
My Article in DAWN.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/25/returning-to-gold-standard.html
I know its not a recent article but when does Gold ever go out of fashion? It fixes
1. Inflation - Mehngai
2. Rupee devaluation
3. Reduces Govt corrution.
4. Forces a Balanced budget.
Demand this ffrom your Govts!
Returning to gold standard
Posted By InpaperMagzine On July 25, 2011 @ 6:05 am In Magazines > Economic and Business | Comments Disabled
SOVEREIGNTY gives a government the right to issue its own currency, levy taxes, and regulate international trade.
As money is the medium of trade, it is the most important aspect of the economy. Almost every empire has failed by mismanaging its money supply. Money shares the same market principles scarcer the supply, higher its value.
Issuing money against thin air dilutes the currency value. It is the most dangerous form of taxation taxation via inflation. Today in principle, the government prints currency against its foreign reserve balance the dollar.
The greenback itself is created out of thin air. The key to a stable economy is its stable currency. Treating the dollar as the foreign reserve currency goes back to the Bretton Woods agreement when the greenback was backed by gold.
The government has it wrong on both fronts money supply and taxation. The rupee was backed by gold via the dollar till 1971. It needs to be put back to the gold standard to bring in confidence and currency stability. Gold cannot be printed but is minted. This alone will stop the governments runaway spending.
There are many benefits of putting the rupee on a Gold Standard. Last year, Pakistan accumulated $17 billion in its foreign reserve. These reserves are built via valuable exports (cotton, wheat, fish, fruits, vegetables, etc). In return, Pakistan gets pieces of paper, called the dollar which then the government leverages to get more debt from the IMF. With the state of Pakistan-US relations, it would be prudent to buy gold instead of accumulating dollars Make a public announcement that every issue currency note of Rs5000 would be backed by one gm of 24ct gold coin. Hence the government would buy back its own Rs5000 note for one gm of 24ct gold. Then its should default on all its existing international debt.
Yes! You read it right. Iceland defaulted too. Sure, it was painful in the short run but they have already been upgraded by Fitch Rating Agency and the World Bank, the same institutions that promised doom and gloom for Iceland, if defaulted.
In the meantime, the impact of moving to the Gold Standard would change the realities on the ground. Imagine, going out for grocery and realising that prices of rice, atta and daal have fallen 10 per cent because gold prices have gone up compared to food prices.
Electric rates are falling because natural gas and oil prices are stabilising. From an international perspective, putting the rupee on the gold standard would guarantee a huge influx of foreign capital. Along with the currency policy agenda, the government would need to implement fair taxation for the social welfare.
Taxation is best divided on three levels: fixed tax percentage on the income side to cover the higher income bracket; fixed tax percentage on consumption to cover the lower income bracket and imports tax to regulate foreign trade and policies.
You can also view the whole article at http://financialweightloss.wordpress.com
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