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I’m starting to believe that we’re heading down a path where precious metals are once again confiscated, outlawed, or at least severely restricted in many countries. [Here’s how I think such might well unfold.] Words: 783
So writes Simon Black (www.sovereignman.com) in edited excerpts from his original article* entitled How bankrupt governments will confiscate your gold.
[Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!), may have further edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) the article below for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.]
Black goes on to say, in part:
Let’s start with the why. What possible sense would it make to reduce or restrict gold ownership?
Simple. The modern financial system is a complete joke. Money is conjured from thin air, backed by false promises from bankrupt governments. Then there’s the fractional reserve swindle, centrally planned interest rates, government-produced inflation, manufactured statistics, insane credit and sovereign debt bubbles, etc.
The system is a total fraud… and like any good con, it depends on just that: confidence. In order for a system based on nothing to perpetuate, it’s imperative that it commands the confidence of the people within it. People in rich western countries have been programmed since birth to believe that the colored pieces of paper circulating around in their economies are intrinsically ‘valuable’.
It’s funny, because developing countries already know it’s a scam. They don’t trust their governments, and they don’t trust those silly pieces of paper either. Out here in Asia is a great example – most of the region is very gold-oriented. They use paper as a medium of exchange, but it’s a cultural norm to save with gold….People in western countries are just starting to get it… and as more people peek behind the curtain to see the true crimes being committed, the system will be finished.
The gold price is a constant reminder that the fiat financial system is a con job – and the higher the gold price becomes, the more people become aware. The political establishment will do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo, and it’s possible that precious metals restrictions will become a tactic, such as:
1. Making gold ‘harder’ to buy, to transport, to own
Think about the changes we’ve seen over the last two years; government-regulated exchanges are continually hiking their gold margin requirements, increasing investors’ burden to buy.
- On the physical side, the U.S. government buried some insane regulations deep within last year’s healthcare bill. The new rules required a mountain of paperwork such that anyone who purchased a single ounce of gold from a coin shop would have to submit a special 1099 form to the IRS. (The rule was later modified under intense pressure from various lobby groups, but it still gives you a good idea of what these people are thinking.)
- Then there’s the new Dodd-Frank legislation that makes it nearly impossible for U.S. citizens to trade securities and commodities from overseas accounts beyond the reach of the federal government.
- Then there’s the Liberty Dollar debacle in which the U.S. government used obscure counterfeit laws to seize millions of dollars of silver coins that were owned by the firm’s customers!
- Then earlier this year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued new guidance requiring that U.S. taxpayers who hold gold in certain offshore financial accounts report such holdings on their annual FBAR….
2. Planting seeds of doubt
We’re seeing signs of this as well.
- “Prominent” economists have been pounding the table against precious metals with vigor, and the propaganda ministry is focusing its efforts on gold’s recent price drop to make people believe that it’s dangerous to buy.
3. Tieing gold to terrorism
Here are two incontrovertible facts: Westerners are petrified of Arab terrorists. The Arab world is a very gold-oriented society. It wouldn’t take much effort to link the two by suggesting (and planting evidence) that terrorists use gold to move money and finance their operations.
This will be surely be the next step… and if we start seeing this, you can bet your last ounce that restrictive controls are coming.
So what to do?
- If you live in a broke western nation, whatever you do, don’t store your gold in a bank safety deposit box. Bankers are unpaid government spies, so you might as well hang a sign up that says “please seize my assets”.
- Ideally you want to move your gold out of the country. We’ve talked about anonymous boxes in Vienna’s Das Safe facility in the past, as well as Hong Kong’s The Storage. Both of these are great options to buy and store gold.
* http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/gold-confiscation-5472/
Related Articles:
1. Why Gold Confiscation Will Likely Happen & How to Protect Your’s From Such an Eventuality
There has been a persistent fear among…owners of gold that…their gold will be confiscated by their governments, as was the case in 1933. For very different reasons, we believe that that danger persists and is growing by the day. We feel that because gold is rapidly returning to an active role in the global monetary system…investors should be aware of the conditions in which this would happen. We also indicate what we feel to be a solid solution for protecting yourself against a gold confiscation. (Words: 1581: Charts: 2)
2. Nick Barisheff: Make Sure You’ll Actually OWN the Gold Bullion Before You Buy – Here’s Why and How
Worldwide economic uncertainty has created a growing interest in precious metals as a way to…protect one’s wealth from impending economic Armageddon…Unfortunately, many today don’t know how to purchase or store bullion, and consequently may find themselves as vulnerable to financial collapse as those who didn’t purchase any bullion at all. [This article outlines what rigorous due diligence is absolutely required when entering into an agreement to buy gold bullion and how it should be stored and why. Don’t buy any gold product without reading this article first.]
