Gold or paper: which would you rather have??

Headline:     Republicans eye return to gold standard...

Notes:   Richard Nixon took this nation off the gold standard back in the 1970’s.  Many within the conservative movement believe that a return to the gold standard is in order. 

I do not know enough about the subject to voice an opinion,  but in due time,  I will remedy that circumstance. 

My first thoughts (writing as a sheer novice)  include the following:    

1.       A change of this nature,  a transformation of something that is as  systemic in nature and practice as is the current monetary system, would  need to be take time. 

2.    We are not talking about getting rid of the dollar bill,  but, 

3.    I see no way solutions such as “quantitative easing” could be used as it is now being used,  after the transformation is complete.

4.    Printing money would be directly related to the amount of gold we have in reserve,  or,  at least, that is  seems reasonable to me. 

5.     Currently,  our dollar is representative of nothing except our own good will and the faith of the United States Government  . . . .  not very reassuring. 

6.    A "gold standard,"  it seems,  would help to ratchet down the extension of credit and work against the spending fetish of Keynesian economics.    

7.    This would be a good time to have the debate over the continuation of the Federal Reserve.  It was begun in secret (1913 I think) and nothing good comes agreements that,  of necessity, are made in secret.    Ron Paul,  a man I deeply respect when it comes to opinions on finance,  believes the Federal Reserve has done much more harm than good.  Milton Friedman,  another giant as relates to "capitalism,"  believed in an ending to the Fed,   a withdrawal from the IMF, the World Bank and any and all international economic settlements.  This would send global progressivism and one world justice packing.  Friedman was not a fan of the gold standard. Ron Paul is a supporter of the gold standard.  

An any rate,  this is a story for latter days.  I rather think it is a great discussion to have, however.  

With an article titled, The Gold Standard Revisited,  at Investopedia,  the reader has a good place to begin.  As you read,  be aware of the embedded bias of the author, whether from a supply side opinion,  a macro-econ stance,  or a simple conservative/traditional point of view.  

A second article what might be worth the read is one written by Friedman at The Money Masters.  The guy was a genius who believed that greed was good if managed.  

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Milton Friedman Unraveled by Murray N. Rothbard

www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard43.html

Yet, Milton Friedman is a radical advocate of cutting all current ties, however weak, with gold, and going onto a total and absolute fiat dollar standard, with all ...

Is Ron Paul's gold standard idea dangerous? - CSMonitor.com

www.csmonitor.com/.../Is-Ron-Paul-s-gold-standard-idea-dangerous

Feb 2, 2012 – Ron Paul wants to end the Fed and go back to the gold standard. Many call that a dangerous idea, but the US was quite prosperous on the gold ...