“The GOP’s New Gold Rush” – Tim Murphy

“After three decades of railing against America’s monetary policies, Congress’ most famous gold bug and anti-Fed crusader, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), doesn’t have much to show for his efforts on the national level. But Paul’s message finally seems to be gaining traction outside Washington. Since the beginning of 2009, lawmakers in more than a dozen…

“After three decades of railing against America’s monetary policies, Congress’ most famous gold bug and anti-Fed crusader, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), doesn’t have much to show for his efforts on the national level.

But Paul’s message finally seems to be gaining traction outside Washington. Since the beginning of 2009, lawmakers in more than a dozen states, with the backing of conservative organizations like the Tenth Amendment Center and the American Principles Project, have introduced bills promoting the use of gold and silver currency for everything from buying groceries to paying taxes. Last week, Utah became the first state to enact such legislation, declaring gold and silver coins from the US mint legal tender, and creating a commission to study the efficacy of this move.

Other proposals, in Georgia and Iowa, would mandate that all state taxes be paid in gold and silver. In Montana, a “sound money” bill that would have required all taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products be paid in precious metals was narrowly defeated on Monday.

Some supporters hope the movement will succeed where Paul’s efforts have fallen short—by bringing down the Federal Reserve system from the bottom up.” Read more

“The GOP’s New Gold Rush” 
Tim Murphy 
Mother Jones, March 30, 2011. 

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