It is also illegal for anyone to own gold bullion without special licenses that are NOT for “coining” or backing currencies. Such licenses are for jewelers and the like. I believe the same applies to silver.

There are ways around it like advertizing “medallions” as collectible items. Owning 24K gold jewelry is legal, just not bullion.

There are also logistical concerns. Who has enough money to be the gold “banker”? How many people can trust such a man to keep the gold safe and available? This is what began fractional reserve in the first place. We might start over, but we’d end up going down the same path again. It just takes enough desperation and greed.

There is also the question of how circulation of funds will keep up with a growing economy when there is no fractional reserve. Eventually, there will be a currency shortage. This is what made the fed a viable alternative in the first place.

The Liberty Dollar is an interesting case study in researching the answer to your question. Ostensibly legal, yes. But as the sign on Ron Paul’s desk says, the government hates competition. And so the Feds raided the LD offices and stole all the goods. Hmm.

Residents from the Milwaukee neighborhoods of Riverwest and East Side are scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss printing their own money. The idea is that the local cash could be used at neighborhood stores and businesses, thus encouraging local spending. The result, supporters hope, would be a bustling local economy, even as the rest of the nation deals with a recession.

All they’re doing is sowing the seeds of another money tree. As Rothbard has often written, any sound money system must be based on a commodity of relatively fixed abundance to prevent anybody from having the power to massively inflate and circulate newly created “money”.

Just one other comment: Gov. Huntsman is a moderate Democrat in all but name. Don’t act so surprised at his love of the federal money train. (That’s not to say that the GOP doesn’t have its fair share of big government profligates.)

Without either one, we wouldn’t have a step 1. Without the fed, we wouldn’t have either step 0a or 0b!

It’s all a part of his mandate, right? Right there in the constitution?

ooops.

U.S. governors will ask that any federal stimulus plan for the states include as much as $100 billion in aid to help cover the swelling costs of social services, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said.

The article goes on to mention how a couple governors—including the Governator—want to balance their own books before accepting federal aid. But pray tell, once the books are balanced, what’s the need for money from the feds?

I fear that the scenario for so many people goes as follows:

1) I’m in panic mode because health insurance is going up, I’m in debt, I’m living paycheck to paycheck, and there’s “simply not enough” (because of the way I’m living, but I find other reasons to blame to keep me from changing)
2) The government is giving out free money to solve my problems that are victimizing me?
3) My brain turns off as I glow with excitement of my burdens being relieved by my friend the government who watches out for me and gives me the free money that I need
4) The opportunity to realize the cost of free money flies by unnoticed as I wallow in delight.

Nice one Connor, I think that sums up the last few months perfectly.