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Virginia Creates Subcommittee To Study Monetary Alternatives In Case Of Terminal Fed "Breakdown", Considers Gold As Option

Tyler Durden's picture




 

In what may one day be heralded as the formal proposal that proverbially started it all, the Commonwealth of Virginia introduced House Resolution No. 557 to establish a joint subcommittee to "to study whether the Commonwealth should adopt a currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a major  breakdown of the Federal Reserve System." In other words, Virginia will study the fallback plan of a "timely adoption of an alternative sound currency that the Commonwealth's government and citizens may employ without delay in the event of the destruction of the Federal Reserve System's currency" and avoid or "at least mitigate many of the economic, social, and political shocks to be expected to arise from hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System." Most importantly as pertain to the currency in question, "Americans may employ whatever currency they choose to stipulate as the medium for payment of their private debts, including gold or silver, or both, to the exclusion of a currency not redeemable in gold or silver that Congress may have designated 'legal tender'." Whether this resolution will ever get off the ground, and actually find that the world is at great risk should gold not be instituted as a backstop currency, is irrelevant. The mere fact that it is out there, should provide sufficient impetus to other states to consider the ultimate Plan B.

We urge all legislators to carefully read this resolution.

Full proposal (pdf):

 

h/t infocyde

 

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Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:30 | 865671 King_of_simpletons
King_of_simpletons's picture

Barter

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:32 | 865677 Rainman
Rainman's picture

Shit, and here we were worrying about the breakdown of the Euro.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:37 | 865883 midtowng
midtowng's picture

Even if they don't adopt gold and silver, I'm all for breaking the back of the power of the Fed.

I think even a local, unbacked currency is an improvement, as long as it isn't debt-based like our current currency.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:55 | 865927 chopper read
chopper read's picture

amen, midtowng.  spot on, mate!!!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:03 | 865945 66Sexy
66Sexy's picture

silver would make an excellent states reserve currency, and would remain constitutional. bottled water, spam, ammo for barter.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:04 | 865950 chopper read
chopper read's picture

SANITY, SANITY, SANITY, SANITY, SANITY!!!!!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:25 | 866001 scythian empire
scythian empire's picture

you ask too  much

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:01 | 866084 flacon
flacon's picture

Intellectual PhD graduates: "But what will people eat. They can't EAT GOLD! Keynes said gold is a barbarous relic and we are all Keynesians now - aren't we?" /sarcasm

 

 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:34 | 866174 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Virginians bitchez ;-)

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:34 | 866314 Fish Gone Bad
Fish Gone Bad's picture

I would like to think that someone finally liked my idea of "create different money", but my guess if that someone else came to the same conclusion I did.  The dollar is a fucked currency.  Gold and silver will really work just fine.  So will other items of accepted value.  If and when we finally get a really nasty flu bug that decimates a lot of people, money as we know it will not be important. 

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 03:51 | 866547 LudwigVon
LudwigVon's picture

It is not passed yet into law. Remember this is a state where you can make video in public and recieve jail time.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 07:13 | 866663 Bendromeda Strain
Bendromeda Strain's picture

Yes Santa Claus, there is a Virginia...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:14 | 866263 Aknownymouse
Aknownymouse's picture

I know - this is nuts!!!  Of course you can't eat gold! unlike those edible 5 dollar bills...  /sarcasm

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 01:27 | 866400 snowball777
snowball777's picture

Do let us know how your "chickens for cancer meds" plan pans out.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 07:14 | 866664 Bendromeda Strain
Bendromeda Strain's picture

Ever since the invention of medicine in 1913, it's been all downhill...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 09:09 | 866778 Pope Clement
Pope Clement's picture

After seeing the farcockt results of chemo and radiation I'll take the chicken soup thank you...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 10:36 | 866945 Dr. Porkchop
Dr. Porkchop's picture

goldschlager bitchez.

Tradeable, and drinkable. 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:28 | 866163 yabyum
yabyum's picture

Cheap whiskey & Drum tobacco.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 07:39 | 866686 Al Gorerhythm
Al Gorerhythm's picture

'ear,'ear, Chopper

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:53 | 866347 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

I seem to recall some Tire Coupons being used as money in Canada somewhere...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 18:55 | 868476 Unlawful Justice
Unlawful Justice's picture

I agree!!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:13 | 866119 johngaltfla
johngaltfla's picture

Euro hell, I want to own a printing press!

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 05:03 | 866609 Chappaquiddick
Chappaquiddick's picture

It'll be domino like and in very quick succession.  We are all aware of the underlying fundamentals of the dollar, the euro and the yen.  They are FUBAR.  The debt maze is so entangled if one goes they'll all get dragged into the vortex.

What choice are we now seeing time and time again - gold and silver as the alternative.

