Ron Paul Gold Standard: Jerry ONeil, Montana Lawmaker, Wants to Get Paid in Gold

Impact

Back in August, when libertarian-leaning Representative Ron Paul's (R-Texas) presidential campaign was still in full swing he told CNBC that the U.S. could avoid a lot of its problems if we returned to the gold standard. 

“We could avoid some of the horrendous swings in the marketplace with bubbles building and bursting and transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealth,” Paul said.

As a result, and for the first time in 30 years, the Republican Party's platform called for a gold commission to look into the issue. And, while it's unlikely the Democratic administration of recently reelected President Barack Obama will prioritize the issue, other elected officials are trying to make their voices heard. 

State Representative Jerry O’Neil (R-Mont.), allegedly "spooked" about the country's fiscal health and the value of the dollar, has reportedly requested to get paid in gold and silver coins as opposed to regular paper money.  

O'Neil reportedly sent a letter to Montana Legislative Services, citing Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution, which says — in part — that no state shall “make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts.”

The lawmaker says that during his 10 years of experience in government he never thought about making such "trivial" request until now that he is looking at the value of our currency "in a new light.”

"The country’s $16 trillion debt is a warning sign we can only ignore at our peril,” he wrote. “It is very likely the bottom will fall out from under the U.S. dollar. Only so many dollars can be printed before they have no value.”