Although most people reading these pages are familiar with the idea of gold becoming money once again, as it was for so many millennia in the past, it’s always interesting to see these ideas being discussed, however tangentially, within the mainstream media. So it was good to see the Daily Telegraph giving coverage to a Peter Schiff interview on King World News, where Mr Schiff puts forward the bold claim that the U.S. Dollar will become backed by gold within two years.
Not that he claims the politicians in the United States wish to do this – even despite talk of a gold commission around the boundaries of the Republican Party – but because the United States will be forced into this through irresistible economic pressures.
Although he has many critics, it has often proved dangerous for these critics to laugh at Mr Schiff too loudly on video when he makes one of these predictions, because all too often the predictions come true – no matter how outlandish they seem at the time – and those videos are then replayed endlessly on YouTube, much to the ongoing amusement of Mr Schiff and all of his many followers.
For those who wish to check out Mr Schiff’s remarks, as reported at the Telegraph, you can follow this link:
For those who wish to see the original report on King World News, here is the appropriate item:
Once again, that article reminds me of the poor quality of most comments at the Telegraph website.
The King world “News” story is intentionally misleading. I never said the U.S. would return to a gold standard in 1 to 2 years. I said that I believed an eventual return was inevitable, but did not indicate any time frame for the transition. However I said that a currency crisis for the dollar could begin in 1 to 2 years, which could be a catalyst for such a return to eventually take place.
As an aside, Mr Schiff endorsed my book, The Golden Revolution (Wiley and Sons, 2012), which makes the case that a return to gold-backed money is inevitable and also explores a range of possible scenarios for how we might get there, both orderly and disorderly.
I watched a man make the mistake of laughing at Peter Schiff on the Neil Cavuto show – the man doing the laughing understood monetary policy about as well as he understands biology (he is anti evolution) and fiscal policy (he is in favour of even higher taxes).
Peter Schiff is, of course, correct that the present system can not last (it will go de faco bankrupt – fall apart).
I think that will start as early as next year.
Will gold as money (standard Paul Marks rant against the word “standard” is implied – I do not have to type it out do I?) return?
I do not know.
I hope so – but I just do not know.