A word on the trend though.  If hyper inflation were to occur transactions in PMs before that was completed would prove very costly.  Far better to exhaust all fiat before switching to the good stuff.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:02 | 865778 digitalhermit
Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:25 | 865998 Pladizow
Pladizow's picture

MUST WATCH VIDEO ON SOUND MONEY:

http://montanasoundmoney.org/parksvideo.html

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:33 | 865678 Cursive
Cursive's picture

This will fail, the almighty US$ will reign supreme.

 

Troll much?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:35 | 865684 Red Neck Repugnicunt
Red Neck Repugnicunt's picture

     Troll much?

 

No. Just wait. V for Vindication.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:39 | 865693 Cursive
Cursive's picture

???

Anyway, it's only by actions like this that we may yet save our beloved dollar.  Remember, there were dollars before there were FRN's.  The two are mutually exclusive and a fallback currency might help to strengthen our current one.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:40 | 865697 Red Neck Repugnicunt
Red Neck Repugnicunt's picture

The US$ will forever rally.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:50 | 865735 akak
akak's picture

Look carefully --- this is just another imposter troll, using the same avatar and just one letter removed from RedNeckRepugnicant.  Asshole.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:03 | 865779 Hedge Jobs
Hedge Jobs's picture

yeah ive noticed alot of this recently aswell akak. this douche is a member for 5 days. Like Hamy Wanger.

the trolls are out to infect the site and confuse the debate and take discussions off the subject.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:16 | 866125 Quinvarius
Quinvarius's picture

Yeah!  I had to wait 5 days on the porch to get an ID.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:46 | 865908 CrazyCooter
CrazyCooter's picture

Thank you. I will just scroll down.

To ZHers, just point out the facts like this, and all is well.

Cooter

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:01 | 865772 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

Awesome moniker, avatar. I like your style.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:05 | 865941 Treeplanter
Treeplanter's picture

Silver certificates.  My dad showed me one when I was a tyke.  Said this is real money. Said the Federal Reserves Notes are fake. We still have that, plus a dozen silver dollars, a pile of old Indian head pennies from his coin collection.  

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:11 | 865970 chopper read
chopper read's picture

there was a day where you could slap that (Kennedy) silver certificate down on the bank countertop and they would hand you back a silver dollar.  If you were a shopownever, you could accept a silver certificate or a federal reserve note (backed by nothing).  which one would you have preferred?  They were taken directly back out of circulation after JFK's death by LBJ.  Now you know why Kennedy was shot.   ;)

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:58 | 866075 Hearst
Hearst's picture

I love getting handed junk Silver for change.  I got handed a '63 quarter a few months back at a sandwich joint.  It covered my lunch.  

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 14:18 | 867534 chopper read
chopper read's picture

+1963

love it!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:53 | 865920 ZEITGEIST
ZEITGEIST's picture

your avatar says all we need to know about you...learn much history ever...didnt think so....

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:30 | 866165 yabyum
yabyum's picture

How 'bout V for vacation.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:47 | 866209 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

or vicious, vicarious and currently unvindicated

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 01:29 | 866403 snowball777
snowball777's picture

verily

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:23 | 865839 inkt2002
inkt2002's picture

No it is true Cursive, as odd as it may seem.  Karl Denniger got one thing right in his last 400 predictions- that gold will not partake in the global reserve currency.  The dollar is the best of the worst, and it is mathematically impossible for other major countries to unwind thier dollar denomiated debt without sending their country into oblivion.  These intracountry trades with other currencies is only scare tactics to make the US increase the value of thier currency  King dollar is here to stay

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:29 | 865863 akak
akak's picture

Fiscal reality is going to have the last word here, not your neoKeynesian, pro-Ponzi fantasies.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:55 | 865926 ZEITGEIST
ZEITGEIST's picture

get back to us from whatever alley you end up living in..oh... .and by the way..keep the bag..you will need it....

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:23 | 866145 High Plains Drifter
High Plains Drifter's picture

Go back to Karl and give him a message.

 

Valdez is coming.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:36 | 865685 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

Yeah it has to reign supreme:  it says "God" right on it!  Loaves and fishes, bishes! 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:43 | 865708 Red Neck Repugnicunt
Red Neck Repugnicunt's picture

No, it will reign supreme because it says "Federal Reserve". The agent of the bankers will not fail, it will be forever ingrained in the american society and so will the US$ dollar.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:53 | 865741 akak
akak's picture

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ben Bernanke, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:07 | 865782 asdasmos
asdasmos's picture

Not trying to push any buttons here but.....

 

What about the money elite and banker's hold of the reigns of civilization. There has always been the controlled and controllers.

Even though the Fed and this system falls.... another, similar in structure, will eventually take its place.

What if this is part of the human condition, as there will always be lemmings (the masses), and the informed minority can only watch it burn?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:25 | 865848 Seer
Seer's picture

And herein lie the REAL debate!

Sad is that the "controllers" are still in control and that they will be coopting "our" money by pushing PMs.  Nothing wrong with PMs (I'm and advocate- beats the heck out of fiat!), but they will continue to lash us to their ship!

