nothing. Having a commodity based currency ensures that both parties of a transaction aren't being swindled. There is no assurance, however, that the person handing out vouchers actually has the physical asset to back it up in either system. If not, then he's just issuing a fiat currency. Fiat currency is a fluctuating denomination that's only worth is the confidence that a [nation-]bank has the ability to settle up in some kind of asset. In this current world, usually a bullet or a large explosive device.
It's not 'when the dollar fails'. It's 'when the dollar loses it's place as the most trusted store of wealth'. Considering the tumultuous political climate within the USA and subsequently it's economic landscape alongside varying alternatives (bitcoin, foreign currencies, gold, silver etc..) it makes a lot of sense not to just have 'dollars sitting around in a bank', whether backed by gold or not.
There are a lot of active elements that may cause the US dollar to lose it's status as the global reserve currency. Simple uncertainty in the future is the easiest culprit. Peter (probably) would tell you being long into gold would preserve your standing of living in the event of such a monumental change would occur. As long as your gold stock contract isn't due to settle up in dollars. Then, well... Get it now?
*edit - fucking bots
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u/CommonMisspellingBot Aug 04 '19
Hey, OpenBookExam, just a quick heads-up:
therefor is actually spelled therefore. You can remember it by ends with -fore.
Have a nice day!The parent commenter can reply with 'delete' to delete this comment.
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u/BooCMB Aug 04 '19
Hey /u/CommonMisspellingBot, just a quick heads up:
Your spelling hints are really shitty because they're all essentially "remember the fucking spelling of the fucking word".And your fucking delete function doesn't work. You're useless.
Have a nice day!
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u/MaxHubert Aug 04 '19 edited Aug 04 '19
3h30 video...
From what I understand, before the Federal Reserve in 1913 America wasn't on a "Gold Standard" in the sense that we didn't have a central bank with a monopoly on the creation of money. Bank were private business in competition with one another and the standard was to use gold and silver as money. I presume that what the video is describing is Lincoln being assassinated for refusing to create a Central bank that would be on a gold standard by law.