Colorado’s Democratic US Senator Michael Bennet posted a press release this week, informing his constituents that he opposes the nomination of Dr. Judy Shelton to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
“Dr. Judy Shelton is the wrong person for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the middle of an historic economic crisis…” the Senator wrote. “Shelton has wondered whether America even needs a central bank…”
Well, I have to admit I’ve had the same question myself. Why does America need a central bank? Seems like we have an awful lot of banks already, and most of them seem to be closed whenever I want them to be open. But speaking only for myself, I’ve never had much use for the Federal Reserve Bank. I don’t even know where their office is located. I imagine Senator Bennet knows where it is; it’s probably in Washington DC. Not a terribly convenient location for most of us.
Senator Bennet has other concerns about Dr. Shelton, however.
“She has called a convicted counterfeiter who sold gold coins with President Trump’s face on them ‘the Rosa Parks of monetary policy’…”
Senator Bennet makes an interesting comment, and we’re pretty sure he’s quoting Dr. Shelton accurately, because YouTube has this little video available from a 2012 interview:
Comparing convicted counterfeiter Bernard von NotHaus to civil rights heroine Rosa Parks will no doubt strike some Daily Post readers as rather audacious. Rosa Parks was the American civil rights activist best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. The United States Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”.
Which would suggest that, in the eyes of Dr. Shelton, Mr. von NotHaus is “the mother” of something to do with monetary policy.
Dr. Shelton apologized during a recent congressional hearing for making that comparison. But, according to Senator Bennet, she hasn’t yet apologized for advocating a return to the ‘gold standard’.
“[Dr. Shelton] has advocated returning to the gold standard, a policy that was abandoned after it helped precipitate the Great Depression…”
Now, I like gold as much as the next guy. (Assuming the next guy is not Bernard von NotHaus.) I’m very proud of my gold fillings, for instance, and try to show them off whenever I smile.
But I could never understand this whole ‘gold standard’ business. Yes, gold is very nice if you’re having dental work done, but I understand its unsuitable for almost any other purpose. You would never make your knife and fork out of gold, for instance, because they would bend out of shape the first time you tried to cut a string bean. A screwdriver made of gold would be useless. A gold automobile engine would simply melt into a puddle as soon as you turned the key.
I definitely don’t understand why the Colorado General Assembly spent $17 million to cover the tippy-top of the State Capitol roof with actual 24-karat gold leaf. (I did my whole roof in Propanel and still had money left over.)
If you were going to choose a ‘standard’ to back up the value of your money, would you really want to pick something that’s only good for dental fillings and overpriced roof repairs?
Yes, some folks would argue that the value of our money ought to be buttressed by something permanent. Like, you wouldn’t want to to adopt a ‘beer standard.’ (I think even Dr. Shelton would agree with that statement.) But there are lots of things that are quite permanent and much more useful than gold. Tupperware, for instance.
At any rate, it might be a good thing we’re off the gold standard, so we can print as much money as we need, without worrying about its value.
Senator Bennet makes a good point about the Great Depression. We wouldn’t want anything like that to happen again.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.