Thomas Jefferson was about as subversive as you could get, as he promoted agriculture (and not of the Monsanto [or DOW Chemical- watch out here!] kind).  Kissinger said it all that if you control the food you control the people...

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:27 | 865859 thefatasswilly
thefatasswilly's picture

DOW is in the food business?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:47 | 865909 mynhair
mynhair's picture

Dunno, who made Triple Strike, before the EPA banned it as being too effective a weed killer?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:49 | 865914 Seer
Seer's picture

They bought up someone in the food business the other day, but I can't find the reference (maybe the one that I saw [Bloomberg?] was incorrect and got pulled?).  But... http://www.dow.com/products/food_and_related/agriculture/landing.page?in...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:43 | 866328 Bolweevil
Bolweevil's picture

Dupont buys Danisco.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 02:32 | 866490 bonin006
bonin006's picture

When I was a kid (some 35 -40 years ago) we fed the sausage casings to the dog, until I read the "casing by Dupont" text printed on it.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:57 | 865930 Ima anal sphincter
Ima anal sphincter's picture

Kissinger is an asshole.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:22 | 866143 AUD
AUD's picture

Henry Kiss My Ass Inger,

Henry Kiss My Ass Inger,

Henry Kiss My Ass Inger,

Henry Kiss My Ass In-gerr!

 

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:33 | 866307 DollarMenu
DollarMenu's picture

Is he still alive?

Gotta be getting to be doddering status if not.

It would be cool to see him in soiled diapers and drooling.

What a sleazoid he was.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 12:06 | 867147 Problem Is
Problem Is's picture

"Kissinger is an asshole."

Maybe on a good day...

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:38 | 866186 thetruth
thetruth's picture

this is the best post on the thread.  won't there always be masses?  it's hard to imagine a society of individuals.  by this definition there will always be those who will take power and the masses will not object (by their nature)

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:50 | 865915 Cindy_Dies_In_T...
Cindy_Dies_In_The_End's picture

Love Ozymandias!

 

 

(Someone junked you so they obviously didn't get it--an infusion of dumb trolls junking lately on here, I guess ZH is hitting to many nerves).

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 02:24 | 866481 roebernsw
roebernsw's picture

OZYMANDIUS... King of Kings...look on me

ye almighty and weep.

 

Loved that one...

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:53 | 865743 Kaiser Sousa
Kaiser Sousa's picture

"it will be forever ingrained in the american society and so will the US$ dollar."...

like u will be forever latched on to the jocks of the wealty elite and the bankers who have forever brainswashed ur Rupugicunt dumb ass???

just stop ok...its tired....

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:53 | 865744 Sean7k
Sean7k's picture

Sometimes, you are just too funny. Sadistic, but funny.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:23 | 865836 samsara
samsara's picture

"...The agent of the bankers will not fail..."

Foolish assumption unless followed by "As long as it serves their needs..."

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:59 | 866236 mess nonster
mess nonster's picture

Yaeh it has to reign supreme, $ has 666 all over it, like a bad rash...

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:41 | 865704 Tortfeasor
Tortfeasor's picture

Always and forever.  Just like the Ceasars, the Roman and Chinese emperors, the czars, the dodo bird, the East India Company...

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:49 | 865725 Kaiser Sousa
Kaiser Sousa's picture

yeah, uh, uh...

the almighty debt coupon Dollar...or do u prefer, Continental...

 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:00 | 865939 ZEITGEIST
ZEITGEIST's picture

not to mention the Confederate dollar and Jefferson Davis.......

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:18 | 865815 Wynn
Wynn's picture

Sic Semper Tyrannis bitchez

Thus always to tyrants - including you Ben

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:06 | 865953 66Sexy
66Sexy's picture

could be right. in SHTF the dollar is US 'military industrial complex' and 'corporate dictatorship' backed.  all the other currencies like the euro or yen are flimsy crap;backed solely by gov fiat and debt.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:56 | 865680 Mercury
Mercury's picture

In other words: In the event that all your U.S. dollar currency and M0-->MZM assets become worthless...you are free to barter as you are able to and as you see fit.

Gee thanks. 

In other news, it has also been resolved that:  In the event your entire family is wiped out by a government blunder, you are free to date again.

Typical brilliant committee work here.  How about taking a stab at reigning in The Fed and limiting the destruction of this train wreck before it happens?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:27 | 865844 GreenSideUp
GreenSideUp's picture

dubs

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:25 | 865847 LeBalance
LeBalance's picture

sorry, but this committe will only convene: post fucko, not pre fucko.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:26 | 865851 GreenSideUp
GreenSideUp's picture

How about taking a stab at reigning in The Fed and limiting the destruction of this train wreck before it happens?

The first step is to attempt to educate the legislature/populace.  If nothing else, maybe this bill will help do that, or at the very least, start a discussion on the subject. 

