By Amanda J. Crawford -
Bloomberg Apr 8, 2013 12:01 AM ET
Mistrust in the Federal Reserve and concern that U.S.
dollars may become worthless are fueling a push in more than a dozen
states to recognize gold and silver coins as legal tender.
Lawmakers in Arizona are poised to follow Utah, which authorized bullion for currency in 2011. Similar bills are advancing in Kansas, South Carolina and other states.
In Utah, officials haven’t yet
figured out how to accept gold and silver for tax payments -- though
some residents have asked to pay that way. Photographer: Simon
Dawson/Bloomberg
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke has pushed interest rates to near zero since the 18-month
recession that began December 2007. Photographer: Andrew
Harrer/Bloomberg
The Utah Precious Metals
Association, established after passage of the 2011 law to advocate for
the use of gold and silver coins, has established a pilot program in
which members can make deposits that are held in gold and access money
using a bill pay service. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
The Tea Party-backed
measures are mostly symbolic -- you still can’t pay for groceries with
gold in Utah. They reflect lingering dollar concerns, amplified by the
Fed’s unconventional moves in recent years to stabilize the economy,
said Loren Gatch, who teaches politics at the University of Central
Oklahoma.
“The legislation is about signaling discontent with
monetary policy and about what Ben Bernanke is doing,” said Gatch, who
studies alternative currencies at the Edmond, Oklahoma-based school.
“There is a fear that the government, or Bernanke in particular and the
Federal Reserve, is pursuing a policy that will lead to the collapse of
the dollar. That’s what is behind it.”
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