3 ms·

Why do we have ~$300B USD in gold sitting in reserve at Fort Knox?

by 827a 2y ago

stickfigure 2y ago
Inertia. A legacy of the gold standard. Or when kings paid for Hessian soldiers in gold. It's dumb.
throw0101b 2y ago
> Why do we have ~$300B USD in gold sitting in reserve at Fort Knox? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Of course gold is considered price stable(ish)—though it maybe shouldn't be: * https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/historical-gold-prices-100-year-chart https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/historical-gold-prices-100-... * https://archive.is/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/money/article/gold-is-not-a-safe-bet-its-a-gamble-holly-mead-column-cht3m6ckh https://archive.is/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/m... —but BTC (and most other cryptocurrencies) are even more volatile and even less of a 'store of value'.
f33d5173 2y ago
Gold is traditionally the currency of international exchange, where you can't use any one country's currency. One can imagine a crisis that reverts international markets to using gold like this, at which pointing having a reserve would be useful.
- nradov 2y ago
  Help us out here, what sort of crisis can we imagine where the federal government needs something from another country which can only be purchased with gold bullion? My imagination is failing me.
  - text0404 2y ago
    the US somehow tanks its own economy say based on the whims of a president who wants to allow the ultra-rich who enabled his ascendancy to buy everything for pennies on the dollar, leading to the collapse of the US dollar. a major terrorist attack or climate event cripples US infrastructure but because an unelected member of said ultra-rich class has destroyed major functions of government, there is no ability to respond, and none of our former allies is willing to extend goodwill to the US because we've completely destroyed our reputation on the world stage. thankfully, something like that could never happen.
gosub100 2y ago
Perhaps because many well funded, organized, and violent criminals really want to steal it?
- wmf 2y ago
  If we sold it there would be nothing to steal.
duskwuff 2y ago
Realistically: because there are too many people with a financial interest in that gold staying off the market. Which isn't all that different from the reasons some people are opposed to the USG selling its cryptocurrency "reserve" as well; it's just a longer-standing reason.

Why do we have ~$300B USD in gold sitting in reserve at Fort Knox?

by 827a 2y ago

Why do we have ~$300B USD in gold sitting in reserve at Fort Knox?

stickfigure 2y ago

Inertia. A legacy of the gold standard. Or when kings paid for Hessian soldiers in gold. It's dumb.

throw0101b 2y ago

> Why do we have ~$300B USD in gold sitting in reserve at Fort Knox? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Of course gold is considered price stable(ish)—though it maybe shouldn't be: * https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/historical-gold-prices-100-year-chart https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/historical-gold-prices-100-... * https://archive.is/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/money/article/gold-is-not-a-safe-bet-its-a-gamble-holly-mead-column-cht3m6ckh https://archive.is/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/m... —but BTC (and most other cryptocurrencies) are even more volatile and even less of a 'store of value'.

f33d5173 2y ago

Gold is traditionally the currency of international exchange, where you can't use any one country's currency. One can imagine a crisis that reverts international markets to using gold like this, at which pointing having a reserve would be useful.

nradov 2y ago
Help us out here, what sort of crisis can we imagine where the federal government needs something from another country which can only be purchased with gold bullion? My imagination is failing me.
- text0404 2y ago
  the US somehow tanks its own economy say based on the whims of a president who wants to allow the ultra-rich who enabled his ascendancy to buy everything for pennies on the dollar, leading to the collapse of the US dollar. a major terrorist attack or climate event cripples US infrastructure but because an unelected member of said ultra-rich class has destroyed major functions of government, there is no ability to respond, and none of our former allies is willing to extend goodwill to the US because we've completely destroyed our reputation on the world stage. thankfully, something like that could never happen.

gosub100 2y ago

Perhaps because many well funded, organized, and violent criminals really want to steal it?

wmf 2y ago
If we sold it there would be nothing to steal.

duskwuff 2y ago

Realistically: because there are too many people with a financial interest in that gold staying off the market. Which isn't all that different from the reasons some people are opposed to the USG selling its cryptocurrency "reserve" as well; it's just a longer-standing reason.