The bill is just fine with me and since I live in VA, I'd rather they be discussing money than coming up with new ways to tax and spend.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:32 | 865869 LeBalance
LeBalance's picture

sorry, but this committe will only convene: post fucko, not pre fucko.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:32 | 866021 mynhair
mynhair's picture

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post fucto Law, or...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 01:00 | 866356 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

Virginia IS one of the states suing the US Govt re:  Obamacare -- cut'em some slack and jerk the chain(s) of the Court system(s) for being so slow...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 02:40 | 866485 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

Virginia is an interesting state Stycho.

Chock full of the two extremes of the US peoplescape.

Lots of libertarians rubbing shoulders with every 3 letter agency and their "outsourcers", the working hub of the MIC/Intelligence community.

Of course this will go nowhere.

Con-Con a-coming? The final fold over into 10 Homeland districts? Here we are saying end the fed and there they have had a blueprint since the 70's to end the State.

Which might win?

ORI

http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com/2010/12/24/where-do-we-fit/

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:34 | 865682 Sean7k
Sean7k's picture

Coining of money and legal tender are Federal perogatives. This won't go anywhere. Fun though- nothing says worthless like FRN repudiation.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:39 | 865690 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

I think if the FRN goes down the tubes, the prerogative to define legal tender goes up in the air.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:41 | 865701 UGrev
UGrev's picture

damn skippy... and pretty much any one who thinks otherwise at the time of said transaction(s) will probably wind up with a few extra holes where there formally weren't any.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:45 | 865706 Rainman
Rainman's picture

I vote for Eurpesodolloons.... but only cause it sounds cool !!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:00 | 865771 Cactus Rocky
Cactus Rocky's picture

Or Virginie Maes.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:20 | 865826 Hephasteus
Hephasteus's picture

I don't know. I think dell is working on a computer that doesn't work after you press the eula and the eula forces you to keep trying to use it legally.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:49 | 865727 lieutenantjohnchard
lieutenantjohnchard's picture

lines 57 through 62 seem to refute your point in the case law.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:38 | 865885 Sean7k
Sean7k's picture

Pre 1913 rulings while the US was on a gold bullion standard. Legal tender laws were passed subsequently and will be upheld. 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:21 | 865993 lieutenantjohnchard
lieutenantjohnchard's picture

good point. but if the dollar dies it would be wise for the states to have something in place for the folks too poor or unwise to have prepared for the worst.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:31 | 866018 Sean7k
Sean7k's picture

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the dollar. 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:43 | 865894 mouser98
mouser98's picture

are you sure that is correct?  The Constitution gave Congress the right to coin money of gold and silver, but it was not exclusive, and there was no mention of fiat or legal tender.  States continued to print and mint up until the Civil War at least, if not well past it.  if you are correct, then it is probably a provision of the Federal Reserve Act, the Constitutionality of which is dubious at best, not that that matters.

*edit* okay, no need to reply, i see where you have implied that it was part of the FRA

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:07 | 865958 Treeplanter
Treeplanter's picture

Banks and states used to print their own notes.  You were free to decide if they were worth anything.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:25 | 865999 mouser98
mouser98's picture

yes, that wonderful, liberating notion, the idea that you are free to decide for yourself :)

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 06:16 | 866640 Marge N Call
Marge N Call's picture

Yeah, back when people were actually able to think and

decide for themselves. Imagine trying that now? First

off, the Federal Goverment would slap soo much crap

like "truth in money-printing claims", "equal-oppy money printer",

"nutritional information of money", etc, etc. It would be

in the red day one. Hey wait.....

 

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 01:01 | 866357 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

Haven't read the US Constitution lately, have you?  Congress is charged with REGULATING weights and measures (including the gold and silver content of money), not minting it.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:40 | 865695 Thomas
Thomas's picture

Rickards views AZ immigration problem as the equivalent of fractures in the Roman Empire. gotta figure he would view this as a puzzle piece as well.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 01:37 | 866420 snowball777
snowball777's picture

migrant workers == foederati barbarians; both empires depend(ed) on outsiders to support their largesse.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:47 | 865719 Xibalba
Xibalba's picture

Public awareness will grow, faithfully breeding further hatred for all things 'Fed'.  Soon Americans will burn those worthless notes in the streets and cry out for The Coming Insurrection. 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:48 | 865721 sysin3
sysin3's picture

In your face, bitchez !!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:49 | 865724 proLiberty
proLiberty's picture

From the last two paragraphs of Alan Greenspan's essay, Gold and Economic Freedom:

In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold. If everyone decided, for example, to convert all his bank deposits to silver or copper or any other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods. The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.

This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard.

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/greenspan.html

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:35 | 865875 mouser98
mouser98's picture

nice link, I never knew Greenspan was a tin-foil wearing gold bug like us

 

*addendum*  

I bet he lurks here on ZH :)

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:10 | 866104 flacon
flacon's picture

I believe that Greenspan died some time ago. The man that was the Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan was his doppelgänger - the zombie-man impersonating a corpse.

 

either that, or "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." 

