Billionaire Investor Thomas Kaplan: “Gold Prices to Move ‘Way Past’ All-Time Highs”

MistaShift,

This is one of the best articles on what really happened in 1933.

Great true history lesson. Lot to learn here.

ROOSEVELT’S GOLD?

Author: Don Stott | Publish Date: 08/26/2019

http://www.coloradogold.com/post.php

“Well, suppose they confiscate my gold just like Roosevelt did 75 years ago?” If I have heard that once, I must have heard it a hundred times. Did Roosevelt confiscate everyone’s gold back in 1933? If he did, how come there’s still a lot of it for sale in a thousand coin shops and numismatic dealers?

Let’s start at the beginning and see what really did happen. The first thing we must remember, is that America was in the midst of a severe depression, caused by loose money issued by the Federal Reserve, which they still are doing. There was such an enormous amount of “liquidity” floating around, as today, that everyone was buying stocks on margin of over 90% at times, which is not happening today. The stock market was on everyone’s lips and minds. Bootblacks and janitors were buying stocks. Stocks would supposedly go up forever, and there was no risk. Ha Ha. The market crumbled and crashed, leaving everyone out on the well known limb, owing for stocks which often times weren’t worth not much more than the paper on which they were printed. The result was that in fairly quick order, over 25% of the American work force was on the street selling apples, on the dole, or in bad shape in one way or another. Times were tough, to make it sound kind!

Roosevelt wanted to pull America out of the depression. He thought up all sorts of make-work schemes, and anything to put people to work. But he didn’t have any money. Remember, unlike now, the dollar was BACKED BY GOLD. He therefore needed all the gold he could get, so he could print more dollars to spend in placing more people in those make-work jobs. Everyone knew that gold and dollars were synonymous. Americans were carrying gold coins in their pockets just like they were money, which they were. Small, dime size gold coins were a dollar, and there were $5, $10 (Eagles) and $20 (double Eagles) coins in general circulation everywhere. Gold was money, dollars were money, and the two were the same. How could FDR get gold, so he could print more dollars to spend, to get us out of the depression?

He also had the farmers on his neck. They wanted higher prices for their crops, and there wasn’t any money around to give to them. On March 9th, 1933, FDR declared a “Bank Holiday,” with all the banks closed. Bank “runs” had posed another problem for the “New Deal,” as Roosevelt called his massive move towards abject socialism. People were closing their savings accounts and bouncing checks by the millions, just to survive in some cases. Today, we have millions of credit cards maxed out for the same reason. There was no FDIC then, so no savings account was insured. (Today, the FDIC has less than a nickel in its accounts for every $100 worth of insurance). Banks had made huge margin loans on now worthless stocks, and they had no money to pay for savings account closures. FDR allowed they could close for a ‘holiday,” so they could get their troops in order. Many didn’t, and never re-opened again. My Parents lost money in a bank which never re-opened.

Banks were in deep trouble. People were demanding their money, and the banks didn’t have any. There was no FDIC, and dollars were backed by gold. The treasury had to have gold to print more dollars to make everyone happy, banks whole, and to fund make-work projects. What to do? Get some gold! How? The mines were producing all they could, but more was needed. More dollars were needed for stuff that didn’t help get us out of the depression at all. Nothing Roosevelt did, got us out of the depression, or even help a bit. As a final effort, he outraged the Japanese enough that they bombed Pearl Harbor, and we were at war. The depression was over.

Roosevelt had the brilliant idea that he would order everyone to turn in their gold in exchange for paper dollars, which were backed by gold. On April 5, 1933, Roosevelt issued Executive Order # 6012, which ordered Americans to surrender their gold to the government by May 1st, 1933. Violations were to be subjected to a $1,000 fine and as much as ten years in prison. First of all, an Executive Order is not in the Constitution, and an Executive Order could never levy a $1,000 fine or ten years in the slammer! But Americans were broke, miserable, and that $20 gold piece they had squirreled away would buy a lot of food, with bread at less than a dime a loaf. Those who couldn’t afford to hold their gold, turned theirs in and received brand new paper dollars for their gold.

