Sound Money

In my everyday conversations people always ask me, "are we going back to the gold standard? Is that what you want?"  I have to laugh and respond by saying, "yes, back to the gold standard of the 1800's and on your way out today, please turn in your car keys and pick up your horse and buggy."

We can't go back in time. We can't wake up one day and pretend that the cell phone was not invented or the Internet doesn't exist. Once the blind man gets his sight, there is no going back to the darkness.

As Lewis E. Lehrman and Ron Paul both say, we should be "going forward to a new gold standard". The move from legal tender paper to voluntary use of gold and silver has already been occurring on a state by state basis in the U.S.

By giving people the option to use sound money over paper currency, slowly but surely, the state legislatures are offering real protection from ongoing paper money inflation.

So what is happening today with my money? When will I be able to buy groceries and conveniently pay with gold?

Well, that day will be here sooner than you think. The technology is already here and in use right now.

In just the past few years over a dozen states have proposed legislation to permit the use of gold and silver in a variety of consumer and state financial transactions. The great state of Utah, has already passed laws recognizing gold and silver U.S. minted coins as legal tender within the state. This gives Utah citizens the voluntary option to use gold U.S. coins in any type of payment. Of course a $50 face value gold eagle today has a real world worth of about $1600 U.S. Dollars, and no one is contemplating spending these U.S. coins at their face value. While the Utah law does not offer a standard measure of daily valuation for U.S. gold and silver coins, anyone possessing them generally knows the daily spot price. Please don't send me an email saying that you would never use a $50 face value gold coin because it is worth so much more. (that's another ignorant point about moving forward with a new gold standard)

Welcome to the digital currency world of online payments. The idea of using gold and silver in everyday commerce at spot prices has already been perfected by the genius creators of digital gold currency. Over a decade ago, companies like e-gold and GoldMoney came online with robust payment systems 100% backed by real gold bullion. Anyone with a computer connection could then and still can today very easily send payments backed by gold to anyone else with a computer. All of these payments are possible today....right now.

Using Digital Gold Currency:

1. Bob from Michigan, can instantly send Alice in Los Angeles a $5,983.18 payment that is 100% backed by real gold bullion.
2. Ahmed in Dubai, can also send Alice in Los Angeles an instant payment in gold of little as .01 cents with without huge fees or costly wait time.
3. Alice can shop in Los Angeles at her local store and she could pay for her goods using an iPhone application and a digital gold currency payment.

All of these payments are now possible using digital technology and physical gold.

No more should we ever hear, "how will a shop keeper make change with gold, by chipping off a tiny piece of my gold coin?" Yes, that comment is truly brilliant.

These new systems that make online payments divisible down to less than a penny, are now possible using any mobile device, PC or even a debit card.

Perhaps this is the concept of "moving forward to a new gold standard"?

Here are several of the old arguments regarding everyday commerce and a "gold standard" that are no longer valid using today's technology.

1. "Gold and silver are too heavy to carry around a bag of metal to pay for everyday purchases."
2. "Gold is too valuable, we'd be using pieces the size of rice to try and pay for things."
3. "It's impossible to make change using gold and silver, the coins are not physically divisible at the cash register!"

Again...let's all move forward to a new gold standard. Digital gold currency is gold bullion (which can also include U.S. gold coins) held securely in a vault. When one ounce of gold is deposited, one ounce of digital units are created to circulated across the Internet. Digital Gold Currency or DGC is a privately issued closed system of debits and credits. Consequently, when one user sends a payment to another user, no physical gold changes hands or leaves the vault. One account is debited and the other is credited. Payments move instantly and effortlessly across the Internet using cell phones, mobile devices or computers.

I can some readers mumbling this out loud right now, "why can't I just use my credit card to pay at the checkout, that does the exact same thing, instant payment?"

Bank debit and credit cards are backed by U.S. Dollar accounts and the world is now moving away from these inflatable paper dollars. We are moving to a new gold standard and honest digital gold commerce which will ensure that the value of our funds is not eroded by the government printing press. Remember when you could get a Coke and a Snickers for a dollar? While gold’s price has fluctuated, its purchasing power has endured.

We need to recognize several important differences between digital gold currency payments and credit card payments. Digital gold payments are pushed from sender to receiver. The sender must authorize each transaction at the time of the payment. Conversely, transactions with credit cards move by "authorizing" a future payment, sometimes the funds are removed at the time of payment but more often a "credit card charge" means the receiver pulls the funds from the card account at some future time. Credit cards, which were invented in the 1950's were not designed for today's high tech online payments world. Charges can be taken from a credit card account without the card holders knowledge and card fraud has become a massive problem around the world.

Digital gold solves this problem.

Digital gold currency payments, each one initiated by the account owner, are not reversible. There is no such thing as a merchant charge back or a fraudulent change.

Please, follow us forward to the new voluntary gold standard which will directly compete with paper dollars.

The good news is that U.S. States are not waiting around for the trickle down red tape of the federal government to engage in sound money commerce. Gold and silver as money are being written into the law books right now at the State level. In Utah, it shouldn't be long before a local digital gold currency solution begins to go mainstream.