 

One of the twain.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 08:09 | 866704 Al Gorerhythm
Al Gorerhythm's picture

The Transition of Gollum.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 11:14 | 867021 ZeroHour
ZeroHour's picture

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil."  1 Timothy 6:10

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 14:46 | 867632 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

But the Federal Reserve (and the US government, and the international banking cartel) hates real money.

They must be doing God's work.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 14:44 | 867626 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

Naw, I bet the Bilderberg group members get a periodical report sent to them summarizing the 'fringe blog' zeitgeist. I imagine only low-level minions lurk here.

Got that minions? Tell your bosses to suck my balls!

(If you don't hear from me in a day or two, you'll know what happened.)

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:49 | 865728 Duffminster
Duffminster's picture

To me, the fact that they are even considering this at the State level means that the awareness of just how tenuous the house of cards that our currency is based on has now spread beyond  the domain of the financial geeks at Zero Hedge and the event horizon is nearing as MOPE begins to fade in the light of electromagnetic laws of economics.

As Robert Pretcher recently wrote:

"... Let’s attempt to define what gives the dollar objective value. As we will see in the next section, the dollar is “backed” primarily by government bonds, which are promises to pay dollars. So today, the dollar is a promise backed by a promise to pay an identical promise. What is the nature of each promise? If the Treasury will not give you anything tangible for your dollar, then the dollar is a promise to pay nothing. The Treasury should have no trouble keeping this promise...."

It seems the Virginian subcommittee would like to consider putting the missing "L" back in the phrase on the US Currency "IN GOD WE TRUST". Duffminster

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:19 | 865821 samsara
samsara's picture

It seems the Virginian subcommittee would like to consider putting the missing "L" back in the phrase on the US Currency "IN GOD WE TRUST". Duffminster

+ standing clapping.  That's a good one.

 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:20 | 865823 BigJim
BigJim's picture

I think Prechter's missed the main point about what gives the dollar its value.

Like all fiat curencies, what gave the dollar its value originally was the fact it extinguished tax debt. Virtually all US citizens had to have FRNs to pay their government's protection money.

As the US grew in industrial, financial and military might, its dollar became proportionally more useful to outsiders.

Once the US came off gold, the worth of the US dollar derived largely from the fact that it was the only currency major OPEC nations like Saudi Arabia would accept in return for oil.

Incidentally, if you believe the ANOTHER/FOA/FOFOA teachings, the oil producers continue to accept the dollar in proportion to how much gold it will buy. So, as the price of gold rises, you'll need more and more FRNs to pay for your oil... comparing gold's price over the last decade with current yields on US government debt make the latter look a bit poor, no?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:23 | 865838 AUD
AUD's picture

Funny that Prechter thinks the "dollar is a promise to pay nothing", yet thinks that the dollar stands above all else in terms of objective value.

Or is he slowly becoming a gold bug like Mish?

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:25 | 865845 AUD
AUD's picture

Funny that Prechter thinks the "dollar is a promise to pay nothing", yet thinks that the dollar stands above all else in terms of objective value.

Or is he slowly becoming a gold bug like Mish?

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:03 | 866243 RedPacket
RedPacket's picture

The objective dollar = 371.25 grains of *silver*

See 1792 Coinage Act.

Big Trader is back and converting  FRNs to silver, yes?

 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:51 | 865737 kreso
kreso's picture

If you don't care form a committee, if you care solve the problem yourself. If you don't want a problem to be solved form a subcommittee.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:52 | 865740 samsara
samsara's picture

We sometimes have to step back and put some of these things in perspective.

Having lived thru the 50's,60's. etc.   I don't ever remember a state ever looking at this type of action and being driven by this "Possible Reality"

"...in the event of a major  breakdown of the Federal Reserve System"

Amazing times regardless if it goes anywhere or not.

What Other things are states looking at "..In the event of a major breakdown of the ....*BLANK" 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:55 | 865753 trav7777
trav7777's picture

State-level rebellion means Federal Power likely to wane.  All the people worried about mass confiscation of things should look to their states for clues.  Some of the western states have said fuck you to certain gun laws, most specifically repudiating them as an attack on the Commerce Clause encroachment.

AZ is saying eff off to federal policy on immigration and border security, and VA is chirping about alternatives to the FRN.  The real fireworks come when all the pensions and budgets collapse and the Fed tries to pimp them through the FRN

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:39 | 865891 Shameful
Shameful's picture

Self preservation is a great thing. I've been hoping that the states will wake up and decide to bail as to not go down with the ship.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 06:12 | 866636 Marge N Call
Marge N Call's picture

+1. Bingo. Then we will see who the real whores are.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:57 | 865757 praxis
praxis's picture

I posted this link on my Facebook page and I was afraid people would think I was a lunatic for discussing currencies gold/silver etc.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2011/01/delegate_proposes_virginia_min.html

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:56 | 866351 Bolweevil
Bolweevil's picture

Looks like a black swan honks like a black swan...

