You make some interesting points and I will definitely hunt down the "Golden Fetters" piece. However I would ask whether you have looked into the argument that

You make some interesting points and I will definitely hunt down the "Golden Fetters" piece. However I would ask whether you have looked into the argument that gold restricts the ability of the gov't to expand, in that there is a built-in expense to more spending when you have a gold-backed currency. It appears (to me and probably others) that part of the current problems the USA is facing is due to a govt that grows and grows, without a method to have a feedback loop that would restrict it - currently it seems the answer is to just print (electronically or physically) more $100 bills (which cost about 4 cents to make).