Governments everywhere are going broke. Despite what people think, gold may yet make new record lows under $1,000 in the months ahead. Canada has sold off a piece of its gold reserve into this rally. There is NO intention of returning to a gold standard. They are moving fully electronic and intend to eliminate cash everywhere. In so doing, the “official” view behind the curtain is that they no longer need gold.
As Keynes said, “In truth, the gold standard is already a barbarous relic. All of us, from the Governor of the Bank of England downwards, are now primarily interested in preserving the stability of business, prices and employment, and are not likely, when the choice is forced on us, deliberately to sacrifice these to outworn dogma, which had its value once, of 3 pounds, 17 shillings, 10 1/2 pence per ounce. Advocates of the ancient standard do not observe how remote it now is from the spirit and the requirements of the age.”
But Keynes was not the first to use this term. It actually dates back to the demonetization of silver in 1873, which began the age of the Silver Democrats. John Austin Stevens wrote to the New York Times in October 1873, stating that “gold is a relic of barbarism to be tabooed by all civilized nations.”
I have been warning that gold is not really the cornerstone of government nor is it interesting to big money in the context of physical possession. It is a hedge against government for the average person. Governments are turning away from gold, and as they cross that line and head into the sovereign debt crisis, they will sell everything and hunt every person to grab as much wealth as they can to keep their jobs. That is what we are dealing with. Gold reserves will be for sale. This may be the final capitulation for gold, and in that sense it is a very good thing. If governments go broke and sell off their reserves to try to hold onto power, then thereafter they will have no gold to sell into a rally. From a long-term perspective, let’s get it over with and just sell it.