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 14:51 | 867645 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

I've been posting stuff there about gold and currencies for a while. Probably some of my 'friends' think I'm a loony, or a crazy libertarian wingnut. But I'm not turning back...if they feel alienated by what I have to say, fuck 'em. I can't hold everybody's hand.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 20:59 | 865766 lieutenantjohnchard
lieutenantjohnchard's picture

the committe is being formed to study alternatives in the event of fed failure. seems like good preventative steps to take from a public policy perspecive.

also, in the depression years when money was hard to get various communities around the usa set up coupon / barter systems for exchange. municipalities etc ... issued coupons (for lack of better word) that were exchangeable throughout the area.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:01 | 865774 Strongbad
Strongbad's picture

States' Rights, bitchez

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:41 | 865900 Problem Is
Problem Is's picture

Popeye's Wimpy:
"I'll have a hamburger! For which I will gladly pay you... with silver coin, bitchez."

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 14:57 | 867663 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

http://www.topdoghotdogs.com/catering.html

Top Dog, in Berkeley and Oakland, accept silver and gold coins as payment for hot dogs. (The text on their website is for catering, but they take silver in payment at their shops too.)

Can I get a discount?

For YOU, of course! Starting in 2009 and continuing in 2010, pay in gold or silver and we'll give you an enormous discount. Yes, I'm serious. Pay with US denomination coins made of silver or gold and we'll give you a deal you can tell all your friends about. Please inform us if you are interested in this method of payment prior to the event.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:03 | 865783 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

Don't laugh, the frn is a laughingstock around the world. It's just a matter of time before the fed maggots lose all their economic power.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:36 | 865880 umop episdn
umop episdn's picture

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/at-least-10-states-have-intro...

Yep. Virginia isn't the only state that's thinking about gold and silver. Metalheads, Untie!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:56 | 865929 mouser98
mouser98's picture

to prop up the FRN and punish those who openly laugh at it, our military expenditures in '09, according to wiki, were $663 billion.  The next in line, China, spent a paltry $98 billion in comparison.  damn its expensive to force people to accept our worthless paper.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:33 | 866023 Shameful
Shameful's picture

If we really could bully the world, then why isn't oil $10 a barrel? Our mil spending is more about corrupt contracts and payoffs then proping up the dollar. Most people would not believe the level of waste and fraud in the military biz.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:56 | 866058 mouser98
mouser98's picture

i'm not disagreeing with you, except where you disagree with me.  our global military presence is about enforcing the USD as the world's reserve currency.  you are suggesting that our army costs six times more than China's because of corruption and fraud, and certainly you left unsaid that our army is also more expensive due to more cutting edge technology, but SIX times higher?  China's army is actually bigger than ours.

no, the world would not accept the FRN as their reserve currency without the constant reminder of our ability to kill civilians in great numbers quickly.

*edit/addendum* oil prices are what they are because we have to be careful not to strangle the goose laying the golden eggs... too bad we never considered the same when thinking about our own manufacturing base

*another edit* while i have no first hand knowledge, I can only surmise that China has its share of corruption and fraud in its own military contracting.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:37 | 866139 Shameful
Shameful's picture

I must disagree. What are we going to do, invade China, Russia? Look at the struggle we face in the middle east an now look at what hell Russia/China would be. Occupying China would be impossible even if they didn't have their army and nukes.

What is really keeping the dollar up is the built in ponzi inertia. The other nations should have ran in 71, but they were invested. Humans are terrible at dealing with sunk costs, every poker player knows this. Also had the USSR to play off of.

Sure we can bully around the edges, but that can backfire. After all if I came up and started threatening you, you might either find a way to defend yourself or find someone to help you. If the extortion was working well then why did oil prices ever go above $10?

And I have no doubt all militaries are corrupt for contracting. But I do not think you know the insane depths in the US. I've had a lot of friends in the service and they all have tales involving BILLIONS. My old roommate told me about how 5 billion went missing and the auditors could not find it...right before the base commander retired and got a lucrative job with a contractor firm.

Our military is a paper tiger. Against any real enemy we will get destroyed. No depth, obscene logistics costs, and no ability to replace machine losses. Research the decline of Rome and there army, their military expanded massively and could not save them.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:00 | 866238 mouser98
mouser98's picture

good points and you are correct that i do not know the "insane depths" of fraud and corruption in US military spending.

still, i assert that the only thing that kept our dollar from collapsing years ago was the provision of Bretton-Woods that our USD would be the reserve currency of the world, while our reserve would be gold, which was repudiated by Nixon in 1971, leaving only our military presence to be our "reserve".  we don't have to actually invade Russia or China to project this influence, we only need to do what we are doing, establish presence in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan which border China and Russia.  we don't want to actually tangle with them but they don't want to tangle with us just as much if not more.

our military spending is 6 times that of China!  what other motive could there be for spending that much money other than propping up the Federal Reserve?  you have established that its not to keep oil prices down, although i imagine that it has kept oil prices down to an extent, as a secondary "benefit".

i don't begrudge you if my argument does not convince, it is weak i admit, but my intuition tells me i am not far off the mark.  give me another compelling reason for us to spend $633 billion a year on a global military presence.  and i will tell you in advance that i don't buy the notion that it's because it allows six times as much graft.  graft takes advantage of opportunity, i don't think it's that effective in creating the opportunities.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:34 | 866309 Shameful
Shameful's picture

Ok but as you point out it's expensive. So how do we fund it, more debt. So either foreigners have to pick up the tab putting us in a worse strategic position or it gets monetized.

