GOLD OWNERSHIP: RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE?
Mish,
Re: WRONG!
Does the US govt care?
Answer: it does not care.
Of course the US govt doesn't care. But the privately owned Federal Reserve Board and its owners most certainly do. And they are the ones who pull the strings of the puppet in the White House, after all. :)
See:
federalobserver.com
"The private ownership of gold is a privilege, not a right. Congress revoked the privilege of private ownership in 1933 and restored it in 1974. Congress could easily revoke the privilege again. In fact, at no time during this century has the US Government recognized the right of private gold ownership. The Trading With The Enemy Act, which President Roosevelt invoked in 1933 to restrict private gold transactions, remains law. The government could reactivate the machinery, which the Trading With The Enemy Act established, to implement gold confiscation."
Boston College International and Comparative Law Review With respect to the subject of "confiscation", Section 2, paragraph 2 of Mr. Roosevelt's Executive Order, exempted ". . . gold coins having a recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins.", to include "gold coin made prior to April 5, 1933," - the date of the Executive Order. (Federal Register 4309/4312).
Published articles, erroneous advertising and "sales pitches" over the last fifteen to twenty years might lead one to believe that a rare coin included gold coins which exceeded by more than 15% the value of its underlying property (i.e. its gold content). It should be noted that this explanation was included in a proposed US Treasury Regulation in 1984 and has been repeatedly on the Agenda of Regulatory Actions although none of the pertinent provisions relevant to the proposed regulation have ever been adopted by law. Therefore, as relates to gold ownership, there is no requirement for Certified "Rare" Coins by any independent grading service, nor requirement, specifically for US coins with any "grade" of condition referenced. The laws make reference to ". . . collectors of rare and unusual coins" minted "prior to April 5, 1933", no matter what their nation of origin.
Should we once again experience inflationary policies (which I believe already exist) and huge budget deficits which contrary to current "spins" by our illustrious leaders - will escalate immeasureably - and oh goody! - as of this writing the irascible Mr. Greenspan has spun his web more times than I can count and lowered the interest rates - to "speed the economy up"! What about the ongoing costs of our continued military involvement on behalf of NATO and the UN? Oh, but let's not forget all the "excess" monies the administration has "found" during the last three years - money that rightfully belongs to the taxpayers - We the People! Measures taken by this government could possibly include exchange controls and regulation of the sale and ownership of gold. Although our privilege to own was restored in the United States on August 15, 1974, the confiscatory machinery remains in place to this very day. The President still retains the "right", under the Emergency Banking Relief Act, to "investigate, regulate or prohibit. . . the importing, exporting, hoarding, melting or earmarking of gold" in times of a declared national emergency. Does this also give the President the right to confiscate gold owned by private citizens? In the event of a severe inflation, economic collapse, institution of Martial Law or official devaluation of the dollar, (the President) will be prepared to take whatever steps he deems as "necessary". |
