Does the US really have gold reserves? Senator Ron Paul has been asking for someone to show him audit logs (last audit was in the 1950s), and nobody will come up with proof that it's really at Ft Knox. If it was there, you would think it wouldn't be too hard to produce some form of proof.
I've read up on that - and there's no proof either way. As you said, no recent audits. But you know what else? Maybe the US is hiding something else. Maybe the US has even more reserves than stated? Maybe US policy planners knew all along that a fiat monetary system has a limited lifespan? Either way, I am assuming they have the 8K tons. I just don't see a legitimate reason for the US to sell its gold when even at current values, it is still a fraction of the paper that exists. At least so far...
The US cannot return to either a Gold Standard or Bi-metallic (Gold and Silver) Standard. The total removal of the Gold Standard in the US came about as a result of the failed London Gold Pool in the 1960's. It was an international event, and Nixon was responding to the fact that the US did not have significant gold reserves even then. The US also served to keep the price of gold artificially low for decades prior to this. The US government has systematically pillaged over 99% of the value of each dollar over the past 100 years. It also unconstitutionally removed the right (not privilege) of Americans to hold gold or silver and use as legal tender, or trade in bank notes on actual bullion. Britain has been slightly better, and Australia too. Debasement of currency occurs when governments are not accountable. The set value of a Troy Ounce (31.1g approx) of fine gold is north of $USD 50,000, and silver is, historically at least, about 1/14 of that (about $USD 3600 Tr.oz). Silver is actually worth somewhat more than this because it is a strategic metal, used greatly in industry, far more than gold. For much of history, indeed it was Silver and not gold that was the standard. The major reason for the opium wars between the British empire and China was because even then China was the factory of the world and exported all its goods to Europe without buying much in return except for wool and wine. The Chinese wanted to be paid in silver and it drained the british treasury at an alarming pace. King George wrote a letter to the Qianlong Emperor of China begging him to buy from britain. This famous letter can still be seen in the British museum.
So what you're saying is that a precious metal standard of sorts can not be implemented because the world prefers to allow trade imbalances to grow much more precipitously and dangerously with a fiat standard? So what happens when the imbalances of trade under a fiat system of IOU paper grow to the point they can't be "rebalanced?"