Why did the banks commit such insane frauds? For money and because they could get away with it. The military is a sacred cow, it's wrong in most circles to even talk about graft and corruption or cuts so it's a perfect vehicle to loot. Wouldn't you want a no bid contract with the military and be able to name your own price? The whole US is built on fraud, it's the main business model.

We cannot force people to use our money any more then the USSR could. Their military spending was epic. It's a sign of empire decline, a bloated military that cannot win. Are we wowing hte world with military dominance in Iraq or Afghanistan? If anything we are becoming a sad joke. If one is going to try to b a bully, then one has to be able to show strength. Like I said in 71 we had inertia, and the USSR. People might be a little bit willing to accept the exorbitant privileged if the USA was a bulwark against the USSR. But now what? The USA needs trillions to protect the world from men in caves? Maybe we have some pull with the Saudi's but other then that I don't think our military is really convincing many people. It sure hasn't convinced Iran to toe the line.

Also need to point out all currencies are bad. Really it's like picking your favorite STD. So by everyone being universally bad it gives a little more support to the dollar.

As to the costs, ok 1st our gear is way more expensive. America is a nation that will use a $100,000 missile on a $100 target. We pay out insane graft and don't have the time to look up all but start here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/24/AR200706... and then realize that we are still doing business with them. I have no doubt that the corruption is way more then any other nations in % and dollar terms. It's where the higher officers go when they retire, they get their bread buttered by the corps. Go ahead and research the graft, you'll be staggered.

China has a larger active army, bigger reserve. They are actively building a blue water fleet, building new missiles, and modernizing their airforce. And they spend a fraction of what we do. Either the Chinese are wizards and super shoppers or we are leaking money like a sieve.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 01:34 | 866416 mouser98
mouser98's picture

i agree with everything you say except your conclusion.  post-WW2 the USSR was never the equal to us.  trying to keep up with us was a good part of the reason for their collapse but they never were remotely close to us in military power or in foreign influence.

yes all currencies are like STD's, so all other things being equal, why hasn't any country rejected the USD as its reserve currency?

we spend SIX times as much as our nearest competitor, who as you admit is trying to catch up with us.  there has to be a motive and its not to depress the price of oil, so it has to be something fundamental, what could be more fundamental than propping up the FRN?  after all, its the mechanism by which we export most of our inflation.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:08 | 865793 bankonzhongguo
bankonzhongguo's picture

In two years we will wake up to find the IMF and the BIS have physical possession of world gold reserves and hence will be the only institutions that have the independent resources to instill a new world currency and otherwise end the old feudal and failed currencies.  Just in the same way Fort Knox used to instill a visceral perception of value in a gold standard and hence the fiat, so too will that perception need to be invigorated to create confidence in your new money god - Leviathan. 

Now if only the Chinese will go along with it.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:41 | 865899 oddjob
oddjob's picture

 Charles says so sorry,but no.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:29 | 866013 mouser98
mouser98's picture

is not the Chinese central bank owned by the Rothschilds?

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 10:22 | 866913 oddjob
oddjob's picture

yes.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:09 | 865798 jm
jm's picture

The competent hand of elected stooges have it all under control.  No gold bubble at all.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:11 | 865801 Fix It Again Timmy
Fix It Again Timmy's picture

Just what in the hell is money?  Give a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_898758&v=Gizetn5Vu...

 

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:22 | 865831 fallst
fallst's picture

Not So Fast!

Not after a casual 3 trillion was just flashed.

Now they are exposed as a CDS shiteater, Yum.

And Potus wanted Fed to watchdog for us!

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:27 | 865854 Convolved Man
Convolved Man's picture

Why don't the states issue prison script backed by cigarettes.  After all, tobacco was used as money in colonial Virginia.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:29 | 865861 Juggernaut Nihilism
Juggernaut Nihilism's picture

Not trying to throw wet blankets over people's piss-covered Corn Flakes while raining on their parade, but any state that attempted to utilize an alternative currency, under any conditions in which anything resembling the US federal government was still in existence, would see tanks rolling down MLK Blvd. (every city has one) and troops escorting any non-compliant state officials out of the capitol.  With the system we currently have in place, attempting to use an alternative currency is secession and would be treated as such.

It would be good for a state to have a plan in place in case of a disorderly breakdown of the entire United States federal government and social system, but in a situation like that, the word "state" loses its meaning, as do state borders, the US Constitution and federal treaties, etc.

