Gold is reliable. Gold is safe. These are probably obvious statements to the types of people who read our content, but the general population is a bit slower on the draw. You need only watch this video of Mark Dice asking Californians to choose between a few bucks and a 1 oz gold coin to see this in action.
It’s almost painful to watch a man’s face drop when, after choosing a $20 bill, Dice informs him that the gold coin is worth around $1,800. What’s worse is that it didn’t matter if he lowered the cash offer to $10 or even $5, people still chose the cash over the gold. One woman even happily remarked that she could buy a single beer with that cash.
But that’s California for you. The same state where a Board of Supervisors just voted against reopening what was once the largest gold-producing mine in the state and the second-largest in the country. Their reasoning being exactly what you’d expect from Californians.
Cross the mountains into the state of Nevada, however, and things are a bit different. Although it’s known as “The Silver State”, it’s not picky about which precious metal it uses to boost its economy and enrich its citizens. Working with state, local, and tribal governments, the Bureau of Land Management recently approved the construction of a new gold mine that’s expected to contribute to the economy for nearly a quarter century after it begins operation.
But while Nevadans may support the mining of gold, they’re still behind the likes of Florida when it comes to utilizing it. The state legislature’s recently-filed House Bill 697 and Senate Bill 750 have the potential to be a massive step in breaking the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money by recognizing gold and silver as legal tender, potentially even for digital transactions. Florida is only the most recent state to be embracing gold and silver, however, as Utah led the charge back in 2011 and has since been joined either wholly or partially by several other states.
Many of those states also loosened or removed taxes on gold and silver, something I’m sure many Costco customers living in them were grateful for when they started buying the 1 oz gold bars the retail giant recently started selling. Despite the limit of two bars per member, Costco could barely keep them in stock due to the massive demand, selling more than $100 million worth in just their first fiscal quarter. The only complaints the customers seemed to have, aside from the two-per-member restriction, were state sales taxes on the purchases.
Although these are just baby steps, it’s encouraging to see corporations, governments, and the people as a whole are finally starting to understand what you and I have probably understood for years.