States to Adopt Sound Money

Dear Reader,

Representative Ken Ivory (R. West Jordan, Utah) introduced House Bill 224 on Jan 27, which would essentially build on Utah’s Legal Tender Act. The increased scope would encourage the use of gold and silver as money. Passage of the bill would expand gold repositories in the state and allow studies on sound money policies. House Bill 224 would allow public investments into specie legal tender (gold and silver coin and bullion) in repositories. UPMA (United Precious Metals Association) in Utah offers savings and investment accounts in gold and silver. According to UPMA, assets under management have increased 700% year over year. Utah is the not the first state to lead the charge in breaking the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.

Governor Abbott signed HB 483 into law in 2015, which allows the creation of repositories. Under Texas law, any individual or entity can deposit their gold and silver into the repository or participate in the electronic platform that is being developed to create a fluid and sound money system. On January 9, Representative Mark Finchem (R. Tucson, AZ) introduced House Bill 2014 (HB 2014). This bill would eliminate state capital gains taxes on gold and silver specie and encourage its use as currency. The United States Constitution states in Article 1, Section 10, “No State shall make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Since the greater 50 have not followed the Constitution and have allowed the Federal Reserve to monopolize money, debts are paid back in Federal Reserve notes. Current procedure taxes gold and silver capital gains because they are listed as commodities. Capital gains are realized because the metals gain nominally, which is a fake gain, as the real reason for it is the dollar continues to become weaker. Once this is passed and signed in Arizona, debts can be paid back in real money. This system means debt will continuously grow faster than credit, and it has led to our current situation. As global debts continue to mount (global debt to GDP is in excess of 300%), the emphasis towards sound money will continue to gain steam, as shown by the “sound money” advocates in Texas, Utah, and Arizona.

“Nobody really understands gold prices, and I don’t pretend to understand them either.” – Ben Bernanke (Former Federal Reserve Chairman)

Colin Bennett