Anything less than a total breakdown would literally be treated as secession, and if the offending state still refused to comply, it would be invaded and we would have our second civil war (or, more likely, we would see the state brought to its knees within a few days, and any dissident groups or "militias" attempting to support the state crushed immediately).  It wouldn't even take the outright adoption of an alternative currency to make the feds bring Sherman back from the dead; all it would take is for a state to make a serious change to the terms of its bonds (ie - guaranteeing a certain portion of the bond with the production of mines, or oil & gas fields, in the state; this would relatively devalue the bonds of every other state and even the federal government itself; it would never, ever be allowed).

So even in the worst case scenarios of hyperinflation or currency breakdown, the full fury of what remained of the federal government would come down on the state that adopted an alternative.  The only situation in which this would not be the case is if there was no federal government at all, in which case the entire order of the world has changed and all bets are off.  If Virginia is planning for something like that, it should also consider training pilots and sailors, in addition to a beefed up state militia, so that the state government could occupy the Norfolk Naval Station, take over the abandoned aircraft carriers, support ships, subs and airplanes, selling the surplus to China, thus setting up a conflict for Virgina's main rivals in the new order, the other air and naval powerhouses Hawaii and the sovereign city-state of San Diego.  China would not be an immediate concern for San Diego, but Pearl Harbor would have to be ready once China was finished occupying Taiwan and bringing Singapore under its control.

Texas would not be much of a concern in the immediate future, because her eyes would be to the south and east, and taking control of Mexico's oil fields and the refineries along the Gulf Coast.  Though declining, in a world of collapsed industrial production, Mexico's fields would still be substantial.  Of course, Texas would have to ally itself with certain of the balkanized territory formerly known as Mexico's new rulers (formerly known as drug cartel leaders; Carlos Slim having been killed by a Stinger missile as his private 767 was attempting to leave for Switzerland) in order to maintain control of Mexican oil without too much Iraq-esque terrorism and sabotage, and it would do so by facilitating the transfer of Mexican narcotics into the eastern and western former-US territories.

At some point in this post I stopped posting what I believe to be fact (or close to it), and began speculating.  Five points to the person figures out where that point is.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:39 | 865888 akak
akak's picture

Many like to discuss and speculate about Peak Oil, but I believe that they are mostly overlooking an even more critical point of inflection: Peak Federal Power, which I feel we are currently witnessing, if not already just passed. 

As federal power wanes, analogously to how central power faded in the Roman Empire, at some point the Federal Reserve and its evil fiat spawn WILL be widely repudiated --- the declining federal government will be powerless to stop it.  Please put away all your notions of the omnipotent federal leviathan --- that meme is already being revealed as the sham that it is, and will only increasingly be so into the future.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:48 | 865911 Shameful
Shameful's picture

They do have a bit of power. I figure we could face a occupation phase or nuclear blackmail phase quite easily. The main help the US will get is from the foreigners bailing on the dollar. If we can no longer import goods for free the system really start breaking down, then it's a horse race between civil war (possibly with nukes) or police state.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 22:35 | 866026 mouser98
mouser98's picture

your speculation starts in the fourth paragraph.  very compelling comment, you should write a near future history novel, i am placing my order now.

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:32 | 866169 Mark Beck
Mark Beck's picture

The issue is one of states rights, not succession from the union. Also, without succession there is no reason for military force for reclaimation of hard currency. That is physical gold and silver. The US holdings of gold would still reside with the central Government (Treasury). The bigger issue is that the states must support commerce while the FED is abolished and debt is repudiated or renegotiated.

I think that you will find that a collapse in the USD is a collapse in the central government, and over time, its ability to support itself. The citizens will not attack their own homes. The military will still exist, but it will have to do so within a budget that is needed for the immediate threats to our borders. Many of the weapon system will die because of cost of maintenance. I beleive the US Navy will become the predominate, and cost effective way, to project force and provide mobility throughout the world to protect the nation.

Mark Beck

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:17 | 866270 JimmyTheHand
JimmyTheHand's picture

Texas is my home state and your right, we wouldn't be much of a concern.  We would use the Texas National Guard to take care of our border crap down south (we have ground and air units not sure about our naval strength).  We probably would leave their oil alone since we have plenty of oil and gas production here along with refining capacity, plus we could poke some holes out in the gulf if we had to.  We have the largest wind farms in the US, producing over 9,410 MW of electricity a year (wikipedia).  We don't owe the federal government a flipping @ss thing since they have little to no land here (http://www.economist.com/node/176738) and when we joined the good ole USA we signed on as a sovereign nation keeping our right to secede.  Not that we wouldn't have hurdles should we decide it is time to go that route, but I would say Texas is damn sure better positioned than most States. 

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 11:15 | 867023 Almost Solvent
Almost Solvent's picture

Although Ft. Hood is small in relation to the rest of Texas, it is one of the larger military installations in the US.

Might be some other military installations in Texas as well.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:22 | 866272 JimmyTheHand
JimmyTheHand's picture

.

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 00:22 | 866274 JimmyTheHand
JimmyTheHand's picture

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