Gold Standard

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1934 Gold Reserve Act was the greatest theft of wealth I'm aware of in American history:

I conclude with an important final warning: naturally (and I must never tire of repeating it) the solution I propose is only valid in the context of an irrevocable decision to establish a free-banking system subject to a 100% reserve requirement on demand deposits.

Recorded in Houston, Texas; October 27, 1984.

Presented at the Mises Institute’s first conference, November 16-17, 1983; in Washington, DC.

Presented at the Mises Institute’s first conference, November 16-17, 1983; in Washington, DC.

People must relearn that free-market money, or sound money, as Mises put it, is the indispensable element for preserving the free societal order.

Recorded at the Toronto Stock Exchange; September 16-17, 1999.

What is amazing about America circa 2008 is not the citizens' money illusion — history has seen that aplenty — but the utter lack of resistance to it.

We can thus conclude that the gold standard, if not abused, is not conducive to boom-bust cycles.

The restoration of monetary freedom would also force a sharp reduction in the size and power of government.