On the surface, it’s hard to believe that we can do anything to curtail Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke from continuing to debase the currency through deficit spending and money printing. Bernanke’s Federal Reserve recently recommitted to its zero interest rate policy indefinitely. The Obama White House shows no interest on fiscal policy in doing anything but raising tax rates. Change has to start outside the federal government, and there is a course correction that can happen starting from the state level.
The sound money alternative we have exists in the form of gold and silver legal tender coins (American Eagles and Buffalos). These were minted beginning in the Reagan administration and unlike the paper dollar can never lose any purchasing power. Right now many states are trying to follow the lead of Utah and remove taxes on these coins and designate them as legal tender (a power given to the states in Article I Section 10 of the Constitution). This would encourage their use as a currency and send a signal to Washington to do the same thing and to take a fresh look at hard money. Monetary reform can’t happen overnight, but enough interest and action from state capitals will get us to a much more prudent place rather than single reliance on a depreciating paper dollar. Utah is the safest place in America to own and transact in gold and silver coin. Which state will be next?