Confiscation
Posted: 05 Nov 2011, 13:15
A frequent upcoming question: do we have to worry about confiscation.
To start with the answer: perhaps, but not likely.
Confiscation in the US in 1933 (Executive Order 6102) was not intended to collect wealth. It was intended to outlaw gold, to take it out of circulation, and to make sure it could not be used as money. All this to being able to devalue the only remaining legal form of money - the paper Dollar. Note that the amount of gold collected due to Order 6102 was insignificant.
Today, gold is no form of legal tender, anywhere around the world. So making gold illegal in order to devalue the fiat money, is not required.
One could argue the opposite. If gold were to be declared illegal, then it is obvious that governments have something to hide, and it will drive people out of fiat and flock them to .... gold. Governments do want people to use and trust fiat, in order to surreptitious devalue the purchasing power of fiat money.
If governments wants to confiscate wealth from people, there are far more effective ways. Wealth that is properly administered in the ledgers, like pensions, real estate, etc, can be easily taken with force, without the possibility for people to make them disappear before it can be confiscated.
So in summary, confiscation of gold would not be practical, neither efficient for governments to transfer wealth from the private to the public sector. Having that said, even governments can rely to strange and obscure governing methods, when faced with self-termination.
If you are worried about confiscation by your own government, then it makes sense to store your wealth out of legal reach of your government. There are still a few countries in the world that honor property rights. By doing so, handling completely legal following the law, you are protected against governments taking your wealth without your consent.
To start with the answer: perhaps, but not likely.
Confiscation in the US in 1933 (Executive Order 6102) was not intended to collect wealth. It was intended to outlaw gold, to take it out of circulation, and to make sure it could not be used as money. All this to being able to devalue the only remaining legal form of money - the paper Dollar. Note that the amount of gold collected due to Order 6102 was insignificant.
Today, gold is no form of legal tender, anywhere around the world. So making gold illegal in order to devalue the fiat money, is not required.
One could argue the opposite. If gold were to be declared illegal, then it is obvious that governments have something to hide, and it will drive people out of fiat and flock them to .... gold. Governments do want people to use and trust fiat, in order to surreptitious devalue the purchasing power of fiat money.
If governments wants to confiscate wealth from people, there are far more effective ways. Wealth that is properly administered in the ledgers, like pensions, real estate, etc, can be easily taken with force, without the possibility for people to make them disappear before it can be confiscated.
So in summary, confiscation of gold would not be practical, neither efficient for governments to transfer wealth from the private to the public sector. Having that said, even governments can rely to strange and obscure governing methods, when faced with self-termination.
If you are worried about confiscation by your own government, then it makes sense to store your wealth out of legal reach of your government. There are still a few countries in the world that honor property rights. By doing so, handling completely legal following the law, you are protected against governments taking your wealth without your consent.