8.21.2011

Is Ron Paul worried about gold confiscation?

Most folks don't know that FDR confiscated privately held gold during GD I. And most have never pondered the possibility of gold confiscation happening again.

Ron Paul knows his history, and he may be pondering just such a confiscation happening again.

This weekend's Barron's points out that while Ron Paul discloses holdings of gold mining stocks worth well over $1 million dollars, he claims no physical gold.
To our surprise, Paul's financial disclosures reveal no holdings of physical gold, gold coins, or gold equivalents like certain exchange-traded gold funds, which is confounding, given his strident advocacy of the metal as an insurance policy against the almost-certain debasement of the currency by politicians and central bankers. So we dug around a little. In his financial-disclosure form for the years 1994 through 2002, Paul reported holding "semi-numismatic" coins worth between $100,001 and $250,000. But from 2003 onward, they were never mentioned again.

Rachel Mills, the congressman's press spokesperson, said Paul, who generally is garrulous on the topic of hard money, did not wish to comment.

Did Washington's greatest goldbug really dump all his gold right before it paid off big time? Not bloody likely. When you're a goldbug like Ron Paul and me, they'll get your gold when they pry it from your cold, dead hands.
According to the 2010 guidelines by the House committee on Official Conduct, "Personal property, if held for investment or the production of income, must be disclosed if it meets the reporting thresholds. Collectibles can include, but are not limited to, works of art, vintage automobiles, stamps, jewelry, precious metals, rare coins, and books."

I suspect that Paul believes that disclosure doesn't apply to his gold. It's certainly not held for "the production of income," as it doesn't yield anything as we are so often told by smarty-pants gold-bashers. And "investment?" Webster's Dictionary defines "investment: the outlay of money usually for income or profit : capital outlay; also : the sum invested or the property purchased." You don't outlay money for gold for income or profit; you hold it as a store of wealth. Gold is money as Ron Paul himself has made Ben Bernanke look like a fool trying to deny.

Or perhaps he gave his gold to his children or grandchildren (though son Sen. Rand Paul's 2010 financial disclosure forms show no gold).

That Ron Paul sold his precious gold is the least likely of all these scenarios in my opinion. I think Paul fears another gold confiscation and doesn't want to be on record as having hundreds of thousands of dollars of gold for the government to come confiscate. And I don't blame him one bit.

My advice for acquiring gold? Always pay cash. And never disclose your gold on a government form.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting

Louis Nardozi said...

Hey, I'd just like to remind you all Ron Paul will bring all our soldiers home starting the day he takes office. Now, here is a thing I want to propose. We all are aware the reason we are in all the conflicts overseas is to support Big Oil or Big Military. In these conflicts, many people are killed - thousands of Americans but millions of foreigners. If you are a rational person, it is your duty to save others if it is possible to do so without harming yourself.
Keep in mind that up until now, whichever candidate was elected we could be fairly certain the wars would continue. Now, however it is different. With your single vote, you could save thousands of Americans and a million or more foreigners. Are they so unimportant you can't be bothered? Myself, if I don't do my best for Dr. Paul I will feel complicit in the murders if I do not try to stop them. It may be the most honorable act you've ever performed. Isn't it worth your time?
Sigh. Ok. If that's not enough, think of all those military paychecks being spent over here instead of over there - that should benefit YOU directly and will provide the grass roots stimulus needed to jump start the economy!

Vote Vertebrate - Ron Paul 2012!

qs said...

Of course if it gets stolen, then you're screwed but nothing is 100% secure.

Roger Tilleux said...

I suspect that Dr. Paul is concerned with confiscation of gold by the Federal government, as the precedent was already set previosly by FDR. Therefore, he has chosen to invest heavily in gold mining stock (I have done the same, although on a MUCH smaller scale, being a simple working stiff and all). I agree that gold is money and not an investment, so perhaps Dr. Paul has included the dollar value of his gold as cash in his financial statement. I have not seen the statement nor am I privy to Dr. Paul's thought process, so mine is simple conjecture. Regardless, as long as he acquired his wealth through legitimate, ethical and legal means, I don't sweat it. It is his wealth, his property and no one else should have a claim to it. The public financial statement for public officials simply serves as a check on corrupt behaivior. If anyone has evidence of such by Dr. Paul, I would love to hear it. Becaise while I support the man and especially the ideas and principles he adheres to, he is just a man. Regarding his role as a public official I would certainly want to know that he is not acting unethically.

W.C. Varones said...

Roger,

I don't believe Congress has to disclose monetary positions.

They have to disclose investment positions to show potential conflicts of interest (favors for companies, infrastructure near real estate, etc.).

But how can you have a conflict of interest with a dollar or an ounce of gold?

qs said...

Varones

He could just do insider trading to make his money as that's legal for congressman.

That's how most of the congressmen make lots of money, but maybe you have to see your votes to get such perks?

qs said...

Can gold be a way to hide assets during a divorce

Roger Tilleux said...

W.C.

My point exactly. Gold is money. So any question of how much gold Dr. Paul or anyone has on hand is the same as asking how much cash they have on hand. It is not an investment and need not be scrutinized as such. The financial statement is a tool to keep watch over potential misconduct. Given his demonstrated history of strong ethics and solid principles, I cannot imagine any misconduct from Ron Paul.

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