Statement of Purpose

We support a 21st century international gold standard. America should lead by unilateral resumption of the gold standard. Unilateral resumption means that the U.S. dollar should be defined in federal statute as a certain weight unit of gold. The Treasury will be responsible for maintaining this guaranteed value of the U.S. dollar.

All financial claims of banks, chartered or supervised under federal law, that are payable in dollars shall be convertible to gold by such banks at the statutory rate without restriction, demand deposits (e.g. checking accounts) upon demand and other claims at maturity. Americans will be free to use gold itself as money without restriction or the threat of taxation. The Treasury will provide for the minting of legal tender gold coins, to be used as money, without restriction or taxation. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve or any successor institution serving in a similar capacity and all banks chartered or supervised by the U.S. government, or any one of its agencies, will be obliged by law to maintain the statutory dollar-gold parity and to redeem Federal Reserve notes and bank demand deposits for gold on demand.

During this period, the United States will provide for the termination of the official dollar reserve currency system and invite interested nations to a conference to establish a modernized international gold standard designed for the twenty-first century. By international gold standard we mean that only gold, not dollar liabilities nor any other national currency, nor the so-called SDR, would be the means by which nations settle their respective balance of payments deficits. Governments and their respective banks and financial institutions will consult on the development of interoperable Internet-enabled gold clearinghouses to improve the efficiency of the international payments system.