Comments on: South Carolina to Ban Federal Currency?

By: Jay Philip Williams

Jay Philip Williams — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:59:27 +0000

Let me just add one more thought. Eliminating the fed (Federal Reserve System) and restoring the gold standard would completely eliminate many of the problems our country faces today. Also, South Carolina probably wouldn't need to be spending their time worrying about this stuff.

By: Guest

Guest — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:45:46 +0000

The "expert" is a moron or was badly misquoted. The 'commerce clause' has nothing to do with the issue.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to coin money and prohibits states from issuing anything except gold and silver in payment of debts.

It's clear from this language that states CAN issue 'money' as long as it is gold or silver.

How someone thinks the 'commerce clause' is relevant is beyond me. It shows how badly misunderstood the Constitution is. It's very sad.

In sum, I agree with Jay Philip Williams: "Go, South Carolina!"

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:18:35 +0000

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By: @TdashPaine

@TdashPaine — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:36:02 +0000

The expert can't explain why they put in states shall make gold and silver as payable for all debts while the federal government only has the power to decide how much a dollar is worth in gold or silver.

By: Jay Philip Williams

Jay Philip Williams — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:25:23 +0000

Apparently, the so-called expert doesn't know a simple fact, and that is that our "money" doesn't consist of notes. A note is a legal document. Our "money" USED TO BE notes, redeemable in gold and silver, but it isn't anymore. It's just fiat money, inherently worthless, and NOT legal notes, and thus unconstitutional.

Go, South Carolina!

By: Josh Hanson

Josh Hanson — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:20:56 +0000

2. Bank notes or bills of credit issued by authority, and exchangeable for coin or redeemable, are also called money; as such notes in modern times represent coin, and are used as a substitute for it. If a man pays in hand for goods in bank notes which are current, he is said to pay in ready money.

The definition of the term in 1828 certainly gave support to the idea that the federal government may only coin precious metal. Even the discussion of bank notes in definition # 2 emphasizes that referring to them as "money" is merely shorthand for referring to the precious metal that backs them.

By: Josh Hanson

Josh Hanson — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:20:32 +0000

In order to understand the Constitutional power to "coin money", it is important to understand what "money" meant in the late eighteenth century. While I unfortunately don't possess a dictionary from that period, I do have access to Webster's 1828 Dictionary of the English Language. In this edition, "money" is defined as follows:

1. Coin; stamped metal; any piece of metal, usually gold, silver or copper, stamped by public authority, and used as the medium of commerce. We sometimes give the name of money to other coined metals,and to any other material which rude nations use a medium of trade. But among modern commercial nations, gold, silver and copper are the only metals used for this purpose. Gold and silver, containing great value in small compass, and being therefore of easy conveyance, and being also durable and little liable to diminution by use, are the most convenient metals for coin or money, which is the representative of commodities of all kinds, of lands, and of every thing that is capable of being transferred in commerce.