Editing Gold standard (section)

==Advocates==
A return to the gold standard was considered by the U.S. Gold Commission in 1982 but found only minority support.<ref name="Paul">{{Cite book|first=Ron |last=Paul |author-link=Ron Paul |author2=[[Lewis Lehrman]] |title=The case for gold: a minority report of the U.S. Gold Commission |url=https://www.mises.org/books/caseforgold.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.mises.org/books/caseforgold.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=2008-11-12 |publisher=[[Cato Institute]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |year=1982 |page=160 |isbn=978-0-932790-31-6 |oclc=8763972}}</ref> In 2001 [[Malaysian Prime Minister]] [[Mahathir Mohamad]] proposed a new currency that would be used initially for international trade among Muslim nations, using a [[Modern gold dinar|modern Islamic gold dinar]], defined as 4.25&nbsp;grams of pure (24-[[carat (purity)|carat]]) gold. Mahathir claimed it would be a stable unit of account and a political symbol of unity between Islamic nations. This would purportedly reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar and establish a non-debt-backed currency in accord with [[Sharia law]] that prohibited the charging of interest.<ref>{{cite web |first=Muhammad |last=al-'Amraawi |author2=Al-Khammar al-Baqqaali |author3=Ahmad Saabir |author4=Al-Hussayn ibn Haashim |author5=Abu Sayf Kharkhaash |author6=Mubarak Sa'doun al-Mutawwa' |author7=Malik Abu Hamza Sezgin |author8=Abdassamad Clarke |author9=Asadullah Yate |url=http://www.islamidag.dk/ulamaongold.html |title=Declaration of 'Ulama on the Gold Dinar |access-date=2008-11-14 |publisher=Islam i Dag |date=2001-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624073052/http://www.islamidag.dk/ulamaongold.html |archive-date=2008-06-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, this proposal has not been taken up, and the global monetary system continues to rely on the U.S. dollar as the main trading and [[reserve currency]].<ref>{{cite news|last=McGregor |first=Richard |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae01a8f6-21b7-11e0-9e3b-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1CttyOPaR |title=Hu questions future role of US dollar |newspaper=Financial Times |date=2011-01-16 |access-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref>

Former [[U.S. Federal Reserve]] Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged he was one of "a small minority" within the central bank that had some positive view on the gold standard.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/monetary-policy-oversight-672/conduct-monetary-policy-report-federal-reserve-board-pursuant-full-employment-balanced-growth-act-1978-pl-95-523-state-economy-22429?start_page=27 |title=Conduct of Monetary Policy: Report of the Federal Reserve Board Pursuant to the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978, P.L. 95-523 and The State of the Economy: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, House of Representatives |date=July 22, 1998 |journal=Monetary Policy Oversight: House of Representatives Hearings|series=Monetary Policy Oversight : House of Representatives Hearings }}</ref> In a 1966 essay he contributed to a book by [[Ayn Rand]], titled ''Gold and Economic Freedom'', Greenspan argued the case for returning to a 'pure' gold standard; in that essay he described supporters of fiat currencies as "welfare statists" intending to use monetary policy to finance deficit spending.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greenspan |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Greenspan |date=July 1966 |title=Gold and Economic Freedom |journal=[[The Objectivist]] |volume=5 |issue=7 |url=http://www.constitution.org/mon/greenspan_gold.htm |access-date=2008-10-16 |archive-date=2010-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925231456/http://constitution.org/mon/greenspan_gold.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> More recently he claimed that by focusing on targeting inflation "central bankers have behaved as though we were on the gold standard", rendering a return to the standard unnecessary.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Paul |first=Ron |title=End the Fed |page=xxiii }}</ref> Similarly, economists like [[Robert Barro]] argued that whilst some form of "monetary constitution" is essential for stable, depoliticized monetary policy, the form this constitution takes – for example, a gold standard, some other commodity-based standard, or a fiat currency with fixed rules for determining the quantity of money – is considerably less important.{{sfn|Salerno|1982}}

The gold standard is supported by many followers of the [[Austrian School of economics]], [[Libertarianism in the United States|free-market libertarians]], and some [[supply-side economics|supply-siders]].<ref name=":12">{{cite web |url=https://www.cato.org/blog/time-think-about-gold-standard |title=Time to Think about the Gold Standard? |last=Boaz |first=David |date=2009-03-12 |website=Cato Institute |access-date=2018-05-05}}</ref>

===U.S. politics===
Former congressman [[Ron Paul]] is a long-term, high-profile advocate of a gold standard, but has also expressed support for using a standard based on a basket of commodities that better reflects the state of the economy.<ref>Interview with Ron Paul. ''Squawkbox''. CNBC. 13 November 2009.</ref>

In 2011 the [[Utah]] legislature passed a [[Utah Legal Tender Act|bill]] to accept federally issued gold and silver coins as legal tender to pay taxes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark |first=Stephen |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/utah-considers-return-to-gold-silver-coins/ |title=Utah Considers Return to Gold, Silver Coins |publisher=Fox News |date=March 3, 2011 |access-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref> As federally issued currency, the coins were already legal tender for taxes, although the market price of their metal content currently exceeds their monetary value. As of 2011 similar legislation was under consideration in other U.S. states.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=CNN |title=Utah: Forget dollars. How about gold? |url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/03/29/news/economy/utah_gold_currency/index.htm | date=2011-03-29}}</ref> The bill was initiated by newly elected [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] [[legislator]]s associated with the [[Tea Party movement]] and was driven by anxiety over the policies of President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8391504/Tea-Party-legislation-reveals-anxiety-at-US-direction-under-Barack-Obama.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8391504/Tea-Party-legislation-reveals-anxiety-at-US-direction-under-Barack-Obama.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Alex | last=Spillius | title=Tea Party legislation reveals anxiety at US direction under Barack Obama | date=2011-03-18}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Arizona Legislature]] passed SB 1439, which would have made gold and silver coin a legal tender in payment of debt, but the bill was vetoed by the Governor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azleg.gov/govlettr/51leg/1R/SB1439.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.azleg.gov/govlettr/51leg/1R/SB1439.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Letter regarding Senate Bill 1439 (legal tender) |website=Azleg.gov |access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref>

In 2015, some Republican candidates for the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]] advocated for a gold standard, based on concern that the [[Federal Reserve]]'s attempts to increase economic growth may create inflation. Economic historians did not agree with the candidates' assertions that the gold standard would benefit the U.S. economy.<ref name="NYT2015">{{Cite news |last=Appelbaum |first=Binyamin |date=2015-12-01 |title=The Good Old Days of the Gold Standard? Not Really, Historians Say |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/business/economy/the-good-old-days-of-the-gold-standard-not-really-historians-say.html |access-date=2015-12-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>