There is a good chance that the US will be on a gold standard in 5 years

Forbes is mostly an eccentric nutbar, so I can't hop on board here. Could it EVER happen? Sure. I find it hard to believe that the US would easily give up a fiat currency system though...way more control that way, and governments don't easily give up control.

Austrian Economics wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

You must have been listening to Steve Forbes. He's recently been predicting the US would go back to the gold standard within 5 years. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but generally speaking, big changes like that don't happen easily, so I'm inclined to think it will NOT happen within the next 5 years. I wouldn't bet on it though.

You're right, I got that from Forbes. I also agree that five years might be a short time frame. It might take that long just for the dollar to collapse.

This is such BS. The OP is probably some Ron Paul supporting college aged douchebag who has no real understanding of how the world works

Randy Oldman wrote:

How about the salt standard? The US is the biggest producer in the world and probably the biggest consumer.

I'd vote for a Major Babe standard. But then I think that Brazil would become the world's preeminent superpower overnight.

idiots all around us wrote:

This is such BS. The OP is probably some Ron Paul supporting college aged douchebag who has no real understanding of how the world works

ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner!

Another freshman kid taking Econ 101.

i am with the poster about potable water. You need food and water to survive. You could have all the gold in the world but the guy with the tanker full of water isn't giving it up for any amount of gold or money.

Pick up a survival guide, stock pile some MRE's and water purification tablets in an accessible, by you, cabin somewhere and practice getting there under the worst possible scenarios.

kaitainen wrote:

ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner!

and here we have a loser

By the way, the most patriotic thing that Americans can do right now is to buy as much gold as possible. The more gold Americans own, the more wealth will remain in the US economy after the dollar collapses.

I think the chances of returning to the gold standard are zero.

Remember, there is a reason the world went off the gold standard in the first place. A Gold standard does not replace the need for a basic system of trust between nations. A gold standard only serves to tempt and make believe that you don't need that underlying trust. And as Flagpole says, the fiat currency system gives nations more control.

Anyway, it amuses me how gold standard advocates try to place the blame on currency on "left wing" people. Valuing currency based on a floating value of supply and demand is "left wing"? Nixon put us on the system we are on now and Republicans every since have had no problem with it since.

"Conservatives" need to argue this out among themselves before they blame "left wing" people.

Its about as accurate as calling what we have the socialist left. Let me know the next time a leftist policy is actually implemented. Look at our health care reform. Did we get a socialist policy? Nope we got the one the conservatives have been pushing for the last 20 years or so.

Austrian Economics wrote:

sadfsadds wrote:

If by good chance you mean like .0001% then you might be correct. Gold bugs have been predicating a shift back to the gold standard for 40+ years now. Any one of average intelligence and a rational mind can figure out that we are not going back to the gold standard in 5 years. Only a delusional idiot from the facist right would think that it is going to happen.

You just use the word "fascist" indiscriminately and apply it to anyone who disagrees with you. Austrian economics is the polar opposite of fascism; the socialist left is fascism's close cousin.

ryan foreman wrote:

I think the chances of returning to the gold standard are zero.

Remember, there is a reason the world went off the gold standard in the first place. A Gold standard does not replace the need for a basic system of trust between nations. A gold standard only serves to tempt and make believe that you don't need that underlying trust. And as Flagpole says, the fiat currency system gives nations more control.

Anyway, it amuses me how gold standard advocates try to place the blame on currency on "left wing" people. Valuing currency based on a floating value of supply and demand is "left wing"? Nixon put us on the system we are on now and Republicans every since have had no problem with it since.

"Conservatives" need to argue this out among themselves before they blame "left wing" people.

The fiat system doesn't create trust between nations; instead, it creates conflicts of interest and corruption. It is responsible for creating currency blocs that lead to trade wars and even outbreaks of violence between nations. The only reason we went off the gold standard was to remove the last restraint on the government's ability to deficit spend: its obligation to honor debts by paying something of objective value. It was not done for benevolent reasons as per the delusion that you subscribe to.

Austrian Economics wrote:

The dollar crisis that is now utterly imminent will expose the evils of fiat currency in dramatic fashion, providing great impetus for America to return to a gold standard. The recent surge in the popularity of Austrian economics is shedding light on both the magnitude and the true cause of our economic malaise, and these things can be grasped easily by any man of average intelligence provided that he has a rational mind. The events to come will totally discredit the socialist left and the Keynesian element that dominates academia, clearing the way for the truth and clarity found in Austrian economics to emerge and gain widespread acceptance. Thereafter, the intellectual stage will be set for a return the gold standard. Then we can finally return to a rational economy based on the principle of freedom.

High school is out for the summer.

One more thing. To conserve means "to keep the same." Therefore, the ones who defend the fiat system are the true dinosaurs.

Austrian Economics wrote:

One more thing. To conserve means "to keep the same." Therefore, the ones who defend the fiat system are the true dinosaurs.

Please show me ANY reputable source where conserve means "to keep the same."

random a hole wrote:

Please show me ANY reputable source where conserve means "to keep the same."

That's the only objective meaning the word could possibly have. The words "liberal" and "conservative" are not at all clearly defined with respect to political philosophy. There is no essential belief or practice that distinguishes a "liberal" from a "conservative." The words are tools of conflation that are used to box unlike people into extremely broad categories. This is how people on the left conveniently ignore differentiating Ron Paul from George Bush, Ronald Reagan, etc. Just use the "c" word and all differences are instantly obliterated.

random a hole wrote:

High school is out for the summer.

Unfortunately, your post proves that stupidity and ignorance are always in season.

Austrian Economics wrote:

random a hole wrote:

Please show me ANY reputable source where conserve means "to keep the same."

That's the only objective meaning the word could possibly have. The words "liberal" and "conservative" are not at all clearly defined with respect to political philosophy. There is no essential belief or practice that distinguishes a "liberal" from a "conservative." The words are tools of conflation that are used to box unlike people into extremely broad categories. This is how people on the left conveniently ignore differentiating Ron Paul from George Bush, Ronald Reagan, etc. Just use the "c" word and all differences are instantly obliterated.

Just say you can't, then launch into your rant. Much quicker that way.

ryan foreman wrote:

I think the chances of returning to the gold standard are zero.

Remember, there is a reason the world went off the gold standard in the first place. A Gold standard does not replace the need for a basic system of trust between nations. A gold standard only serves to tempt and make believe that you don't need that underlying trust. And as Flagpole says, the fiat currency system gives nations more control.

Anyway, it amuses me how gold standard advocates try to place the blame on currency on "left wing" people. Valuing currency based on a floating value of supply and demand is "left wing"? Nixon put us on the system we are on now and Republicans every since have had no problem with it since.

"Conservatives" need to argue this out among themselves before they blame "left wing" people.

I tend to think you are correct here. BUT, sometimes we get crazy policy makers, and so I'll have to raise the chance from ZERO to NEXT TO ZERO. I would be greatly surprised though if we went back to the gold standard.