On Our Own?

As our mis-named 'representatives' stubbornly refuse to even consider a return to sound money on the part of either the Federal Government or the States, we who harbor a penchant for honest money to go along with honest dealings are left out in the cold of a fiat-money winter.

What to do?

There are a number of actions that those of us who prefer honest trade over dishonest can take:

1. Gold Contracts -- Though little understood and therefore seldom employed, these agreements are like regular contracts in all respects except that they call for payment in a certain weight of fine gold or face-value of gold coin rather than in paper dollars.

2. Silver Contracts -- Identical to the gold contracts mentioned above except that payment is specified in a certain weight of fine silver or in standard silver dollars or other silver coin rather than in paper dollars.

3. Dual Currency Pricing -- Like merchants near the Canadian border who price their goods in both U.S. and Canadian dollars (or post the current exchange rate on purchases), this system would work by pricing items in both Federal Reserve paper dollars and grams or ounces of fine silver or gold or in face-value United States 90% silver or gold coins. Or the daily 'exchange rates' could be posted instead.

4. Promote the benefits of sound money at the local level. For example, point out that gasoline, which sold for about 25 cents a gallon in silver coin about 60 years ago, still sells for 25 cents a gallon if paid for in silver coin.

These are just some of the ideas that come immediately to mind. There are likely others.

As the phony-money universe implodes around us, we can take steps to lay the foundation for economic survival and future prosperity. And we can do it without invoking the 'dead hand' of government, as that particular form of so-called assistance has proven consistently counter-productive.