At a hearing of the House Financial Services
Committee today, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul asked Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke if gold is money. Bernanke said no, adding, when pressed, that
central banks hold gold as an asset because of "tradition."
But isn't that "tradition" exactly gold's
having been stamped into coins and used as money? Or is it just that gold,
fabricated into jewelry, looks pretty when adorning a central banker's
mistress after a long day at a secret conference somewhere that has been
called for the purpose of trying to rule the world?
Of course the Fed chairman didn't explain that
tradition today, and gold bugs -- rather, free-market bugs -- shouldn't get
agitated about the seeming disrespect. In the face of Paul's noting the dollar's
depreciation against gold lately, what else could Bernanke do except try to
avoid gold's monetary characteristics? He could acknowledge that gold is
money only at the expense of acknowledging that the sort of money issued by
the Fed is horribly inferior. Indeed, today Bernanke might as well have been
asked not whether gold is money but whether the dollar, the euro, the peso,
or any irredeemable piece of paper is money anymore, or will be much longer.
Zero Hedge has posted video of today's exchange between
Paul and Bernanke here:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/ben-believes-golds-only-value-due-tradi...
CHRIS POWELL,
Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
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