Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin (R) has sponsored legislation to force the state to conduct all monetary transactions with U.S. gold or silver coins.
The “Constitutional Tender Act” argues that the Constitution “‘provides that no state shall ‘make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.’”
As such, the legislation continues:
Pre-1965 silver coins, silver eagles, and gold eagles shall be the exclusive medium which the state shall use to make any payments whatsoever to any person or entity, whether private or governmental. Such coins shall be the exclusive medium which the state shall accept from any person or entity as payment of any obligation to the state including, without limitation, the payment of taxes; provided, however, that such coins and other forms of currency may be used in all other transactions within the state upon mutual consent of the parties of any such transaction.
This idea is a long way from becoming law — it would have to pass the state House, among other things, before heading to the governor for a signature.
But the idea of using gold as currency is not new — recently Fox Business’ Stuart Varney and Andrew Napolitano debated whether the country should return to the gold standard. Gold vending machines are already operating in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Arab Emirates — and one recently opened in a Florida mall.
Franklin’s office was not immediately available to comment.
via Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.