India's Failing Gold Monetization Scheme: Seizure Imminent?Paul-Martin FossMenger Center Dec. 09, 2015 |
Mike Johnson Pushes Debunked Lie That Israeli Babies Were 'Cooked in Ovens' On October 7
'It Has to Be Stopped': Netanyahu Demands Pro-Palestine Protests at U.S. Colleges Be Shut Down
'These Protesters Belong in Jail': Gov. Abbott Cheers Arrest of Pro-Palestine Protesters at UT Austin
Claim Jewish Student Was 'Stabbed In The Eye' by Pro-Palestine Protester Draws Mockery After Video Released
'We Aren't Going Anywhere': TikTok CEO Vows to Fight TikTok Ban in Court
India’s newest gold monetization scheme has been a colossal failure. After one month, it has netted only one kilogram (2.2 pounds avoirdupois) out of an estimated 20,000 tonnes (44 million pounds avdp) of privately-held gold. Why is that? Well, let’s look at how the program works. But not to worry, the government will make sure this scheme works: “A finance ministry official said if banks fail to win over temples, the government could intervene directly as it is looking for a big boost to the scheme to keep both imports and the current account deficit under control.”Shades of 1933 all over again. One would imagine that outright gold confiscation from Hindu temples would result in massive protests and quite a bit of bloodshed. And while most rational people would assume that the government would be smart enough to avoid doing something so drastically stupid, this is the same government that developed the cockamamie gold monetization scheme in the first place. Never underestimate the idiocy of government bureaucrats, especially when those bureaucrats are trying to save face. Let’s hope for the sake of the Indian people that their government learns its lesson and quietly shelves its futile attempts to monetize private gold holdings. If it really wanted to monetize gold, it would end any restrictions on the importation, transfer, and use of gold as money and allow markets to determine what money they wanted to use. Control is hard to give up, but the Indian economy would be far better off with gold as money instead of rupees. |