Submitted by Mark M.
A bill prefiled in the South Carolina House would make gold and silver coins legal tender in the state. Passage of this bill would take a step toward creating currency competition in South Carolina and undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.
Rep. Stewart Jones filed House Bill 4678 (H.4678) on Nov. 20. Under the proposed law, “gold and silver coins minted foreign or domestic shall be legal tender in the State of South Carolina under the laws of this State. No person or other entity may compel another person or other entity to tender or accept gold or silver coin unless agreed upon by the parties.”
Practically speaking, this would allow South Carolina residents to use gold or silver coins to pay taxes and other debts owed to the state. In effect, it would put gold and silver on the same footing as Federal Reserve notes.
The phrase, “unless agreed upon by the parties” has important legal ramifications. This wording reaffirms the court’s ability, and constitutional responsibility according to Article I, Section 10, to require specific performance when enforcing such contracts. If voluntary parties agree to be paid, or to pay, in gold and silver coin, South Carolina courts could not substitute any other thing, e.g. Federal Reserve Notes, as payment.
South Carolina could become the fourth state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender. Utah led the way, reestablishing constitutional money in 2011. Wyoming and Oklahoma have since joined.
The effect has been most dramatic in Utah where United Precious Metals Association (UMPA) was established after the passage of the Utah Specie Legal Tender Act and the elimination of all taxes on gold and silver. UPMA offers accounts denominated in U.S. minted gold and silver dollars. The company also recently released the “Utah Goldback.” UPMA describes it as “the first local, voluntary currency to be made of a spendable, beautiful, physical gold.”
South Carolina has already repealed the sales tax on gold and silver. That removed one barrier to using gold and silver in everyday transactions. Capital gains taxes are still imposed on gold and silver for state income tax purposes. After establishing gold and silver as legal tender, South Carolina should repeal the capital gains tax to completely open the door to using it as money.
As the Sound Money Defence League explains, “Practically speaking, state laws that recognize gold and silver as money restore a government view of precious metals as the favored form of money – a currency rather than a piece of property or other asset. Using this logic, it would be inappropriate for a state to levy taxes when the precious metals are used or exchanged.”
BACKGROUND
The United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Currently, all debts and taxes in South Carolina are either paid with Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) which were authorized as legal tender by Congress or with coins issued by the U.S. Treasury — very few of which have gold or silver in them.
Passage of H.4678 would reestablish gold and silver as legal tender in the state and take a step toward that constitutional requirement, ignored for decades in every state.
It would also begin the process of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the state and local levels, and setting the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.
Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.
“Over time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.”
Once things get to that point, Federal Reserve notes would become largely unwanted and irrelevant for ordinary people. Nullifying the Fed on a state by state level is what will get us there.
WHAT’S NEXT
H.4678 will be officially introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee when the regular session adjourns on Jan. 13, 2020. It will have to pass committee by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
Reprinted from the Tenth Amendment Center.
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Let’s see if I understand the mechanism whereby gold and silver will replace fiat currency.
I have gold and silver coins in one hand and FRN’s in the other. The party to whom I owe payment is willing to accept whatever I offer. Why would I ever chose to reduce my metals holdings when I can unload paper?
The premise for this article makes no sense.
If the gov’t decides to retire FRN’s and forces the extraction of PM’s from the citizenry to pay taxes, etc, then PM’s will enter gov’t coffers, but that doesn’t guarantee the population will see PM’s when it’s the gov’t turn to pay the citizenry.
What Roosevelt did decades ago was to force the population to relinquish PM’s in exchange for intrinsically worthless paper. The scheme mentioned in the article is the camel’s nose inside the tent to abscond with the populations PM’s when they change the law to make PM’s the only option to pay taxes, etc.
Can anyone else see an alternative explanation that I’m unaware of?
I think the premise for this hopeful article is exactly what it states:
• Creating currency competition in South Carolina will start the process of undermining the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.
• It would put gold and silver on the same footing as the fiat toilet paper created out of thin air by the Banksters, AKA Federal Reserve notes – that should really be called Fiat Bankster Debt/Serf Contracts.
• It is the 4th State to do so and hopefully will start a trend that turns into a full blown monetary revolution so other States will join in and stick their collective fingers deep into the FEDS ONE EYE staring back at us all from that pyramid on ‘their dollar’ that they have been using to control us with since 1913.
• I love this paragraph – because the greatest enemy of the American people sure hasn’t been attacked from the top down seeing how the FED has bought and owns most of the country’s corrupt politicians from both parties…and they use our own wealth through thei bullshit fake ‘currancy’ not real money to do it.
“It would also begin the process of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the state and local levels, and setting the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system”.
Here is another brilliant ray of sunshine:
• “Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.”
AUDIT THE FED – END THE FED – and then when we have all the evidence from the audit , Hang all the frigg’in Banksters on TV, and get back to Executive Order 11110. (That may take a Civil War, but that’s coming anyway, might as well go all in).
