2.907% of all Gold ever mined? Not really, considering that the US is about 4.2% of the world population, consumes 20-25% of world resources, and probably covers something around 10% of the global land mass. Remember that gold is highly malleable, so that the quantity of gold in artistic and jewelry use is probably a relatively small portion of the global total (though a large contributor to global price changes). The rest of the world probably has a higher portion of artistic gold, but we got lots and lots of the big heavy gold bars.
holden1176 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So, using the estimates on this page the U.S. Mint > holds 2.907% of all gold discovered in human > history? Seems high. It’s actually closer to 2.6% than 2.9%, but that has to be taken with a grain of salt because total gold discovered is far from certain. With that said, that doesn’t sound particularly high to me.
the indian citizenry has the highest private ownership of gold -accumulated thru centuries of trade and business. the indian govt doesnt own that much gold on the other hand. it is probably the only country whose gold is largely accumulated without any state violence/force . (unlike the US loot of the native gold,spanish led european colonial conquests in asia/africa/americas). china too to a large extent.though state confiscation played a major role there. in the unlikely case that the world returns to a gold based monetary system,it is near impossible for it succeed if it remains the monopoly of the state (ie the reserves being calculated as that held by the govt mint)
Dsylexic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > the indian citizenry has the highest private > ownership of gold -accumulated thru centuries of > trade and business. the indian govt doesnt own > that much gold on the other hand. it is probably > the only country whose gold is largely accumulated > without any state violence/force . (unlike the US > loot of the native gold,spanish led european > colonial conquests in asia/africa/americas). china > too to a large extent.though state confiscation > played a major role there. > > in the unlikely case that the world returns to a > gold based monetary system,it is near impossible > for it succeed if it remains the monopoly of the > state (ie the reserves being calculated as that > held by the govt mint) US Loot of native gold? I have never heard of this. The Spaniards were the colonial force that was known for looting all the gold treasures of the aztec / maya etc. They didn’t even bother to preserve any of it, they just melted it down and destroyed so much ancient art and history. Such a shame. Ironically, then they shipped immense amounts of gold back to Spain to enrich themselves but all it did was result in massive inflation.
Dsylexic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > the indian citizenry has the highest private > ownership of gold -accumulated thru centuries of > trade and business. the indian govt doesnt own > that much gold on the other hand. it is probably > the only country whose gold is largely accumulated > without any state violence/force . (unlike the US > loot of the native gold,spanish led european > colonial conquests in asia/africa/americas). china > too to a large extent.though state confiscation > played a major role there. > > in the unlikely case that the world returns to a > gold based monetary system,it is near impossible > for it succeed if it remains the monopoly of the > state (ie the reserves being calculated as that > held by the govt mint) huh? there has surely been violence associated with gold production in the US (check out Bogie in Treasure of Sierra Madre) but I can’t think of any state sponsored violence of any consequence. Who did the US govt steal gold from?
In the US and Canada there was no “looting of gold,” the way the Spanish did in Inca and Aztec areas for the simple reason that the natives didn’t have metalworking technology. The US did have what was - in effect - an extermination policy for Native Americans, and this is the source of one of the biggest shames in US history, but this was to secure land, not gold, even if some gold was underneath that land. The US also took California from Mexico just a few years before the Gold rush. This was definitely violence and definitely not something to be proud of anymore, but it isn’t “looting gold.”
The idea of “looting” Native American gold or the “genocide” of the NAs has been something that has been massively disputed. Many zealous “historians” have tried to re-write history using dubious logic and evidence, especially during the Vietnam era when the unpopular war spurred people to draw parallels. Up to 90% of the reduction of the NAs had to do with Smallpox, which was, according to a preponderance of evidence, not a malicious event, but a simple evolutionary one. There is no solid evidence of a concentrated pogrom to eliminate the NAs. To conclude there is one is to ignore over 200 years of collected evidence. There were many unfortunate events (Trail of Tears), but overall, it was a simple form of movement throughout the country. Europeans were fought and fought back, both sides committed horrendous acts. There is ample evidence that the NAs themselves were so fragmented and violent that they reduced their own numbers dramatically over the prior 100 years, reducing their population by more than half, not to mention the incoming NAs killed many other populations who already lived in North America. Ample evidence also exists to show they would have died off very quickly. As far as the CA gold rush. Countries fought over territory, it’s as simple as that. The US wanted a west coast, it fought for one. Is this an acceptable practice these days? No. However, to denigrate the country and take a very slanted and historically unsupported position about the NAs, is ridiculous at best.
From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_pox The British may have used smallpox as a biological warfare agent during the French and Indian Wars (1754–63), against France and its Native American allies at the Siege of Fort Pitt. It has been alleged that smallpox was also used as a weapon during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83).[53]
historical ‘research’ from the winners view point is always looking to rationalize excesses of the past. maybe the native versions of the story need to be read without considering them to be merely a losers whine. The Lakota Black Hill reserves being looted was something that took place in the 1870s -thats the US Govt and its laws. ofcourse there were hundreds of internecine wars amongst the natives,but that was something happening for hundreds of years. the exponential decrease and decimation of the population can only be attributed to systematic actions. there are those who deny the Nazi excesses as well. -those who insist that Jews who died in captivity due to diseases shouldnt be counted as victims of Hitler. years from now, saddam hussein may have been regrettably killed because he had threatened the use of WMDs -thats going to be official lie. i digress,but history will always look different to different people since neither the victim or the victor can be objective
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...for-safety.html Merrill Lynch says rich turning to gold bars for safety By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Merrill Lynch has revealed that some of its richest clients are so alarmed by the state of the financial system and signs of political instability around the world that they are now insisting on the purchase of gold bars, shunning derivatives or “paper” proxies. Gary Dugan, the chief investment officer for the US bank, said there has been a remarkable change in sentiment. “People are genuinely worried about what the world is going to look like in 2009. It is amazing how many clients want physical gold, not ETFs,” he said, referring to exchange trade funds listed in London, New York, and other bourses. “They are so worried they want a portable asset in their house. I never thought I would be getting calls from clients saying they want a box of krugerrands,” he said. Merrill predicted that gold would soon blast through its all time-high of $1,030 an ounce, and would hit $1,150 by June. The metal should do well whatever happens. If deflation sets in and rocks the economic system it will serve as a safe-haven, but if massive monetary stimulus gains traction and sets off inflation once again it will also come into its own as a store of value. “It’s win-win either way,” said Mr Dugan. He added that deflation may prove the greater risk in coming months. “It’s very difficult to get the deflation psychology out of the human brain once prices start falling. People stop buying things because they think it will be cheaper if they wait.” Merrill expects global inflation to hover near zero, with rates of minus 1pc in the industrial economies. This means that yields on AAA sovereign bonds now at 3pc will offer a real return of 4pc a year, which is stellar in this grim climate. “Don’t start selling your government bonds,” Mr Dugan said, dismissing talk of a bond bubble as misguided. He warned that the eurozone was likely to come under strain this year as slump deepens. “There is going to be friction as governments in the south start talking politically about coming out of the euro. I don’t see the tensions in Greece as a one-off. It is a sign of social strain in countries that have lost competitiveness”.
I don’t know much about Native American history, but I would imagine that the arguement is based on land theft. So for example, the Native Americans in northern Canada claim the land on which the Dawson City gold rush took place was theirs, and therefore so was the gold taken from it. Not saying I support this opinion though. Back on the original discussion, isn’t it possible gold was underpriced in 2003?