House Monetary Policy Committee Member Questions Treasury and Fed about Their Gold Activities

By Activist Post

A Member of Congress posed some pointed questions to the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury this week about their activities involving America’s gold reserves, including, apparently, efforts to “drive gold out of the world financial system in favor of the Federal Reserve Note or Special Drawing Rights issued by the International Monetary Fund.”

In a letter dated April 24, Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) wrote to Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, raising concerns about their formal policy to devalue the Federal Reserve Note (e.g. “inflation targeting”) and requesting information about the United States’ use of, and position on, gold.

“The purchasing power of our currency has fallen some 97% since Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, with an acceleration in the rate of decline occurring since the early 1970s when the final link to gold was severed,” wrote Mooney while also pointing out there had been almost no inflation in the U.S. prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve System.

“This Fed policy of creating inflation has the effect of driving up the cost of virtually everything my West Virginia constituents consume, while simultaneously reducing the real value of their pensions, savings, and fixed income payments,” Mooney continued.

In his capacity as a member of the House Financial Services Committee and its Monetary Policy and Trade subcommittee, Mooney has asked the Fed and Treasury to answer the following questions in writing:

1. Records in the archives of the historian of the U.S. State Department describe U.S. government policy in recent decades as aiming to drive gold out of the world financial system in favor of the Federal Reserve Note or Special Drawing Rights issued by the International Monetary Fund.

Is this still U.S. government policy toward gold? If not, what IS the U.S. government’s current policy toward gold?

2. I have heard complains that the U.S. gold reserve has not been fully audited for many decades, particularly as there seems to have been no acknowledgement of – or account for – “swaps” and leases of gold or arrangements for such to which the U.S. government has been a party.

Does the U.S. government, through the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve System, or any other agency or entity, transact in gold or gold derivatives either directly or through intermediaries? If so, what are those transactions and what are their objectives?

3. Does the U.S. government undertake any transactions in gold or gold derivatives through the Bank for International Settlements, Bank of England, or other central banks or governments? If so, what are these transactions and their objectives?

Stefan Gleason, Executive Director of the Sound Money Defense League said,

In recent decades, government officials and central banks have almost entirely kicked gold out of the monetary system with disastrous effects, particularly for the average American.

A return to sound money, i.e. gold and silver, would usher in a new era of investment, savings, stable prices, and fiscal discipline.

We look forward to an explanation from Secretary Mnuchin and Chairman Powell regarding the government’s activities using America’s gold, including to what extent America’s gold reserves have been put at risk or used for what might be viewed as dubious purposes.

Congressman Mooney’s letter can be accessed here.

Image credit: Daily Coin

Wyoming House Votes Overwhelmingly to Remove Taxation from Gold and Silver

Activist Post

The Wyoming State House today overwhelmingly approved a bill which helps restore constitutional, sound money in Wyoming.

State Representatives voted 44-14 to pass House Bill 103 sending the measure introduced by Representative Roy Edwards (R-Gillette) to the Senate for a hearing.

Backed by the Sound Money Defense League, Campaign for Liberty, and Money Metals Exchange, HB 103 is a bill that removes all state taxation from gold and silver bullion and coins and reaffirms their legal tender status in Wyoming, in keeping with Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution.

Testifying before the House Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee last week, Sound Money Defense League Policy Director Jp Cortez made the case to Wyoming legislators that charging sales taxes on money itself is beyond the pale. In effect, states that collect taxes on purchases of precious metals are inherently saying gold and silver are not money at all.

Representative Edwards said in support of HB 103, “Imagine going to the grocery store and asking the clerk for change for a $20 bill and being charged 80-cents in tax. That’s what we’re doing in Wyoming by charging sales taxes on precious metals and we’re taking steps to change that.”

Wyoming does not have an income tax. However, it does have a sales tax and it assesses this tax against precious metals bullion.  If HB 103 becomes law, Wyoming would join all its neighboring states (South Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska) and more than 30 other states that do not assess a sales tax against precious metals.

Other states have eliminated income taxation on gold and silver (Arizona and Utah) or have established precious metals depositories to help citizens save and transact in gold and silver bullion (Texas).

Cortez’s testimony highlighted the harmful effects of inflation that flow from the Federal Reserve System and how erecting barriers to precious metal ownership harms those most negatively impacted by currency debasement – wage earners, savers, those on a fixed income – and local business owners who lose business to out-of-state dealers that don’t subject buyers with unfair taxation.

For more information on the current state of sound money laws in Wyoming, click here.

The Sound Money Defense League is an Idaho-based public policy group working nationally to bring back gold and silver as America’s constitutional money.  For comment or more information, call 1-208-577-2225 or email jp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org.

Gold-Backed Scholarship Helps Students Cope with Runaway Tuition Inflation

By Activist Post

A major national precious metals dealer has just opened its gold-backed scholarship fund for 2017 applicants.  Funds will be awarded to students who understand that gold is money and are able to clearly articulate the many failures of the inflation-creating Federal Reserve System.

Money Metals Exchange, a national precious metals dealer recently ranked “Best in the USA,” teamed up with the Sound Money Defense League, setting aside 100 oz of physical gold, currently worth almost $130,000, to help outstanding students pay for ever-rising education costs.

“The Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies have jacked up education costs, and our company is proud to help students who understand this problem as they cope with this unfolding disaster,” said Stefan Gleason, president of Money Metals Exchange. “Because of abusive and ongoing devaluation of the Federal Reserve Note, we expect the gold that we have set aside to fund the scholarship program will grow in nominal value dramatically over time.”

This scholarship will be open to high school seniors, undergraduate students, and graduate students with an interest in economics, specifically the tradition of the Austrian school. However, one does not have to be an economics major to apply.

The ongoing devaluation of the Federal Reserve Note “dollar” pushes up the nominal prices of assets, goods, and services across America.

Central planners have further contributed to the problem of skyrocketing education costs through easy access to government-subsidized loans which are usually awarded regardless of merit or creditworthiness. Colleges and universities can spend frivolously and raise their tuition costs aggressively.  Meanwhile, students frequently leave college with debt that exceeds a home mortgage.

Essays will be reviewed by a blue ribbon committee of professors, economists, and executives of Money Metals Exchange and Sound Money Defense League. The panel will select two (2) undergraduate winners and two (2) graduate winners. All four (4) articles will be published on one or both organizations’ websites. The four (4) winners will also have the opportunity to win the People’s Choice Award which goes to the student whose article attracts the most interest from social media (Facebook, Twitter).

Jp Cortez, Assistant Director of Sound Money Defense League, said, “Last year was a huge success. We had well over one hundred entries from students. Applicants are excited at the prospect of having their essays read and graded by some of the most notable sound money economists and thinkers in the world.”

The deadline for applications is September 30^th, 2017. For more information, visit moneymetals.com/scholarship or email scholarship@moneymetals.com.