by Stuart Englert, Gold Seek:
If you want a pocketbook example of how far the United States has strayed from the supreme law of the land, look no further than the nation’s money.
Today’s dollar is nothing like it was intended when the U.S. Constitution was written and ratified nearly 240 years ago.
“No State shall . . . make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts,” reads a passage from Article I, Section 10, Clause 1, known as the contract clause.
Repeatedly circumvented and undermined by subordinate federal and state statutes, the constitutional provision has been disregarded, negated and violated almost since the ink was dry on the now faded, yet foundational, legal document. Not surprisingly, many of the details and directives in the nation’s highest law remain a mystery to many elected officials.
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“Most [state lawmakers] have never read the Constitution or heard of sound money,” said Jp Cortex, executive director of the Charlotte, N.C.- based Sound Money Defense League. “Only one or two in every state understand monetary history.”
Though disheartening, the unfortunate fact is being confronted. Advocacy and educational efforts by Cortez’s organization, along with grassroots campaigning by precious metal proponents, are reducing the level of constitutional illiteracy among state authorities. They’re also raising awareness about the monetary attributes of precious metals, namely that physical gold and silver retain value and can’t be debased like printed currency and digital dollars.
Economic factors and financial concerns are contributing to the sound money cause, prompting state leaders to take a fresh look at the nation’s depreciating, debt-based monetary system and unsustainable financial trajectory.
Troubled by the federal government’s record deficits and mushrooming debt, debauched dollar and incessant inflation, and declining confidence in the U.S. currency both abroad and domestically, state lawmakers and fiscal officers are assessing their own public finances, and some are rediscovering a new appreciation for gold and silver, the only money mentioned in the Constitution.
Amid economic uncertainty, state officials are reexamining the precious metals stipulation in the contract clause; reconsidering their own sworn oaths of office, which include a pledge to uphold the nation’s supreme law; and taking incremental steps to restore the monetary metals to their rightful role as legal tender.
Reaffirming Gold & Silver as Legal Tender
Eight states—Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming—have formally reaffirmed gold and silver as legal tender, beginning with the Beehive State in 2011. Though seemingly superfluous given the straightforward language in the contract clause, the affirmations confirm renewed support for hard currency and sustainable money among forward-thinking state leaders and legislative bodies.
“While inflation continues to erode the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, encouraging stable, time-tested and constitutional alternatives like gold and silver is a commonsense step,” said state Sen. Tim Melson, who introduced the Alabama Legal Tender Act earlier this year. “This bill upholds their constitutional status and supports sound money for our citizens across the state.”
Some state legislatures also are removing impediments to precious metal purchases, ownership and sales; authorizing and encouraging their use as mediums of exchange; and acknowledging gold and silver as viable investments for the general public and state governments.
