Jim Rickards: Nobody Talks About It, But Our Whole System Is Based on Gold

Jon Economy

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin paid a rare official visit to Fort Knox to check out the nation’s gold stash. He made headlines when he quipped about the possibility of the gold not being there. Later, the secretary assured the world the US gold is safe and sound.
But why exactly does the US hold more than 8,000 tons of gold?
As we’ve explained, gold is money and there is economic power in owning gold. But nuts and bolts reasons also exist that help explain why the US holds so much gold, and most people aren’t aware of them. Jim Rickards did a good job of explaining it in a recent article on the Daily Reckoning. He argues that the whole American system is still based on gold.
So who actually owns America’s gold?
That question is a little more complicated than you might think.
Physically, the US Treasury owns the gold. But the Federal Reserve also has a claim on it. And at the end of the day, the US military controls it.

This post was published at Schiffgold on AUGUST 24, 2017.