Although I agree with your anti FED mindset, I fail to see how this law in any way makes PM’s competition for FRN’s.
Answer this simple question – given a choice to pay your taxes in PM’s or FRN’s, what would you do. I submit that sane people will pay with FRN’s 100% of the time. Just stating that PM’s are considered ‘money’ for debt payments doesn’t mean people will actually use PM’s that way. PM’s will circulate when FRN’s are no longer available as an option. This proposal does nothing to reduce the number of FRN’s in circulation.
This is a scam to later force people to use PM’s exclusively to pay taxes and other gov’t debts so the state can acquire PM’s without the crude mechanism used by Roosevelt. The state will make payments in FRN’s till they possess the majority of PM’s and the dupes possess lots of green paper.
I completely disagree with your premise and especially your scam label.
These type of state laws are a start, hopefully a trend, they are defiant ‘State Rights’ legal moves hopefully leading back to Constitutional money like JFK tried to start with E.O. 11110, and away from FED Bankster fiat currency.
By the way words are powerful and I refuse to call their paper, unbacked, created out of thin air fiat currancy currency ‘Federal Reserve Notes’ or ‘FRNs’. They are not Federal, they have no Reserves and they are damming debt Instruments not notes. So let’s call a spade a spade and not let them decorate their lying narrative and our too long serfdom to them with their bull shit words.
Given a choice??? Fuck riding the Tiger (How about we shoot the tiger?)…Fuck being dammed if I do or dammed if I don’t.
How about we ‘start’ taking our MONEY back and stop using their currancy from the bottom up, then maybe our freedom and our country will follow.
Oh yea, and Fuck FDR, his ilk, and the fools who caved into his con and actually turned in their real money for serfdom paper.
I want an end to the Federal Reserve. I think the bankers are screwing the world and should be hung. Neither my desire nor yours is worth squat.
Please look at the top of any US currency. It clearly says Federal Reserve Note. I used a common abbreviation FRN. How you can rant against the name and do it so vehemently is beyond me.
Back to this particular state issue. Making PM’s money again is a great idea. This legislation however does not in any way diminish the circulating US green currency. My contention is that as long as shit ‘money’ is acceptable for payment, then that will be used. That then means that PM money will not be used except as a last resort in rare circumstances. Effectively then this legislation changes nothing.
You never answered my question. If you did, I’m certain that given the choice of paying with paper or PM’s you would chose to get rid of paper. That’s a key point.
If green money were to be withdrawn from circulation on some schedule and PM’s forced to take its place, then this legislation would be a good idea. It does no such thing. It can’t because the states can’t control the flow of US green paper.
Further, I fully expect the legislature to at some future point make only PM’s valid for paying taxes to suck the PM’s into their coffers and paying the state bills with paper. I draw this cynical conclusion from seeing how the income tax was installed as a prime example relative to what it is today and then simply looking at the growth of any gov’t program that starts off screwing the public minimally and over time maximally.
As long as green shit currency exists, nothing of substance will change regardless of the state laws passed that might appear to be favorable to an honest money regime. As with most legislation, the details say this is a disingenuous attempt at placating honest money people with a proposal that has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. To me, that’s a scam.
“Please look at the top of any US currency. It clearly says Federal Reserve Note. I used a common abbreviation FRN. How you can rant against the name and do it so vehemently is beyond me.”
Let me say it again: I will not let them decorate their lying narrative label for their scam, and our too long serfdom to them, using their bullshit deceptive: ‘Federal Reserve Notes (FRN)’ words. I understand it is a common abbreviation and my spittle filled rant is against them because they are the greatest evil in the world, and have used that exact label to hoodwink the masses. Don’t take it personal – I’m not playing their word game.
Back to this particular state issue.
We have to start somewhere to take our money, our wealth, our freedom and our country back, so this is not the perfect switch flipping solution…it’s a START!
You said: “My contention is that as long as shit ‘money’ is acceptable for payment, then that will be used.” (Shit money is much more accurate then FRNs).
Well my contention is let’s offer an alternative and start a state by state, grassroots, bottom up, setting the stage counter to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system. Your wish for the ‘perfect’ should not stop a ‘good’ START in hopefully soon to be four states STARTING to separate themselves from the Fed.
You said: “You never answered my question”.
Who said ‘green money’ was going to be withdrawn? I don’t expect that, the Banksters are going to fight this tooth, nail, and Presidential assassination (again) if they have to. I have no idea where this is going to lead, I just want to get the legal, state sanctioned competition STARTED.
You have a paragraph about what you expect the legislature to do at some future point so we should not start this promising state by state process against the FED ? I completely disagree on that being a reason we should stop this alternative to the FED. We are coming at this with opposite views on that point.
You said: “As long as green shit currency exists, nothing of substance will change regardless of the state laws passed that might appear to be favorable to an honest money regime.”
You have to START somewhere and this is all I see on the money war front so I’m all behind it. It has promise, potential, is defiant, and I support it.
