Ariel
15 Benefits Of Returning To The Gold Standard: The Citizen
1. Silver and gold hold intrinsic value that isn’t subject to inflation like fiat currency. This provides economic stability. Inflation has diluted the US dollar’s purchasing power substantially over the past century. In 1913 when the Federal Reserve was founded, $100 could buy what takes $2,500 today, an astonishing loss of value. Precious metals do not inflate like this.
2. There would be less risk of hyperinflation destroying savings and purchasing power. Venezuela suffered devastating hyperinflation with money losing all meaningful value, wiping out years of savings. This is impossible with something like gold or silver maintaining inherent worth.
3. Individuals would have more financial privacy without centralized digital money monitoring all transactions. China’s Social Credit System tracks all digital transactions giving the state unprecedented access to monitor citizen spending. Using precious metals allows for untracked exchange preserving privacy from authoritarian overreach.
4. Savings in precious metals preserve wealth better over the long term compared to fiat currencies. Historical cases like Mansa Musa’s 14th century West African empire growing incredibly rich from massive gold holdings show it preserving vast wealth over centuries compared to currencies that inevitably deflate.
5. Using silver and gold coins facilitates bartering and exchange without needing banks as financial intermediaries. Cigarettes’ emergence as black market currency in prison demonstrates how physical commodity monies facilitate localized exchange without reliance on financial intermediaries vulnerable to systemic failure.
6. Precious metals have industrial uses, unlike fiat which only has value as money due to government decree. The fact that silver and gold have versatile industrial applications for electronics, medical devices, solar panels etc. mean they will never lose all value and always have some intrinsic utility even aside from being used as currency.
8. Limited manipulability protects the economy from booms and busts in the business cycle. After the US civil war, battles over bimetallism versus strict gold standard contributed to business cycle instability from deflationary pressures that largely subsided once gold was firmly codified at $20 per ounce backing the dollar.
9. Reduces the ability to wage prolonged wars since sound money limits military overreach. 16th century Spain amassed huge gold troves making them a dominant military superpower, but they still eventually defaulted several times after overextending military budgets, showing hard money constraints checking endless warfare.
10. Eliminates systematic banking bailouts that socialize losses while privatizing profits. When unsound lending practices in the US savings and loan sector triggered crisis and threatened industry collapse, taxpayers were forced to cover billions in bailouts protecting firms while citizens bore job losses and economic pain.
11. May decrease income inequality since those closest to money creation won’t be enriched and those furthest won’t be impoverished. During the classical gold standard era in the 19th and early 20th centuries, wealth inequality levels were lower than today. This was partly because middle and working classes’ money maintained stable purchasing power, and their savings were not devalued through inflation as happens today.
12. Limits dollar diplomacy whereby global trade works through one dominant fiat currency. The Triffin dilemma refers to the problem of the US dollar acting as global reserve currency. It requires the US run perpetual trade deficits to supply enough dollars for world demand, which is unsustainable long-term. A gold or other commodity standard would remove this dilemma and rebalance international trade.
13. Restricts the government’s capacity to spy on and control citizen spending. When India was part of the British empire, many Indians distrusted paper rupees issued by the British and preferred holding gold and silver. This allowed them to exchange value privately without relying as much on imperial monetary policies.
14. Silver has anti-microbial properties with medical use-cases that provide utility even if not used as money. In World War 1, silver-containing antiseptics were crucial for treating injuries when antibiotics had not yet been developed. This demonstrates silver’s enduring medical utility independent of its monetary role.
15. Precious metals have cultural affinity and psychological appeal that increases confidence in money’s stability. Gold and silver have culturally significant statuses, often associated with royalty, luxury and wealth. This psychological attachment means they command belief in their inherent value in a way fiat currencies struggle to.
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