Garimpiero

Vietnam Suspends Gold Imports, Follows FDR's Great Depression Lead

DiverCity- The legal tender law in this country is an example of government declaring its monopoly and exerting unreasonable control over citizens- if you want to exchange your services or goods for gold, silver, or, for that matter, gas, there is nothing dishonest or immoral about it- but it is illegal- government wants everything transacted in dollars so that income taxes can be readily established. There was even, in recent hears a proposal by the Treasury Dept. that some sort of chip or other device be incorporated in the currency to render it worthless if not spent in the prescribed period of time. The idea went nowhere, but, having had several English pounds left over from a trip ther years ago was both chagrined and amused to learn that, despite the Queen's promise to exchange the
note for "pounds" (of what?) they had changed their currency and it was in fact now worthless (a market does exist on Ebay, however- the notes feature the inventor of the steam engine, who deserves a lot more credit than the Queen)
However, at the same time it is inconsistent in its application- the Federal Reserve Note is supposed to be legal tender for all debts public or private, and yet there are a number of areas, some under direct government control, such as at airports, where the use of cash is prohibited- try buying a ticket there with cash, for example- at least two airlines now refuse to accept cash for drinks on board- a credit card must be used. This fact would seem a legitimate defense if one were to demand other than cash for something owed:if government can decide capriciously when its own laws do or don't apply, the individual is entitled to the same - I recommend to anyone Andrew Dixon White's presentation before Congress, Fiat Money Inflation in France,* which mentions that very issue at the time of the French Revolution. Even as people tried to find ways to protect themselves against raging inflation (caused by deficit spending, just as in today's USA) the government imposed ever more Draconian measures, declaring in the end that requesting payment in other than the official currency subjected the individual to the death penalty.