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While you may
agree with me that the world desperately needs the gold standard, you may be
equally convinced that the day global leaders embrace it is still a long way
off. Fortunately, regular people no longer have to wait for the leadership to
come to their senses. It is now possible for individuals to establish a
personal gold standard using the world's first Gold Debit Card. The service,
offered by my company Euro Pacific International Bank, allows users to save
in gold but spend in local currency.
Nearly all
economists who actually influence policy continue to regard gold as a failed
and obsolete relic. Much as the automobile supplanted the horse and buggy,
these economists see the "elasticity" of fiat paper money as a
major improvement over the inflexibility of the gold standard. But what they
see as progress has been, in reality, a major step backward.
History is
littered with the worthless notes of one failed paper currency after another.
The Framers of the US Constitution were personally familiar with the perils
of paper, which is why they took great care to establish gold and silver as
the only permissible form of money in America. Unfortunately, their efforts
were undone in the 20th century by misguided economists, opportunistic
politicians, and complicit judges.
Beginning
with its final abandonment of gold in 1971, the US is now leading the world
in the largest experiment ever conducted in the use of unredeemable paper
money. The experiment is unraveling rapidly as people the world over are
losing confidence in the ability of central bankers to preserve the value of
their savings. It's not a question of if the world will return to a gold
standard, but when.
Gold is money
because humanity throughout history has embraced it of their
own free will. Paper is only money today because government decrees it
to be. But just because government wants us to save and transact in its
dollars, euros, or pesos doesn't mean we have to oblige them. Thanks to
modern technology, we now have a better alternative.
As more
people are rediscovering gold, they naturally prefer it to its fiat
alternatives as a store of value. But while owning gold has become
increasingly convenient, using it as a medium of exchange is far more
challenging. To buy a tailored suit with a gold coin, a buyer would first
need to identify a merchant who will accept gold in exchange. If the gold did
not match the garment exactly in value, the two parties would either have to
add paper currency or accept paper as change.
Of course, a gold owner can always "cash in" gold coins
with a coin merchant anytime spending is anticipated. However, this can be a
cumbersome and time-consuming process. First, you need to find a gold dealer
who will give you a fair price to sell your coin. If it's a weekend, you may
have to wait until Monday. If your gold is in storage with a third party, you
will have to execute the sale, wait for the trade to settle, and then wait
longer for the wire to hit your bank account. If the proceeds are paid by
check, you will have to wait for the check to arrive in the mail and then
wait for it to clear.
My new
offshore bank solves these problems and makes spending your stored gold easy.
Euro Pacific Bank, based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, offers bullion
accounts that may be accessed with a debit card accepted at over 3 million
ATMs and 30 million merchants worldwide. Gold is changed into currency as
needed to pay debits. It is always converted at the daily exchange rates.
Unused balances are held in gold, giving the user all the benefits of gold
ownership.
Unfortunately,
this service is not available to U.S. citizens or residents.
Peter Schiff is CEO
of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, a gold and silver dealer selling reputable,
well-known bullion coins and bars at competitive prices. To learn more,
please visit www.europacmetals.com or call (888) GOLD-160.
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