Thread: Ron Paul vs Bernanke: Is Gold Money?

lol. good find.

Buying or investing in gold is an interesting topic. People start freaking out and start investing in gold, which in turn drives the price of gold up. This in turn motivates entrepeneurs to open up old claims and mine for gold, also weekend gold prospectors head out to the known spots to find some of that gold. I think like in any bubble somebody will get hosed.

I will ask myself if having dollars are such a poor investment why would I be willing to sell my gold for dollars? Also, what good is gold if you have leave your home in a hurry? Not very practical.

If the dollar was to go bust, would people really take gold in exchange for their goods?

Originally Posted by GForce

This in turn motivates entrepeneurs to open up old claims and mine for gold, also weekend gold prospectors head out to the known spots to find some of that gold. I think like in any bubble somebody will get hosed.

You should watch Aliens and Temples of Gold which shows that it takes tons and tons of rock from miles deep just to get tiny amounts of gold dust. There are few big veins left that are known and only two major mines still operating on a very large scale. The problem with the value is that Gold is never consumed no matter what you do with it. So no matter how rare it is there will always be an abundance of gold floating around while the price is inflated by investment banks and governments that keep tons of it horded away in vaults.

There is far more easier accessible silver then gold left in the ground. But because of the low value vs cost of mining silver it's primarily a byproduct of gold and other types of mineral mining.

Ancient Aliens Season 3 Episode 4 - Aliens and Temples of Gold HQ [Full] - YouTube

Bernanke is correct... Gold isn't money... it's a commodity

Money | Define Money at Dictionary.com

1. any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demand deposits.
2. paper money.
3. gold, silver, or other metal in pieces of convenient form stamped by public authority and issued as a medium of exchange and measure of value.
4. any article or substance used as a medium of exchange, measure of wealth, or means of payment, as checks on demand deposit or cowrie.
5. a particular form or denomination of currency.

I'll go with the dictionary's defintion of the word rather than Bernanke's fantasy.

You conveniently skipped bolding the essential part

stamped by public authority and issued as a medium of exchange and measure of value

Gold is not a medium of exchange in the US as defined by the dictionary. It is a commodity and traded as a commodity... you can't go into Walmart with gold and pay for your goods with it because it's not legal tender.

I skipped bolding what you quoted because there are multiple definitions for the word. One does not negate the other.

What is and is not legal tender in the USA has nothing to do with this topic. Legal tender is an artificial construct of the law.

Anything can be money in fact Human waste is money to a business that profits from it.

Originally Posted by AmateurFlix

Legal tender is an artificial construct of the law.

Except for Article 1 of the Constitution that gave Congress the power to make legal tender....

Originally Posted by nation-x

Except for Article 1 of the Constitution that gave Congress the power to make legal tender....

That is my point. It is purely a construct of the legal system. It has no basis in reality outside of the law, and the law only applies within one nation's jurisdiction.

Paper money is a mere representation; like stock certificates, it has no intrinsic value of it's own.

To say that a mere representation of value is money but that the actual item of value is not - when human history and the dictionary tell us otherwise - is a leap which I am unwilling to take.

gold has no intrinsic value of its own either, you cant eat it

Historic drop today of $100.00. More to follow?