Folks, I firmly believe the US would not need to revert back to the gold standard. The US is the most advanced nation in the world and would remain so, for foreseeable future. In any case, there is no other nation in the world that comes remotely close to the US government's gold reserves - more than 8100 tons.
By comparison, Canada holds a puny 3.4 tons. Here are some interesting numbers to back my reasoning. Top 20 Indebted Nations And Their Gold Reserves ----------------------------------------------- Source For Debt & GDP: CNBC.COM / World Bank - As of 3Q2011 Source For Gold Reserves: World Gold Council - As of March 2012[ # Country Ext. Debt External Gold Reserves GDP 2011 As % of GDP Debt/Capita (In Tons) (In Trillion) --- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------- ------------- 01. Ireland 1239.0% 478,087 6.0 * 02. UK 451.4% 161,110 310.3 2.2 03. Switzerland 391.3% 174,022 1,040.1 * 04. Netherlands 367.0% 154,820 612.5 * 05. Belgium 353.7% 139,613 227.5 * 06. Denmark 283.2% 106,680 66.5 * 07. Hong Kong 265.7% 131,380 2.1 * 08. Sweden 262.3% 109,318 125.7 * 09. France 254.4% 85,824 2,435.4 2.2 10. Norway 246.9% 138,783 0.0 * 11. Finland 244.8% 90,984 49.1 * 12. Austria 241.3% 103,160 280.0 * 13. Portugal 207.3% 47,483 382.5 * 14. Germany 183.9% 69,788 3,396.3 3.1 15. Greece 178.9% 50,792 111.7 * 16. Spain 169.5% 50,868 281.6 1.4 17. Australia 139.9% 58,322 79.9 * 18. Italy 136.6% 40,724 2,451.8 1.8 19. Hungary 110.3% 21,706 3.1 * 20. USA 99.4% 47,664 8,133.5 15.0 -- Canada and India does not appear in the above list. I have estimated them below, since many on this list would be interested to know their numbers. -- India 23.5% 275 557.7 4.4 (ext debt = 330 Billion, population 1200 million ) -- Canada 92.3% 35,294 3.4 1.3 (ext debt = 1200 Billion, population 34 million ) * The GDP of these nations is < 1 Trillion dollar range. Norway - Does not include gold in its international reserves. It sold most of its gold holdings by 2004. However it does maintain (for exhibition purposes), 7 gold bars and 3.5 Tons of gold coins that were part of the "Gold Transport" to England during World War II. Jim F New York. --- On Sun, 8/26/12, Mervyn Lobo <mervynal...@yahoo.ca> wrote: > From: Mervyn Lobo <mervynal...@yahoo.ca> > Subject: [Goanet] Off topic: Republicans to discuss return to gold standard > at convention > To: "estb.1994! Goa'spremieremailinglist" <goanet@lists.goanet.org> > Date: Sunday, August 26, 2012, 3:31 PM > Folks, > For those interested in the future, here is something to > consider. > For those interested in gold futures, Rmoney er, Romney is a > gift from God. > ML04 > > 1530EST > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > Romney says he may not reappoint Ben Bernanke > CBC News: Aug 24, 2012 > > > The U.S. Republican Party will call next week for a > commission to examine the possibility of returning the > American currency to the gold standard. > ... ...