While perusing the Georgia General Assembly web page, I came across something very interesting that I feel more people need to be aware of and that more states should look in to doing.  The bill, if you'd like to look it up, is HB 430, otherwise known as the "Constitutional Tender Act".  The summary is a little vague, but it reads:


"A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to banking and finance, so as provide a short title; to provide legislative findings; to define certain terms; to require any bank or lending institution serving as a depository for the state or any department or agency of the state to offer and to accept gold and silver coin for deposit; to amend Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, so as to provide legislative findings; to define certain terms; to require the exclusive use of gold and silver coin as tender in payment of debts by or to the state; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."*

*http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/search/hb430.htm
(If you'd like to read the full bill, you can find it at: www.constitutionaltender.com)

    The reason this is a big deal is because the Georgia State government is taking the advice of Rosland Capital, Gold Line, etc. and investing in real money--gold and silver.  Not even investing, but using this bill to nullify any law on the books that outlaws the use of precious metals as legal tender.  As of right now, a private investor can only invest in gold with dollars as a hedge against inflation and the volatility of the market, he's not able to go to the store and buy anything with that gold, only the worth of that gold in dollars.  By law, the State itself cannot accept or issue gold or silver as legal tender, which is clearly unconstitutional.  In fact, it is explicitly unconstitutional (Article I, Section 10, "No State shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts") and the fact that Wilson, Roosevelt, Johnson, and Nixon took such huge steps in outlawing gold as legal tender in exchange for a fiat currency should be enough to squeeze them into the "worst presidents of all time" bin (along with Jackson, Polk, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Grant, Aurthur, Harding, Truman, Kennedy, Ford, and Carter.  No, none of these names were accidents.)

    The purpose, as stated in the Constitutional Tender Act (CTA henceforth) is to "define certain terms", to "require any bank or lending institution serving as a depository of the state... to offer and accept gold and silver coin for deposit", as well as to "require the exclusive use of gold and silver coin as tender in payment of debts by or to the state", and to "repeal conflicting laws".  In addition to Federal Reserve notes (the fiat currency in question... if you don't know what "fiat" means; look it up), it says that the state is to accept "Gold Eagle" coins (minted as collectors items and gold investment items since 1986; see: www.goldeneaglecoin.com); "Pre-1965 silver" coins (i.e. the face value of silver coins minted before 1965 before the Coinage Act); and "Silver Eagle" coins (the silver counterpart of the Gold Eagle; again, see: www.goldeneaglecoin.com), creating separate accounts for each in Georgia banks that deal with the State.  Those who create a silver, gold, or dollar account with any of the banks will receive the same tender in return when money is withdrawn. 

    Chapter 37 of the bill states that "the Georgia General Assembly finds that...the state shall not make anything but gold and silver as tender in payment of debts" and that the "Federal Reserve (Notes), having no redeeming value in gold or silver coin, shall not be made a tender in payment of debts".  The almost Ron Pauline language of this bill almost gives me goosebumps when they say that the state will only use gold and silver to pay any private or public debt to any person or entity.  They define the value of the coins by the current market value (the current market value for one Gold Eagle is roughly $940 USD) in relation to exchange rates with persons or entities.  This can only point to one thing: circulation.  Gradual, but circulation none the less.

    There is obviously going to be some question about this bill.  "Why switch to using collectible coins as tender?  Do you know how long that's going to take to circulate?"  I agree, yes, it will take a while.  But what it does, is protect the state economy from the continued devaluation of the dollar.  Prices is Federal Reserve notes will rise and rise, while the prices is Gold and Silver tender will drop and drop because the inherent worth of the constitutional tender will remain the same, while our free-floating fiat dollar will continue to devalue as the government prints more and more dollars.  It will take a while to circulate, but all it will take is saving followed by an exchange and you are no longer exposed to the rigors of the plummeting dollar. 

    The reason this bill is so fascinating to me and so important is because a state is actually doing this!  A state is wanting to make a move to eventually get itself off the U.S. Dollar to protect its economy in order to protect a state's wealth.  I can't help but wonder: will other states follow suit?  Will other states push towards getting off the dollar and accepting real tender?  Are the states leaning more towards autonomy rather than dependence?  It'll be a fascinating thing to watch, I'm sure, and I hope the Georgia General Assembly passes this bill and starts a movement by other states to break away from this idiotic Keynesian monster that's looming at our heals hoping to devour us in debt and immeasurable deficits for the sake of saying "we can afford it".

    The truth of the matter is that this house of cards that is our dollar and our monetary system (eerily resembling the Roman monetary system around the time the empire fell), is bound to fall.  After all, what kind of house is a house of cards if there's a hurricane just over the horizon?  When this system and this phony dollar collapses, the country will implode unless there is a monetary back-up plan--and this is that plan we need.  One that will step up and give us a plan of value.  This is not so much an out-and-out rejection of the dollar as it is an insurance policy so that when we got knocked back, we don't simply float of into space, but hit the ground so we can get back on our feet.  We as a nation, have let our monetary policy get out of hand for far too long and we have to take measures to stop it.  Investing and buying gold coins as a personal investment/hedge has been a well-advised plan for a few years now.  The Ron Pauls and Peter Schiffs (the smart investors and economists) have been hunkering down with gold tender for some time now, urging others to do the same. 

    As the price of gold skyrockets due to the demand (which is caused by the scramble of investors to keep themselves safe), our dollar is still on a free fall.  We could very well suffer the same fate as the Weimar Republic, a fate of massive hyperinflation if we don't protect ourselves with gold and silver.  This bill is simply the state doing what the private investor has been doing for some time in order to protect itself, disobeying and nullifying the laws of the Federal Government that prohibit any tender outside of Federal Reserve Notes which is a dollar whose value is determined by credit and debt rather than real intrinsic value. 

    The flaw in a gold standard (to the state) is that you're not able to inflate it freely in order to finance projects to buy votes.  The gold standard demands state discipline and a free private sector which is why small to no government folks such as myself are big fans of it while big to global government folks like our president are so repulsed by it.  There can be no such thing as a free expansion of government with a gold standard, only a free expansion of the private sector in accordance to what gold is mined.  With a gold standard, the economy controls you, you can't control the economy, and the private sector with the gold holds sway over the government rather than the government holding sway over the private sector by the power it has in controlling the money.  With a fiat currency, no man can be free, only a slave.  The gold standard is a policy of freedom.  Which is why the government fears it so much.

    As a European central banker once said long ago; "give me your money, and I'll care not of your laws".


And that's the Real Spit
-WilliamPitt


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