The gold allowed more dollars to be printed, which were foolishly used for nutty things, and none were of help in fighting the depression. A couple of days later, on May 7th, FDR had one of his “Fireside Chats” over radio, to soothe the American outrage. He said that if Americans continued to ‘hoard’ gold, there wouldn’t be any left, and therefore in the interest of fairness, government should own all of it, and use it wisely. Ever hear of such claptrap? Gold markets have existed for thousands of years, and gold has endlessly changed hands around the world! Smugglers and black markets in gold have flourished in times of war, peace, or dictatorships. FDR also persuaded Congress to wipe out the gold clause in existing contracts, which specified payments to be made in gold. In a Joint Resolution of June 5, 1933, all gold payments in existing contracts were made null and void. Even Congress, stupidly went along.

On January 31, 1934, Roosevelt signed into law the “Gold Reserve Act,” which set the gold price at $35 per ounce, as opposed to the former $20.67 In other words, he had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans by raising the price of gold by about 70%! What in reality he had done, was to lower the value of the dollar by 70%, in relation to gold. It is estimated that Roosevelt hauled in $7 billion worth of gold from submissive Americans, and still the depression kept right on going.. My Dad was a corner druggist in Washington D.C. for 36 years, and I grew up in that drug store. I’ll always remember those days as being educational, and lots of fun. I can still hear my Dad calling Eleanor Roosevelt “Old Horseface,” and bellowing about Roosevelt, calling him every name in the book. He hated the Roosevelts, as did all businessmen, and anyone with a farthing of sense.

Did Roosevelt’s Executive Order # 6012 “seize” everyone’s gold? No! How could anyone know who had it? Gold coins have no serial numbers, and practically everyone had them. Could government seize socket wrench sets if it passed a law saying that everyone had to turn theirs in? Could government ever know how many people had bought socket wrenches from hardware stores, auto supply stores, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, et al? Socket wrenches have no serial numbers, and they certainly don’t have to be ‘registered’ when you buy a set. Both have uses, and both may be about the same size I suppose. Those who didn’t need the dollars, undoubtedly said to themselves, “Me? Give you my gold? “Hell no!” Those who were living at the edge of starvation, having lost their jobs, having lost their savings in closed banks, and seen their stocks go to virtual zero, naturally gave their gold to the government in exchange for bread money. No one was ever fined, and no one ever went to jail for an Executive Order which could never have been enforced. There are actual laws against prostitution and drugs, but they flourish on a daily basis. Hookers and drugs have no serial numbers either, and aren’t registered like car titles, real estate deeds or stocks.

How could government “seize” your gold, when no one knows you have it? Registered guns have possibilities for seizure, because of their registration, but when they come to get yours, as I am certain they will, you “had it stolen,” “sold it at a yard sale,” or “gave it away,” hopefully. No gold coin is “registered,” and no gold coin has serial numbers other than the Credit Suisse 1 oz gold bars. A decade ago, in Silverton, Colorado, a miner was accused of stealing gold from a mine, after lots of it was found under his bed. It went to court, and Henry Kolego’s lawyer asked the prosecution if the supposed stolen gold looked different if it came from one mine or another? “No.’ Does the supposedly stolen gold have serial numbers for identification? “NO.” Henry K. went free. Did he steal it? Probably, but it was totally un-provable.

Can anyone from the government, seize your gold like Roosevelt did? How could they? Gold is not radio-active, so a Geiger Counter wouldn’t work. “Well, they’ll check your supplier or seize your records.” If you had gold at one time, how could anyone prove you still had it if you had given it away, sold it, or had it stolen? Like registered guns, if you please. The thought of government going through a million court cases, violating the Fourth Amendment, trying to “seize” your hoard of Krugerrands, borders on the insane and, at least is laughable. As a refresher, the Fourth Amendment says in part, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated.” Is it illegal for you to purchase gold or silver? No. Is it illegal for you to own them? No. Ever hear of the legal term “ex post facto law?”

Just forget the “seizure” nonsense, and protect yourself.