3. Governments Will Want – Will NEED – Much Higher Gold Prices! Here’s Why
Private investors, institutional and individual, will become wealthy simply by being invested in gold in this environment. Stupendous capital gains with gold priced at USD $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 or more per troy ounce should be expected – but should we assume that hugely indebted governments, whose citizens are struggling with ever lower living standards, will stand idly by while investors reap what will be characterized as unwarranted and unearned capital gains? Not very likely! I can already hear populist calls for a Windfall Profits Tax to confiscate these unwarranted gains in the name of fairness and equity. Owners of gold, therefore, might be wise to take appropriate evasive action which anticipates this eventuality. Words: 1300
4. Your Gold & Silver Will NEVER Be “Confiscated”! Here’s Why
People ask me on a consistent basis if I think the government will confiscate their gold and silver coins if times get rough. I feel there is little chance of this happening, and here’s why. Words: 390
5. James Turk: Here’s the Real Reason the Gov’t Confiscated Gold in 1933
FDR confiscated American’s gold for the same reason Lenin confiscated it in Russia and Hitler confiscated it in Germany, namely, to get it out of the hands of the people. [That view is contrary to the prevailing belief that such was done] to re-establish confidence in the dollar. [Let me explain the background of this confiscation and my rationale for coming to such a conclusion.] Words: 815
6. Be Careful! Owning Gold Bullion is a Revocable Privilege in the U.S. – Not a Basic Right!
The laws of gold confiscation are very clear in the U.S.: During any time of national crisis, it becomes illegal to buy, sell, or “hoard” gold bullion in any form. It is delineated under an Executive Order and can be re-administered as quickly as the assets in your checking account can be frozen. The penalties for violation are 10 years in prison, $10,000 fine, or both. Words: 821
7. Will U.S. Government Seize Private Gold and Then Devalue Dollar – Again?
Imagine living in a country where the government suddenly decides to make it illegal to hold a certain type of asset, and goes on a systematic process to relieve its citizens of such an asset? Such actions happen in wartime and by politically-corrupt regimes but how about private-asset seizure in the good old U.S.A.? Well, it has happened before. [The 64 trillion (in keeping with the times) dollar question is: “Will it happen again?”] Words: 585
Do we really honest-to-God no-fingers-crossed cherry-on-top believe that the powers-that-be will simply allow us to mosey up to the cashiers cage and redeem or convert our Gold for whatever monetary unit reigns supreme or is created [should our current financial system and currencies collapse? As such,] IF there comes a time when the best move forward is to sell most of our Gold and switch to another asset class, one more likely to survive the transition intact, will we be able to see this as obvious and a no brainer? [Let me explain what could well happen and the effect such a development would have on all things Gold.] Words: 3037
9. Internationalize to Keep Your Assets Safe From Your Out-of-control Government – Here’s How
The politicians will do whatever they find convenient, because there is no longer anything to stop them – not an electorate that is jealous of its freedoms and certainly not the Constitution, which is now just a playhouse for judicial imagineering. No one can know what’s coming next from the government and the financial system it has fostered, but for many of us there is an awful suspicion that we are not going to like it. Most Americans still have yet to stick a single financial toe across the border, but more and more are considering it [and in this article I outline 10 ways to internationalize your assets to provide you with some much needed protection as the future unfolds.] Words: 3923
10. Beware: Official U.S. Government Price for Gold is Only $42.22/oz.
The United States has seen four different gold confiscations — the last of which was in 1933. Few people realize that when the freedom to own gold was restored in 1972, the President retained the power to require us to surrender our gold which he can do again any time (probably on a Friday) with the mere stroke of a pen. That means all confiscated gold could possibly be compensated at only $42.22 per 1oz. and not at the world market price. Don’t take this decision lightly. It was another blatant warning that the government may be contemplating grand larceny — AGAIN. Words: 1740