However, I really like your ‘green shit’ terminology…much improved over using their beard bullshit words.
I’d like all 50 states to get on the PM wagon. It’s a symbolic gesture that will have no effect on day to day commerce because the green currency will still exist and people will trade it as long as they have any, reserving their PM’s as a store of tangible wealth.
I’d like to see this simply to give more people the idea to save their accumulated wealth in a tangible asset as opposed to a piece of paper with a number printed on it.
If all the states were to do this it would change the dynamic. Any isolated PM state will see an influx of green currency and an exodus of PM’s. Those living in non PM states will spend their shit money in the PM state to get change in PM’s or to purchase PM’s from the sources that will naturally arise. End result is more shit money in the state than before.
My less than enthusiastic stance in the way this legislature has hobbled PM’s while pretending to be PM advocates is that it’s disingenuous to its core; typical of the political class. Had they outlawed shit money and never bothered to mentioned PM’s I’d applaud their action. The marketplace will ‘discover’ PM coinage on it’s own if shit money becomes scarce.
I still believe this legislation is the camels nose in the tent. Once TPTsB determine there’s enough PM inside the state they’ll enact another law to force tax payments in PM’s and PM advocates will cheer their own impoverishment. PM’s will flow to the state and shit money will still be the near 100% medium of exchange emanating from state facilities.
As long as shit money exists, PM’s have no chance to displace it. That’s their cunning plan.
“I’d like all 50 states to get on the PM wagon”.
Come on SAO, I’d like all 50 states to get on a wagon train of issues, that’s pumpkin pie in the sky. Everything I said in my previous post fits this one as well.
My two American Eagles, one Gold & one Silver.
Have a great holiday.
Concur.
Also the article said that South Carolina cap gains taxes on gold and silver would still be imposed. Presumably, one would have to track the gain or loss in theoretical FRN’s every time he exchanged ounces of Au or Ag for a given purchase.
The author is naive to think that Gresham’s Law would be reversed.
Regarding guns, last I checked the State of Wyoming has no laws one way or the other. Ownership and use of guns and the traditional gun culture of the old west is not a matter with which the government of Wyoming, being a ranching state, has concerned itself.
Won’t happen in my livetime, but the same situation IMO would be ideal for money in general and PMs in particular. No government involvement. No legal tender laws. No taxes on private property, of which guns, like homesteads and personal income, are a form. Let voluntary buyers and sellers use whatever medium of exchange they agree upon.
Who holds the majority in the South Carolina House?
Assuming the R’s might be more favorable to an alternative to FRN’s.
And assuming the D’s in general would be against options to use as legal tender. They like to skim.
I’ll take a stab at SAO’s premise.
Because metals hold their value better, historically, where fiat continually loses purchasing power,
via stealth inflation, courtesy of Federal Reserve Banks in whatever country they operate.
If / when all the fiat currencies drop to their intrinsic value after hyperinflation, and confidence in them are lost, metals will probably have spiked in value much higher relative to the dominant peg.
If so intrigued, look at gold prices over the last 5 years in other currencies than the $USD.
Five years ago, in November of 2014, from a dealer,
price for 1 ounce gold maple leaf (.999) was $1,365. in $CAD.
At the end of October, 2019, it was $2001.
So, in my mind, some Canuck who held $13,500.00 in cash in the bank for those 5 years has diminished purchase power with that fiat, to pay taxes or whatever other debts he owes.
That same $13,500, if he bought 10 maple leafs and socked them away in 2014, is now sitting on $20,000.00 worth of value. That’s a pretty impressive ROI.
-Even though he probably would not have bought the coins as an investment, it proved to be a wise one.
Of course, he could have poured some funds into the TSX, or maybe bought a rental house instead.
But have those investment vehicles ever crashed? Housing in Canada is still in a bubble, last I checked.
Surely he would not have gone all in on gold with whatever meager savings he had.
But a 10% or 20% allocation of net holdings, to act as insurance against the trending devaluation of currency has proved to bring a much more favorable return, as the options dwindle in the search for yield.
To pay his taxes, he has to convert back a portion of his gold to devalued Canadian dollars.
But he’s much farther ahead than the schmuck who sat on cash as its purchasing power slowly eroded.
If his cash holding continue to dwindle via inflation (taxes owed in 2014: $5k. In 2019: $8k…hmmm)…
A holder of gold or silver that’s acceptable as legal tender has an option to keep his home, instead of
losing it to the government for tax liability in arrears.
Undoubtedly, as currencies lose value, surely the governments will raise taxes to make up the budget shortfalls, no? They have immigrants flooding in, who expect free healthcare, and Georgie Soros expects us to welcome more of them with open arms and open pocketbooks.
Metals are for wealth preservation, not investment. They are the only true form of money, because when secured and obtained physically, they are nobody else’s debt obligation, unlike FRN’s.
PM’s are the ultimate money as they require no third party promise to pay.