If ever there was a clear example of why gold makes a terrible monetary base this was it.
And it seems to me that a lot of the reason for gold being worth a lot is countries just sitting on it. If they would sell it to people who would use it (for jewelry or active trading) the price would go down a lot.
And what is the point of just having lots of gold and never using it? It's just a big pile of metal, if it wasn't there would anyone notice the difference? (i.e. could I borrow it, then return it 100 years later? Would anyone notice?)
The same way you store gold: You pay someone to store it for you. It's bigger so it's harder to store, but it's also harder to steal, so it needs less guarding.
I'm not suggesting it as currency, just if you need something to back your currency oil works a lot better than gold.
If everyone was using it for transactions there would be a much, much higher demand and you wouldn't need 40 planes worth for a similar amount of buying power.
Ultimately, energy should be currency, not gold, but it is still better than fiat.
And it seems to me that a lot of the reason for gold being worth a lot is countries just sitting on it. If they would sell it to people who would use it (for jewelry or active trading) the price would go down a lot.
And what is the point of just having lots of gold and never using it? It's just a big pile of metal, if it wasn't there would anyone notice the difference? (i.e. could I borrow it, then return it 100 years later? Would anyone notice?)